What does performance management and employee development look like in your workplace? Do you fall into the bi-annual check in or even annual check in? Providing feedback for your employees doesn’t have to be a formal, time consuming exercise. Having an effective and consistent performance management program can be quick and easy to implement and has been consistently proven to significantly improve employee morale and enhance organizational effectiveness. We’ve had the pleasure of creating a full performance management system for several of our clients and we want to share some of our tips with you!
The goal of a performance management program is to encourage employees to collaborate with their managers on personal goal setting and future development all while evaluating whether they are meeting their current work objectives. This is also a time where the employee can express their likes and concerns about their current position. Getting continuous and regular feedback from your team can help you readily address concerns and provide suggestions on how to retain current employees and keep them engaged. It’s a two-sided real time conversation that allows for both sides to see what is going well and what can be improved upon!
Check-ins should not be restricted to formal annual or bi-annual process. Waiting that long to see if the progress of goals set earlier in the year can often be too late.
Now that you have some ideas for your performance management system, here are our tips to get started on making regular performance discussions a priority:
Give the managers an opportunity to check-in with their employees regularly. Bi-annual reviews are great but smaller, real-time check-ins throughout the year can help to keep your team on track much more efficiently
Managers should provide regular feedback that is both positive and constructive, and employees should feel comfortable to respond with their suggestions
Monitor and measure those results consistently and celebrate employee accomplishments! It shouldn’t always have to be about things that need to be improved
Establish a clear line of communication between managers and employees so that expectations are clear with goal setting
Find ways to support staff in their career goals by providing opportunities for growth through training, mentoring and developing new skills
Ensure the goals you are setting together support the overall strategic goals in your company
Keep track of goals and create concrete steps so that teams and employees can reach them. Check in formally at least once every quarter to review progress and make changes as necessary
Managing performance is a fundamental piece to the success of organizations of any size. We hope this gives you some ideas on how to re-vamp or create a performance management system that works for both you and your teams.
Leave a Comment