Key Performance Management trends for 2017
While it’s a little too early to wrap 2016 , we could safely say that it has been a year of reckoning as far as performance management systems within organisations go.
Nearly half of the Fortune 500 firms are reported to have moved away from traditional annual performance review and forced distribution approaches – as they have come to view them as being too restrictive and outdated, and have instead made the switch to find newer ways that deliver better performance data and metrics, enable clear and candid two-way discussions and work better in driving employee engagement.
This trend has now spanned geographies and industries, with many organisations following suit, and it is very likely that over the next few years, performance management tools and systems as we know them, will altogether cease to exist.
By the turn of the decade, organisations will have embraced performance cultures that emphasise on frequent feedback and increased manager-employee dialogue and participation. Conversations within the process will be more future-centric and greatly emphasise on transparency and visibility. Further, increased technology integration and used of mobile based apps will enable clarity on performance measures and outcomes, and offer greater data malleability.
Here, we review some of the key shifts in performance management practices that 2017 will herald:
1. Regular check-ins
Many companies will have abandoned annual performance reviews in favour of more frequent and informal “check-ins”. Managers will engage in regular check-ins to initiate feedback conversations as well as plan towards future tasks. They will increasingly explore “what they would do” with their teams in the coming weeks, as against ponder excessively over “what their teams have not achieved” over the past quarter.
Employees will find greater opportunity to use the constructive feedback generated from these check-ins and stay focused on improving day to day performance delivery.
2. Increased flexibility
With the annual performance appraisal cycles gone, HR will minimise its execution based role, and enable different parts of the organisation to determine the time and frequency with which they should hold the check-in conversations. These will help managers to align feedback and review discussions to their team work cycles, making feedback more specific, relevant and useful to employees.
3. Employees will enjoy greater control
Check-ins are designed to be more effective when managed as an employee led process. This means that employees will enjoy greater control, and can managing the frequency of check-in sessions and take the lead in initiating timely discussions with their managers.
With weekly or bi-monthly check-ins, employees will find increased access to information on near-term work priorities and can avoid surprises at the end of the year. They will also find greater opportunities to seek guidance and coaching, and stay focused on future performance needs.
4. Performance enablement apps
In addition to launching the check-in sessions to discuss near-term goals, many organisations will adopt online and mobile based apps to capture, record and share performance feedback.
The use of custom or generic apps, will drive greater visibility on performance goals and help to capture useful information and feedback on progress from peers and managers.
5. Focus on achievements and learnings
The tone and tenor of performance feedback sessions will also likely shift. With frequent review conversations, managers will get to share not just feedback on things that need to be different / change, but will also feel encouraged to focus on the ‘here, now and forward’.
Annual performance review discussions will be managed with a strong emphasis on performance development, and conducted within a supportive framework that encourages reflections on achievements and learnings as against rating and rankings.
6. Trust and shared vision
With frequent feedback and conversations anchored on development, organisations will incorporate trust and openness as core elements of their performance culture. This will mean that performance outcomes will be viewed as a shared idea, that managers, employees and peers have all bought into together, and something that they work towards enabling everyday.
The role of Human Resources
With such sweeping changes in the performance management arena, it is reckoned that HR functions will take on a far more strategic responsibility, and transcend way further from playing merely an administrative or facilitating role.
We also foresee a series of changes in thought and direction, and HR leaders will need to work on these cues to drive greater capability within the function. Some of the key areas for action will include:
1. Align closer with business
Across businesses, HR will assume the role of a performance enabler, and will increase their partnership with leaders to determine performance measures and outcomes. They will also work harder to coach and educate managers on the performance culture transition.
2. Increased emphasis on culture building
The HR function has for long been preoccupied with tasks of activating, executing and monitoring performance management cycles. These will now be replaced with broadbased efforts around planning and support for performance culture building. They will sponsor business efforts to ensure frequent check-ins, improve the quality of performance dialogues within work teams, and reward and recognise managers who enable positive and enabling environments.
3. Greater technology integration
With a shift to proactive and round-the-clock feedback systems, HR leaders will increasingly invest in sourcing / creating custom technology tools that can be hosted within cloud based environments. These will greatly reduce administrative time and hassles, and drive efficient management of the process.
Enabling online and mobile based apps will ensure robust performance data and metrics that can be captured with speed, accuracy and transparency. With features that enable round the clock, 360 degree and instance driven feedback, the apps will ensure employees feel protected from biases, gain instant learnings and work harder on reinforcing desired performance behaviours.
Broadly, organisations of the future will embrace a high perfomance culture that is anchored around people, development focus, and dialogue and open communication. HR leaders will take the lead in interpreting this shift, and indentify and deliver the right tools to ensure conducive performance situations within their organisations.
