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Performance Management

Published May 2009

The Democracy of Talent Management

  Robert Mattson

Making the wrong decision about employee layoffs can put a company at a serious competitive disadvantage, especially when the economy starts to rebound.

In addition to making sure top performers and high potentials aren't lost during workforce reduction efforts, organizations also need to be mindful of the employees who remain behind by ensuring they continue to be motivated, valued and appropriately recognized for their accomplishments. Employees that remain following restructuring efforts will determine the organization's future success.

Deciding what's right for the business is hard because many managers don't have access to the data they need to make informed decisions. That's because in many organizations the process of talent management rests with HR, rather than being a democratized enterprise process in which everyone participates. Managers and employees may be contributing performance and development information, but that information often is contributed annually and stored in HR silos, not integrated into the business' operating culture.

To cultivate a workforce of high performers, talent managers need to transform the performance-review process from an annual event that rates performance for the purpose of compensation adjustments to an ongoing management and improvement process that delivers vital information about performance and potential to the business. With access to better information, companies then have the ability to accurately identify top performers and create the right incentive mechanisms to nurture and retain them.

There are two critical steps to successfully identifying and rewarding high performers while maintaining morale and drive within an organization. First, make performance measurement part of the regular daily tasks of every employee. Everyone from HR to line managers to employees needs to be committed to the process. Regularly communicate and clearly define goals to help employees understand business priorities and what they need to achieve.

When performance measurement is ongoing, managers can gain increased visibility into the day-to-day activities of the employee population to find the top performers. Keep in mind the top performers in tough times might not be the same as the top performers when business is booming. Having this insight helps organizations recognize potential, as well as performance.

Second, set goals and reward top performers to keep them within the organization. These are not easily accomplished and are even harder if these processes are not backed up by some form of automation.

With the right tools, performance management can be transformed into democratic process that delivers vital business intelligence and keeps the workforce motivated to succeed. Organizations that automate the process make it easier for managers and employees to communicate performance and ensure business priorities are appropriately identified and assessed regularly.

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