When we talk to HR professionals, they consistently tell us that they want to adopt a culture of continuous performance conversations, but they are concerned about making the change and are unsure about how to make it work in practice. Experience has shown us that it is possible to successfully replace appraisals with an ongoing, year-round process that is easier and more fulfilling for both manager and staff. However, we can’t ignore the fact that some organisations have tried to embed regular performance conversations and failed to get traction.
In this eBook, I’ll be unpacking the reasons why and giving practical advice on how to get it right. Having regular performance discussions is actually far from a new concept. For those of us in HR, how many times have we said to our managers “there should be no surprises in the annual review – nothing should come up that hasn’t already been discussed”.
Yet during my time spent working as a performance management consultant, my colleagues and I consistently came across the problem of managers not discussing performance on a regular basis. So why not?
The stock answer to this is that managers lack the skills and confidence to have quality performance conversations – and in many cases this is true, so it’s essential that we provide the necessary training and guidance. But what we have learned from working with numerous organisations is that there are other factors in play which are frequently being overlooked.
In essence, there are three things (in addition to providing training) that are required to embed a culture of regular, meaningful conversations and feedback:
1. A performance management framework that empowers managers
2. Having the right technology
3. Having the necessary visibility and accountability
In this guide I will address these points and provide some examples which, when put into practice, can result in successful performance improvement that can transform a company’s productivity.