The changing face of performance 'management'

In the recent past, the corporate world is beginning to experience a clear shift in emphasis from backward-looking evaluations to fact-based performance and development discussions, which are frequent and as-needed rather than annual events. This changing landscape is further corroborated by feedback from employees through multiple internal and external surveys. While the companies were looking at improving the performance management practices, COVID has pushed them closer in reimagining the way appraisals are conducted. The key takeaway is – the millennial generation (with one of their top priorities beings developmental opportunities) resonates most strongly with these shifting trends from performance evaluation to continuous feedback and career development.

These new performance management systems include certain key attributes such as dynamic objective setting and forward-looking, continuous feedback. These systems move away from the concept of a performance bell curve and a discrete rating scale, with the emphasis being on evaluating the value that an individual brings in the present and the future over and above performance and potential development discussions.

These systems aid the business and the HR teams to take informed and enhanced talent decisions with regards to promotions, skilling, mobility and retention risk. On-ground implementation also needs to take into account that tools created to enable the new system need to be dynamic, on – the –go, mobile enabled and most importantly – quick and easy to use. Managers will play a central role in the efficient execution, with the focus on agile, continuous, and focused developmental feedback. This would aid career and competence development of talent leading to improved individual and team performance.

However, it is not just about implementing a new model. It is about creating a fundamental behavioral and cultural shift across the organization to view evaluation from a developmental lens. And a pre-requisite for this shift would be the commitment of senior leadership. They need to be the flag bearers of this transition, and play a quintessential role in driving this transformation further and deeper into the organization.

For such fundamental changes to be successful, it will require ownership and commitment from each and every employee and not just the people involved in executing the change. For any organisation, this transformation is a stepping stone to building a high performing organization with an engaged workforce and empowered managers.