Aaron Kinne
5 min read
The way we work is changing for the better – shifting toward networks of fast-moving teams, high collaboration, and continuous feedback. Shouldn’t the way we manage performance and develop careers evolve too?
After all, even the most traditional organizations and industries are moving away from the annual review to a continuous performance management process that unfolds in the flow of work.
Because the debate isn’t really about whether traditional, isolated annual reviews are ineffective – they are. It’s about how you replace or supplement them, and with what.
Continuous performance management is a modern, human-centered approach to promoting, evaluating, and improving employee performance. It enables your organization to create a trusted environment in which employees feel empowered to take control of their own development.
In a culture of true continuous performance management, employees support each other with a wide range of real-time performance feedback – celebratory, instructive, and constructive.
Work cultures that embrace continuous performance feedback:
Continuous performance management is about growth and development. It’s about creating a culture where people are comfortable giving feedback up, down, and across an organization.
And it’s about helping employees – and organizations – realize their full promise and potential.
An effective performance management strategy begins with a foundation of trust and gratitude, generated through a strategic, comprehensive employee recognition program.
See also: What are Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs)?
Positivity is the baseline on which growth happens. It becomes the protective foundation in which constructive feedback becomes a welcomed learning opportunity.
When this happens, trust increases, and employees feel safe giving and receiving feedback from their colleagues or manager. In such a culture, they even seek it out.
Check-ins with managers become positive experiences rather than events that engender anxiety and stress.
Many world-class organizations define and shape a culture of feedback – and accelerate performance and growth – with a flexible software solution such as Conversations, part of Workhuman® Cloud.
Such a solution boosts the effectiveness of an organization’s continuous performance management strategy with vital key features such as:
The research proves it again and again. Creating a broad culture of peer coaching and feedback – one that lets every employee support, mentor, and reward one another – has a direct and measurable impact on your organization’s bottom line.
Research shows that alignment between the employee and the organization improves overall productivity. According to Gallup, organizations see productivity gains of 5-10% when employees are clear on what is expected of them.
The research further shows that continuous performance management demonstrably boosts employee engagement. And engagement leads directly to improvements to the top and bottom lines, such as increased productivity, customer loyalty, sales, and profits.
In a recent study, Brandon Hall found that in organizations where managers are effective at coaching, employee engagement nearly doubled. And employees who strongly agree that they can link their goals to the organization’s goals are 3.5x more likely to be engaged.
And then, of course, there’s the matter of employee turnover. A Korn Ferry study estimates the cost of replacing an employee is between 50 and 150% of salary. For specialist, senior, and executive positions, the cost per employee rises to up to 213% of salary.
That same Brandon Hall study found companies that embrace a culture of feedback and coaching realize a dramatic improvement in employee retention rates.
For instance, at companies where managers discuss growth opportunities with employees, 41% saw an increase in employee retention – versus just 18% in companies where managers fail to have that discussion.
And as we noted earlier, companies with regular feedback have a 14.9% lower turnover risk.
Here are some real-life success stories world-class companies have realized, thanks to their strategic continuous performance management programs:
First Tech Federal Credit Union – Employees were looking for more clarity and communication on performance.
And the leadership team wanted a solution that would help transition away from the annual review, empowering employees to adapt and update priorities as the goals of the business changed – all while reinforcing a culture of shared accountability.
This case study explores how First Tech partnered with Workhuman to implement a human application solution that enhances communication and engagement, while creating deeper connections to company values and business goals.
Qlik – Employees felt the current annual review process was a “tick in the box,” solely to support pay and merit decisions.
The company was looking for an approach to performance management that offered more frequent, authentic conversations that are two-way, not top-down, and integrated crowdsourced feedback.
This case study explores how Qlik worked with Workhuman to undergo a complete performance management transformation and realign its people process to the pace of business.
In my current role at Workhuman, I meet weekly with my manager, Dan Miller, director of content marketing. Rather than being fraught with anxiety, it’s a relaxed and productive get-together.
We discuss the projects we’re each working on and use the time to share successes and concerns and discuss priorities. And because we meet so frequently, there are never any surprises.
Along with his own observations, Dan has insight into my performance because he can see the recognition and feedback from my peers – the people who work with me, day in and day out.
Best of all, the key points of our meetings are captured in Conversations – along with feedback from my peers.
Oh, and if Dan and I miss a meeting, Conversations gently pings us. That’s how true continuous performance management happens. Doesn’t that sound better than an annual review?
Discover how you can bring the power of continuous performance management to your organization.
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