In response to growing dissatisfaction with performance management, several high-profile organizations, including Microsoft and Adobe, recently abandoned their formal performance appraisal systems. The replacements emphasize day-to-day communications and feedback.
Why the backlash against traditional performance management? Most workers, and organizations, are stuck in a performance management rut where bad habits prevail. While many may not be ready to dismiss the entire appraisal system, they can overcome these bad performance management habits with a few quick fixes.
Bad Habit #1: Treating performance management as separate from work.
Quick Fix: Change the meaning of performance management.
Most organizations view “performance management” as something that distracts from, and often happens outside of, “real work.” Therefore, managers and employees alike dread it because it feels like an administrative exercise rather than a driver of high performance. To overcome this mindset, all employees and managers need to shift their thinking about what performance management means and how it can deliver value.
One strategy to help organizations make this shift consists of presenting case studies about training a team that underperforms. As participants work through these cases, they often come up with dozens of strategies for how to address the team’s problems. The “aha” moment occurs when the facilitators show them how their solutions (providing more feedback, setting clearer expectations) are all proven approaches to day-to-day performance management.
Activities such as providing accurate performance ratings and rewards usually remain off of the solutions list as these have little impact on actual performance. Following this exercise, participants understand that effective performance management focuses on day-to-day communication and trust—not the administrative appraisal process. Hence, performance management is how work gets done and is not something that happens outside of work.
Bad Habit #2: Focusing on the wrong skills in training.
Quick Fix: Lay the foundation for effective performance management skills.
Traditional performance management training includes topics such as setting SMART objectives, using the organization’s performance management software, documenting performance in the appraisal form, and conducting mid- and end-of-year conversations. Therefore, “performance management training” often focuses on helping people navigate the formal administrative performance appraisal system, not on building better daily habits that will lead to high performance, such as open communication, candid feedback, and trust.
By concentrating on high-impact training instead of process, employees develop the following skills:
- Articulate the organization’s mission and how each employee’s work contributes.
- Provide clear expectations and work collaboratively to solve problems.
- Deliver honest, candid, and timely feedback; solicit feedback; and encourage feedback among team members.
- Create challenging experiences to develop new skills.
The impact of this tactic increases when managers and employees alike receive training. For example, training should provide tools and strategies for setting expectations and delivering feedback among peers. In addition, these skills will better transfer to the job if barriers are addressed head-on in class along with advice for overcoming them. Discussing the challenges and fears associated with providing honest feedback empowers employees to apply these new skills on the job.
Bad Habit #3: Learning stops when training ends.
Quick Fix: Weave new habits into the organization’s DNA.
If no follow-up occurs after the training ends, new skills quickly will fade and cynicism will rise about the organization’s ability to change. A key component of training requires providing employees with new language about how to set expectations and give feedback. In order to stick, these new behaviors must be incorporated into day-to-day activities.
Sustained learning includes providing job aids and tip sheets that employees can refer to when they are back on the job. For example, a checklist for setting effective expectations can be useful when launching a new task or project. A tool for diagnosing performance challenges can be helpful to a manager who needs to better understand the root causes of an employee’s underperformance.
Another approach is to have periodic refreshers in the form of “brown-bag” discussion groups. These groups bring together peers to discuss similar challenges and provide each other with feedback. Sample discussion topics could include:
- Helping employees navigate challenges associated with managing a heavy workload and prioritizing assignments when resources are constrained.
- Finding meaningful development opportunities through on-the-job experiences.
- Delivering tough feedback in the face of defensiveness and resistance.
Making new habits stick requires continuous evaluation and improvement. Performance management evaluation typically seeks to address questions such as: Were the appraisal forms submitted on time? Were the proper procedures followed? Are employees satisfied with available training? For a more meaningful evaluation, assess the impact of training on behavior change, not just compliance.
One approach to this suggests using simple surveys at the end of training to ask about employee and manager confidence to apply what they learned on the job. Additionally, ask managers and employees to indicate the extent to which they observe key behaviors on the job several months after training; for example, ask how often the manager:
- Communicates a clear vision and strategy for where the team is going.
- Makes sure employees understand what is expected and what defines success.
- Works collaboratively to help solve tough problems.
- Provides regular, informal, day-to-day feedback that helps employees perform better.
- Provides stretch assignments that allow employees to build skills, grow, and advance.
These results help identify where additional training and guidance are needed, and they can provide managers with important feedback about what they need to change.
Take Action
Enacting positive change does not require an overhaul of the performance management system. In the long term, it may be worth making more fundamental changes to streamline your system; however, there is no need to wait for these longer-term changes to happen. Take action today by kicking a few bad habits that hold back your organization.
Dr. Rose Mueller-Hanson is senior director of Leadership and Organizational Consulting at PDRI, a CEB company; she has written and presented extensively on the topic of performance management. Contact her at rose.hanson@pdri.com.
Dr. Elaine Pulakos is the president of PDRI, a CEB company; she has written and presented extensively on the topic of performance management. Contact her at elaine.pulakos@pdri.com.
