Exclusive Interview with Dale S. Rose, President, 3D Group
Performance Management Has Become A Meaningless Checkbox Exercise
Posted on 02-17-2021, Read Time: 5 Min
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“Performance management can be fixed by making the process useful for employees, supervisors, and leadership. The most important missing component from performance management systems is valid observations from co-workers, not just a person’s immediate supervisor,” says 3D Group’s President Dale S. Rose Ph.D. in an exclusive interaction with HR.com. |
Dr. Rose co-founded 3D Group in 1994 in Chicago, Illinois. He is an expert in leadership development and organizational effectiveness and has authored over a dozen commercial assessments for identifying and developing talent. As an advisor to senior leaders for over 20 years, Dale S. Rose brings deep expertise in organizational and individual effectiveness to his coaching. Dale works primarily with C-suite leaders and boards of directors. He has extensive experience working with leaders navigating role transitions.
Excerpts from the interview:
Is hybrid working the future of the workplace? What kind of a workplace model are you considering for your organization?
Dale: We are social animals and will continue needing in-person interaction with coworkers. However, there is no denying corporate real estate is changed for the long term. The proof of concept for remote work has been achieved and results in terms of efficiency and performance justify the change. But the devil is in the details. Companies will be sorting out optimal hybrid models for their workforce for 2 or 3 years. Some firms will find having the option of working in an office is a perk – you don’t have to work in your kitchen! We have free coffee and snacks! There are people to share lunch with who are not your family!How do you see the impact of the pandemic on performance measurement and management, especially with the majority of employees working remotely?
Dale: Whether work is remote or in person, performance does not change – the results are the results. Performance management is about measuring employee performance to support several decisions: 1) identifying needed improvement and development, 2) allocate pay, and 3) documenting the need for staffing changes. None of these purposes will change in a remote world.Do you think investing in employee wellbeing can lead to higher performance and productivity?
Dale: Many people assume happy employees work harder. The data is clear that employee satisfaction predicts about 2% of the variance in employee performance (that is VERY small). Likewise, I see no direct link between performance and wellbeing programs. It is likely wellbeing programs correlate with employee satisfaction which links to retention, but I suspect that link is weak. Employee wellbeing is a great investment to enhance a company’s employment brand and it’s a great benefit for employees to enjoy, but the link to productivity is likely more imagined than real.If you are responsible for transforming your performance management system, what will it include?
Dale: Performance Management has become a meaningless checkbox exercise, and in response, a small handful of companies have tried to eliminate them. Performance management can be fixed by making the process useful for employees, supervisors, and leadership. The most important missing component from performance management systems is valid observations from co-workers, not just a person’s immediate supervisor. Most PM systems also do not provide valuable insights to employees about what they can do to improve. Anyone wanting to improve their PM process should include 1) a 360 Feedback component 2) training for supervisors on how to give useful feedback, and 3) training and accountability for supervisors to have authentic conversations with all of their direct reports about their performance.What, in your opinion, are the top skills needed in 2021 and beyond?
Dale: Interpersonal skills are more important than ever before, and remote work makes it even more difficult to interact effectively with co-workers. Much of the workforce upskilled their digital literacy in 2020 by adopting remote work collaboration technology, but that does not mean they are collaborating better. While the workforce is likely adequately using these technologies, they are not yet excelling at collaborating with peers in a remote environment.As the way we work shifts, employees’ prior strengths may become liabilities, so it is important to monitor behaviors over time and under different circumstances, particularly in an age of workforce transformation. Someone who excelled at building relationships through water cooler chit-chat will need to find new methods in their completely virtual workgroup. Likewise, the individual who struggled socially and was overlooked as seemingly too awkward may begin to shine in a remote working environment.
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