Is performance management ready for the smart world?

As companies persist on keeping their annual appraisal systems, the L&D outlaw group discussed whether this approach is fit for purpose and therefore what needs to be done to improve things.

Here are our top 10 hints to help companies that are looking to create a thriving performance management system in a smart and digital environment.

1. Why are we still running annual appraisals when the research and the science show that this approach doesn’t work? In a fast moving “need it now” digital age, doing anything annually is prehistoric. Quarterly is surely a minimum.

2. Always link your performance management system to your organisational values, or don’t bother.

3. Maybe a spreadsheet is good enough to run a performance management programme. Do you need to spend big bucks and get something that either only half works, or becomes a nightmare to customise?

4. Understand that venerated reward systems are becoming dated. Challenge the current norms of employee reward mechanisms — you may want to read “Punished by rewards — Alfie Kohn (https://amzn.to/2UY97nF)

5. Involve all stakeholders in implementing a top down, bottom up, look out approach to reviewing your performance management system

Top Down

6. Go back to basics — What are you trying to achieve from a performance management process. Are you able to provide a clear answer to this question? If not, then STOP and review.

7. Pursue one clear goal for your Performance Management System not twenty-four. And maybe even change this regularly!

8. Managers are often the failing point for successful appraisals/assessment. Help them — either make the performance management system easy to operate or get them trained. Understand how managers can get it wrong by reading this BBC article — https://bbc.in/3nV5dZf.

Bottom Up

9. Involve the employees, its not rocket science, ask them what incentivises them and then implement that as your reward scheme, get creative with it, you may be surprise how easy it is to energise an employee.

Look Out

10.Don’t be afraid to involve external stakeholders in your performance managements system, suppliers, customers, shareholders etc.

The L&D outlaws is a group of international L&D and HR professionals with an interest in how we can better develop people and help them to perform better. Specifically, people who feel that L&D have been doing it wrong for some time and in the current environment we have to do it right. We would like to have people who are both working in development roles in corporates and consultants. What is it for? A place to exchange ideas, challenge each other, learn from each other and debate. We would like this group to become a voice in our industry, to propagate ideas more widely and to ultimately change the way the L&D operates. https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8985937/