A recent Workscape survey with 690 respondents indicates, “that 66% of organizations admit an inability to realign employee goals to corporate goals as they change throughout the year. Nearly half of the surveyed organizations still wait until the annual performance appraisal event to define and adjust employee goals.” These results are reminiscent of surveys of the past.

I would have expected a response like this five years ago, but not today. For years, experts have told us to make performance management an ongoing process. Yet, results like the ones from this survey continue to surface. I am surprised.

Neglecting the performance management process can lead to misaligned goals, wasted effort, improper job placement and—frankly—loss of profit.

Performance management conversations must take place on a regular basis. When an employee is new to a position, an initial discussion takes place to set expectations and clarify how individual effort supports strategic business objectives. Once the employee has been introduced to the job, another performance discussion should take place to re-clarify expectations, set goals, answer questions, and give feedback about performance. In addition, the development plan can be created. The results of these meetings (performance expectations and the development plan) provide the framework against which a manager and employee can discuss progress. Feedback, both formal and informal,  should be given frequently, whether that is daily, weekly or monthly. The idea is to give feedback when it is needed.  Feedback from the employee is invaluable and allows the manager to keep "eyes and ears on the street" and adjust performance expectations when changing market conditions dictate.

I cannot envision how all this valuable communication and subsequently, learning, can take place during an annual or bi-annual session.

I am surprised by the results of this survey. Are you?

References:

WorldatWork. “Few American Companies Provide Ongoing Performance Feedback, Survey Finds.” Press release [www.worldatwork.org]. October 1, 2009.