The new avatar of performance management has finally hit the market… and it has literally annihilated the concept of “an annual performance review”, giving way to various “performance-related practices."

Days when organizations used to consider performance management a ‘backward-looking evaluation program’, managed periodically by HR, are long gone. New-age HRM, aka Talent Management, is all about strategic performance management. It is now being reinvented for a forward-looking objective—to act as an effective and well-laid-out business process, assisting in improving employee engagement and driving business outcomes.

Skilled talent pool is the lifeblood of organizations everywhere. As the war for talent is intensifying, organizations are fast realizing the significance of having the right talent pool in their ranks. On the other hand, business pressure is now mounting amidst geo-political and economic uncertainties.  Organizations are increasingly feeling the need to be more efficient and effective, business leaders need to gain proficiency in better execution of business strategy, and maximize their business impact with minimal resources in order to stay competitive. Today’s workplaces are swearing by the importance of enhanced performance management among its employees to meet these needs. Certified talent management professionals are therefore becoming the ‘cynosure’ of senior management and C-suite alike.

It’s obvious to all that an optimal performance management process forms the cornerstone of organizational success. Such a process assists certified talent management professionals and senior managers in evaluating individual performance and optimizing productivity by:

• Aligning every employee's daily activities with various strategic business objectives
• Offering visibility and explaining accountability related to performance opportunities
• Detailing the performance of individual employees to take care of decisions related to compensation
       and career planning
• Setting up focus for learning activity options and skill development
• Producing documentation for various legal purposes to support various decisions and minimize disputes

Several practices supporting performance also leave a positive impact on job satisfaction, employee loyalty, and retention. Some recommended practices are as follows:

• Providing regular and significant feedback related to work
• Creating and communicating various performance-related expectations clearly
• Attaching performance to compensation
• Finding out organizational career pathways for all employees
• Assessing performance and providing incentives consistently
• Offering suitable opportunities related to learning and development
• Identifying and honoring top performers

But why certified talent management professionals? Why are they ideally suited for implementing all such performance management best practices? What does set them apart from the rest? How can they provide a differential edge?

Studies show in-depth HR and performance management domain expertise assist organizations in building a customized solution to manage performance better. Further, certified talent management professionals are found to be more proficient in:

Defining an organization’s performance management process based on requirements and business objectives before delving into various configuration options

Finding out success criteria and mapping them to various business drivers, including providing ease-of-use, offering organization-wide visibility, and enhancing employee performance

Only this? Not surely. Another distinguishing factor certified professionals possess is an appropriate blend of relevance and efficiency, which provides them with an edge over non-certified ones. Implementing performance management gives them an opportunity to come up with a consistent review process, which enhances efficiency across an organizations. Advanced knowledge and expertise gained through certifications also help professionals strike an appropriate balance by producing various forms and workflow routings according to individual requirements of different divisions.

An essential part of a performance management implementation is devising a performance review form that gathers the information you require and is directed through an effective workflow. During certification courses, professionals are equipped with the best practices. These include

Creating relevant rating scales, identifying a suitable number of competencies, and assimilating the most useful form sections, including the one made for employee development

Devising a workflow comprising the suitable routing steps as well as main approvers and creating project-centric review cycles involving several manager review

To put everything in a nutshell, with their in-depth knowledge and expertise, certified talent management professionals provide a holistic experience in performance management. So, it’s time to push your way in cueing your career in the right direction. The secret to success lies in globally-recognized talent management certification programs. And it would be the one and only way for you to stay ahead of the evaluation of talent management.