Work is no longer a place, it’s a process.
With this in mind, how do organisations continue to engage with, and track the performance of, their employees?
Continuous Performance Management (CPM) needs to be done continually through the year as opposed to a once-off review process.
If a manager is discussing an employee’s productivity of a particular performance period (usually monthly or quarterly) there is no confusion or disagreement when it comes to accountability and delivery.
Through regular management engagement where employees are encouraged to share personal and professional progress, learn from real-time feedback and celebrate achievement (big or small), a collaborative and learning environment is created.
Regular engagement forms a strong foundation to encourage conversations that are meaningful and productive.
Coaching-led conversations, focusing on active listening and powerful questioning, can be used to guide meaningful conversations which will:
- Enhance the employee experience
- Build company loyalty
- Turn one-way dialogue into conversation
- Increase employee retention
Whether your team works remotely or has a hybrid set-up, this mindset shift can help to motivate team members because there is a focus on common goals linked to business initiatives.
Performance review practices have recently come under scrutiny. Yearly, backwards-looking appraisals work with outdated information which are then used to make decisions about compensation, bonus or career progress.
What are the benefits of Continuous Performance Management?
Continuous performance management, works with up-to-date information, through regular check-ins (bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly), which has the following benefits:
- Client or business demands are met in the moment
- Alignment of organisational strategy with individual and/or team goals
- Real-time action used to:
- Track progress
- Collaborate
- Benchmark performance
- Timely recognition for great performance
- Healthier and more effective work relationships
- Feedback happens often leading to more trusting and authentic relationships
- Employees are connected, empowered and take ownership
What’s holding organisations back?
According to research done by Clear Review (clearreview.com): “We discovered 60% of our participants were holding back from continuous reviews because they were worried about encouraging managers to have more meaningful conversations. This is an understandable concern — the last thing you want is to have more meaningless meetings wasting time in your organisation. This is why we recommend giving managers appropriate training and guidance, so they know how to conduct one-on-ones effectively. Managers can also be given a one-on-one meeting template to ensure a productive coaching and feedback session.”
In summary, key concerns include:
- Manager development to have more meaningful and tough conversations
- Visibility
- Performance related pay
- Senior buy-in
- Lack of technology
Continuous Performance Management and Goal Setting
Effective goal setting forms a vital part of a high-performance culture where ambition can be harnessed, a sense of purpose is created and there is clarity and focus for everyone involved.
Leaders and managers must be both agile and flexible in order to yield the greatest performance from their teams. They must be able to see what is happening in the moment and adjust accordingly.
Agility and flexibility can be achieved through regular check-ins where there is honest communication, real-time feedback and collaborative goal-setting linked to business initiatives. Check-ins need to be clear, focused and time-bound in order to avoid lengthy meaningless meetings.
When in doubt, remember these 3 points and you’ll be on your way!
- Communicate
- Collaborate
- Coach
If leaders can aim to regularly do the above, they should see:
- Increased engagement
- Increase in work quality
- Increase in business outcomes