Key Performance Management trends for 2017
While it’s a little too early to wrap 2016 , we could safely say that it has been a year of reckoning as far as performance management systems within organisations go.
Nearly half of the Fortune 500 firms are reported to have moved away from traditional annual performance review and forced distribution approaches – as they have come to view them as being too restrictive and outdated, and have instead made the switch to find newer ways that deliver better performance data and metrics, enable clear and candid two-way discussions and work better in driving employee engagement.
This trend has now spanned geographies and industries, with many organisations following suit, and it is very likely that over the next few years, performance management tools and systems as we know them, will altogether cease to exist.
By the turn of the decade, organisations will have embraced performance cultures that emphasise on frequent feedback and increased manager-employee dialogue and participation. Conversations within the process will be more future-centric and greatly emphasise on transparency and visibility. Further, increased technology integration and used of mobile based apps will enable clarity on performance measures and outcomes, and offer greater data malleability.
Here, we review some of the key shifts in performance management practices that 2017 will herald:
1. Regular check-ins
Many companies will have abandoned annual performance reviews in favour of more frequent and informal “check-ins”. Managers will engage in regular check-ins to initiate feedback conversations as well as plan towards future tasks. They will increasingly explore “what they would do” with their teams in the coming weeks, as against ponder excessively over “what their teams have not achieved” over the past quarter.
Employees will find greater opportunity to use the constructive feedback generated from these check-ins and stay focused on improving day to day performance delivery.
2. Increased flexibility
With the annual performance appraisal cycles gone, HR will minimise its execution based role, and enable different parts of the organisation to determine the time and frequency with which they should hold the check-in conversations. These will help managers to align feedback and review discussions to their team work cycles, making feedback more specific, relevant and useful to employees.
3. Employees will enjoy greater control
Check-ins are designed to be more effective when managed as an employee led process. This means that employees will enjoy greater control, and can managing the frequency of check-in sessions and take the lead in initiating timely discussions with their managers.
With weekly or bi-monthly check-ins, employees will find increased access to information on near-term work priorities and can avoid surprises at the end of the year. They will also find greater opportunities to seek guidance and coaching, and stay focused on future performance needs.
4. Performance enablement apps
In addition to launching the check-in sessions to discuss near-term goals, many organisations will adopt online and mobile based apps to capture, record and share performance feedback.
The use of custom or generic apps, will drive greater visibility on performance goals and help to capture useful information and feedback on progress from peers and managers.
5. Focus on achievements and learnings
The tone and tenor of performance feedback sessions will also likely shift. With frequent review conversations, managers will get to share not just feedback on things that need to be different / change, but will also feel encouraged to focus on the ‘here, now and forward’.
Annual performance review discussions will be managed with a strong emphasis on performance development, and conducted within a supportive framework that encourages reflections on achievements and learnings as against rating and rankings.
6. Trust and shared vision
With frequent feedback and conversations anchored on development, organisations will incorporate trust and openness as core elements of their performance culture. This will mean that performance outcomes will be viewed as a shared idea, that managers, employees and peers have all bought into together, and something that they work towards enabling everyday.
The role of Human Resources
With such sweeping changes in the performance management arena, it is reckoned that HR functions will take on a far more strategic responsibility, and transcend way further from playing merely an administrative or facilitating role.
We also foresee a series of changes in thought and direction, and HR leaders will need to work on these cues to drive greater capability within the function. Some of the key areas for action will include:
1. Align closer with business
Across businesses, HR will assume the role of a performance enabler, and will increase their partnership with leaders to determine performance measures and outcomes. They will also work harder to coach and educate managers on the performance culture transition.
2. Increased emphasis on culture building
The HR function has for long been preoccupied with tasks of activating, executing and monitoring performance management cycles. These will now be replaced with broadbased efforts around planning and support for performance culture building. They will sponsor business efforts to ensure frequent check-ins, improve the quality of performance dialogues within work teams, and reward and recognise managers who enable positive and enabling environments.
3. Greater technology integration
With a shift to proactive and round-the-clock feedback systems, HR leaders will increasingly invest in sourcing / creating custom technology tools that can be hosted within cloud based environments. These will greatly reduce administrative time and hassles, and drive efficient management of the process.
Enabling online and mobile based apps will ensure robust performance data and metrics that can be captured with speed, accuracy and transparency. With features that enable round the clock, 360 degree and instance driven feedback, the apps will ensure employees feel protected from biases, gain instant learnings and work harder on reinforcing desired performance behaviours.
Broadly, organisations of the future will embrace a high perfomance culture that is anchored around people, development focus, and dialogue and open communication. HR leaders will take the lead in interpreting this shift, and indentify and deliver the right tools to ensure conducive performance situations within their organisations.
