The infamous annual review is now attached to studies of disengaged workers, decreased morale and failure to have any effect on business goals. Performance management is undergoing huge changes and if employers want to grab hold of the reigns before they’re left without a worthy workforce, they’ll pay attention to how performance management is changing and why.
Blended Workforce
This is a working world. The job market is up and we’re at a point where we have four different generations working under the same roof. What this means from a performance management standpoint is that there is a dire need for performance review processes to have some flexibility and versatility in order to satisfy and reach workers with different backgrounds and expectations. Despite all the differences among them, here are some things that ARE consistent:
- There is a trend towards self-improvement. Did you know 1 in 5 Americans own a wearable device? And research suggests that these kind of individuals perform better in their careers. From wellness to attendance, HR pros are trying to find ways to incorporate these devices into the workday.
- The workforce desires regular communication with their superiors and consistent communication leads to higher engagement. According to a recent Gallup study, 54% of surveyed employees with managers who are open and approachable are more engaged. We’ve always talked about feedback loops, but when done correctly, they are incredibly effective. Today’s “always on” feedback mentality has been deemed “microfeedback.” ™
- Employees demand transparency. In fact, 96% of job seekers say it’s important to work for a company that embraces transparency. And with transparency comes control. Employees want more control over how they receive information and what they can do with it. While it may be scary to implement transparency, it’s not actually difficult.
Just these three trends tell us that the workforce wants to be accountable, in control and employers aren’t really in the position to argue with that if they want to attract and retain high performers.
What's Changing in Performance Management
As we start to see companies phase out annual-only performance reviews, new and innovative solutions are popping up left and right. But which ones actually work? That depends on the company, but here are some facts that are driving some of today’s biggest innovations and they’re all centered around communication:
- Engagement: According to the 2015 Mobile Trends in the Workplace study, 68% of Millennial and Generation X workers feel the frequency of communication from their employer directly impacts their job satisfaction. Employees who regularly communicate with their managers are 3 times more engaged than those who don’t.
- Support: A recent Trinet survey revealed that 85% of Millennials would feel more confident in their current position if they were able to have more frequent performance conversations with their manager. Additionally, employees who feel their managers are aware of their strengths are more engaged in their work.
- Direction: HBR recently did a study on self-awareness and found a gap between employees’ perceptions of their own self-awareness and the reality of their self-awareness, begging the question, how do we bridge this gap? With continuous feedback, employees are constantly evaluating their strengths and weaknesses with the help of constructive feedback from their managers. This creates a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
What Can You Do Now
Bill Gates innovated performance management when he invented DRIs (Directly Responsible Individual), which does wonders for employee engagement and accountability. And though we can take his lead by using his methodology, we aren’t all geniuses with our own groundbreaking performance management practices. What we do have is a world of technological innovators with the kind of tools that can help us get better at providing the right kind of feedback at the right time to ignite change in employee performance. Continuous feedback solutions, help keep managers accountable, organized and on-the-ball when it comes to performance feedback. And what’s more is that if you do your homework right, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Don’t wait until the world has turned to start improving how you manage performance. There are too many resources out there yelling at you to get a new process. Listen to them.
Bio: Michael Heller
Michael Heller has 20+ years of experience in strategic human resources, talent management and technology consulting. As an HR executive at Washington Consulting, Digital Management and Deltek, Michael led teams to develop innovative human capital management programs and initiatives. Previously, Michael held a variety of positions at American Management Systems and Booz Allen Hamilton where he executed on talent acquisition, total rewards, performance management, strategic HR partnership and philanthropy strategies.
Michael serves the community as a board member of Teardrops to Rainbows, an organization dedicated to supporting families of children with cancer. Michael has a Masters degree in Human Resources from Georgetown University and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Connecticut. Michael resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland with his wife and daughter and enjoys cooking and college basketball.
