Is performance management a business driver, or a year-end HR nightmare? It should be the former, but oftentimes it ends up the latter. Ugh. Is it really THAT time of year again—already? ’Tis the season! You know the scenario well…
HR departments are on overdrive and overload: chasing down appraisals; advising managers to be more “PC” in their feedback; digging in their heels to literally rewrite passages that clearly aren’t fit to be included in a written review; coaching supervisors on the best way to deliver bad news; and nagging (ahem…encouraging) managers to stick to previously agreed upon review delivery timelines. Your normally cheerful and positive HR professional is now totally unavailable to meet with you, having no time free to perform any other meaningful HR work to support the business—at least until some date in February.
Some managers, with great intentions, are pouring inordinate amounts of valuable time into writing novelettes (literally) on their employees’ accomplishments, including way more information than they actually need to. Other managers are plotting ways to spend as little time as they can get away with and still check these onerous tasks off their already long year-end to-do lists. Some managers simply have poor written communication skills (which is an issue in and of itself), which makes this endeavor quite painful. Other managers have no idea how to approach the task because they’ve had battlefield promotions and/or no management training on the subject. Management skills and commitment vary wildly amongst those entrusted with deciding who has performed in an acceptable manner and met or exceeded expectations. And their managerial actions are all shaping the culture of your organization, influencing the perceptions of your employees, and affecting engagement.
The entire process builds and builds and finally culminates in the dreaded Annual Appraisal. This event is rarely celebrated; most wish it would just go away. Indeed, most everyone is nervous about how it will go. Very few employees or managers survive unscathed, and very few are actually happy, energized, and/or ready to approach a new performance year with verve. Afterwards, at home around the dinner table, employees remark about the generic, incomplete, unfair, or even disingenuous feedback they’ve received. More importantly, employees are left wondering what more they could have done to have their performance judged as “very good” and not just “good.”
How many times have we heard and personally uttered the mantra, “There should be no surprises”? Why, then, is there a significant uptick in employee complaints following the season of appraisals? Appraisals lead to performance ratings, which usually then drive compensation decisions. More inaccuracies. More unfairness. These are emotionally charged situations that employees take quite personally. HR is called in to settle various related disagreements, which puts the department on overload—again. And so it goes…
If any part of the previous scenario rings true, you might be thinking performance management is just another necessary evil—one that steals precious time from everyone and creates little, if any, good will, performance momentum, or results. Here’s where I grab you by the shoulders and shake you awake from the nightmare.
Say Good-Bye to Bad Dreams
Can it be better? You bet it can. But it takes an investment of time—and not in the writing of year-end performance appraisals! If your entire organization’s energy and focus is centered on a once-a-year-event, then you’ve already missed the boat.
It all starts with planning. That’s right! If you want great results, you need to plan for them. Yes, you can actually plan for performance; a performance plan with success criteria clearly stated is your greatest ally.
Clearly, we have a greater chance of achieving success with a plan than without. Few would argue against this phenomenon. We’ve all seen it in one way or another; if something is going to be measured, people will focus on it. Simply said: what gets measured, gets done. Why? Employees naturally associate “importance” with things that are measured. A basic principle of motivation is that people wish to feel that what they do matters and, therefore, is “important.” Your success lies partly in adroitly choosing what to focus on, and partly in the measures/metrics you will use to chart your intended progress. Of course, you must also rely on your management team—indeed your entire workforce—to put forward their very best efforts to deliver the desired results. But that is the subject of a future segment!
Get the Team Involved!
This brings us to the next topic: Whether/how you involve your workforce in performance planning. The answers to the following questions provide great insight into predicting your overall success:
- Have you shared your strategy and/or articulated a vision as to where you intend to take the business with all employees?
- Have you engaged your entire workforce to provide thoughts and possible ideas on how they can help achieve the results you desire?
- Does each and every one of your employees have performance goals, with success criteria stated that clarify “good” versus “superior” performance?
If employees don’t know the direction you are trying to take the company, or what results are needed to get you there, good luck in getting where you want to be. That’s like trying to turn the Titanic (and we all know how that effort turned out, LOL).
Some senior leaders involve only the management team, and then trust that this group will know what to do from there. Well, they don’t always. A lot depends on the management style, self-confidence, experience, and training of the manager. In cases where you have highly experienced, motivated, well-trained, confident, and enlightened managers, you can ordinarily expect solid results. Unfortunately, having a team of managers that fulfills all these criteria and all at the same time is highly unusual. These super-managers are a rare breed. Instituting a common, simple process for all managers to follow with their teams—one that applies to all regardless of experience or skill—increases your chances of success exponentially. Senior leaders must champion a process for every employee to actively participate in the goal-setting process and hold managers accountable to this practice. Only then will you get the best results possible. Leaving individual managers to their own devices creates inconsistency. Remember: what gets measured, gets done—including adherence to and discipline following a particular goal-setting process.
I cannot imagine not engaging the entire workforce in the effort to drive organization results. Why, then, is there even a moment’s hesitation to involve employees from the very beginning of the performance planning process? Every employee has something to contribute. That’s why they are there in the first place. It starts with ensuring employees feel important and that their input, ideas, and opinions are viewed as important as well. That single action has a powerful impact on engagement. You may choose to go it alone or trust your managers to do it all. But, you will never know what more could be accomplished or what greater results could be achieved until every single one of your assets is involved in this process.
Make Performance Goals Matter
Finally, a word regarding performance goals. Have you expressed interest in actually knowing (or seeing) what your employees’ goals are? You’d be surprised at what you will find. If goals actually do exist, more often than not they tend to be a to-do list filled with tasks too numerous to count and having little to no strategic significance. Additionally, there’s seldom a method for employees to prioritize these tasks effectively; it is as rare as a blue moon that statements or metrics are included that explain what constitutes good (or great) results. It’s sad, really. These endless task lists more closely resemble duties already documented in the employees’ job descriptions than special work critical to the success of the business. How boring, unfulfilling, and unmotivating can you get? This everyday “laundry list” is what you should be expecting in exchange for paying the employees’ salaries or hourly wages. It is not suitable for stretching, challenging, and driving superior performance. And, goals that are not tied to operating results are useless; they’ll get you nowhere fast. Focusing on the right things will more likely get you the right results. If you expect everyone’s time and attention focused on the highest priorities of the organization, every employee’s goals should be similarly shaped and prioritized. Bottom line: In order for you to get the best possible results, your employees need goals aligned with the strategic work of the organization. They must know how the work they do adds value, and they need to know how they can exceed your expectations.
Communicating strategic priorities with your workforce and engaging all employees in the goal-setting process may seem like an overwhelming, daunting endeavor. In reality, it can be a rather simple process and totally doable. And, it has been done. Numerous case studies exist that prove it has been done successfully by other companies that were once where you stand now. They started improving results by first creating a plan for performance and enabling all employees to participate at some level.
Your Key Takeaway:
Performance management shouldn’t be a nightmare or cause you to shudder and shake your head. Nor should it be a one-time event. It has the capacity to be a robust process with multiple important components and phases—and it needs to be managed accordingly.
Up Next from the HR Expert
The remaining four components of a successful performance management system—development, measuring/monitoring, rating, and rewards—will be covered in future segments of Been There, Fixed That: Diary of an HR Expert.