\u201cEnabling Performance in the Flow of Work.\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nPerformance management in the flow of work drives better outcomes because it improves employee performance, \u201cwhich will, in turn, make them feel better about their jobs and their lives and their careers and your company,\u201d Bersin said.<\/p>\n
Check out these highlights from the webinar to learn about Bersin\u2019s ideas for enabling performance in the flow of work.<\/p>\n
Set Clear, Relevant, and Achievable Goals<\/h2>\n
Effective performance management in the flow of work starts with constructive goal setting.<\/p>\n
First, make sure that everyone\u2019s goals are visible to the rest of their team, Bersin said. Seeing everyone\u2019s goals \u201cgives you the insight to work with them in a way that both of you can achieve your goals, and you both understand what you’re responsible for.\u201d <\/p>\n
Employee goals should be relevant and achievable. \u201cHaving more frequently updated goals, making sure they\u2019re relevant to the job \u2026 and having discussions about them on a regular basis is really what makes a big difference,\u201d Bersin said. Employees will start to recognize when they\u2019re achieving their goals in their daily work, which can help them get more out of the performance management process.<\/p>\n
Emphasize Long-Term Learning Over Short-Term Results<\/h2>\n
Leaders must talk about their performance philosophy and what that looks like in practice. For example, many companies have shifted to prioritizing future-oriented learning over micromanaging performance results.<\/p>\n
Many companies today believe \u201cperformance management is about performance enablement,\u201d Bersin said. \u201cIt\u2019s about coaching. It\u2019s about development. It’s not about rigid stacked-ranking evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n
In practice, that can be hard to achieve. Managers need to know what is expected of them in the development planning process.<\/p>\n
Of course, not all managers were selected to manage because of their leadership and development skills. \u201cMany managers are not career development people,\u201d Bersin said. \u201cThey are functional managers who know how to do the job really well: they\u2019re not career gurus.\u201d To take the pressure off managers and assist employees with career development, some companies are adding career advisors or managers, Bersin said.<\/p>\n
Empower Managers to Practice Timely Feedback<\/h2>\n
One of the keys to enabling performance is offering feedback in the flow of work. Companies with a feedback culture consistently outperform companies that don\u2019t encourage and offer feedback, Bersin said. And with good reason: \u201cYou get constant alignment and feedback from your manager, so you don’t feel like you’re drifting,\u201d Bersin said.<\/p>\n
More frequent feedback is better, Bersin said. Consider having managers be available to employees for quick 5- to 10-minute one-on-one conversations as the need arises. An alternative, especially in organizations where managers have a lot on their plates, is to rely on scheduled check-ins. Set standards for manager-employee check-ins but allow for customization, especially within business units, Bersin said.<\/p>\n
Integrating performance management with other daily tools, as Betterworks does, can make it easier for managers to record data from check-ins in real time.<\/p>\n
Support Flexible Check-In Cadences<\/h2>\n
The integration of performance management check-ins into the flow of work takes different forms across organizational levels, as well. \u201cWhat you need to think about, as a designer of performance management,\u201d Bersin said, \u201cis you\u2019re going to have a different cadence of review for different purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the operating level, you\u2019ll have ongoing check-ins, but at the management level, these may only occur monthly or quarterly, Bersin said. Meanwhile, check-ins at the senior level might only occur once a year.<\/p>\n
Differentiate Employees Fairly and Transparently<\/h2>\n
A functional performance management system must include formal performance targets. But the way we view performance appraisals and manage performance targets has evolved.<\/p>\n
First, it\u2019s important to realize that there\u2019s no bell curve. There are a small number of people who do exponentially more work than everyone else \u2014 these are hyper-performers, and they fall into a power curve<\/span>, not a bell curve, Bersin said. You want to shift people to the right with the hyper-performers, Bersin continued, not force them to the middle.<\/p>\nBersin has experimented with differentiation models over the years. In one instance, employees received feedback from their project teams after each step as they progressed toward a larger goal. Performance data was aggregated over the course of a year to show progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found a lot of differentiation between people evaluated by their teams,\u201d Bersin said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t force you into some model that applied to everybody at your level. It gave you the sense that, as an individual, whatever you could do to improve your performance would be rewarded at any point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Provide a Simple, Straightforward Process<\/h2>\n
Managers need performance-tracking processes and tools that are accessible in the flow of work. Among companies responding most quickly to the pandemic, simplifying performance management was a big part of their success. In practice, that shift can be a big challenge. \u201cMaking something easy is very difficult,\u201d Bersin said.<\/p>\n
How can companies succeed with simplified performance management?<\/p>\n
Start by integrating it into daily work. People are using the tools and platforms that help them get their work done, Bersin said. \u201cThey don\u2019t<\/span> spend all day in their performance management system.\u201d Betterworks, for example, has shifted to plug-ins to help with alignment in the daily flow of work. Instead of logging into a separate HR technology system, managers can input data right from their daily tools, like Microsoft Teams or Slack.<\/p>\nOffer Clear Options for Growth Opportunities<\/h2>\n
One of the most important components of performance enablement is finding avenues for development. As employees hit their performance targets, you have to facilitate their continued growth at the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, career management and development is about understanding somebody\u2019s strengths, capabilities, and desires \u2014 and then giving them access to opportunities,\u201d Bersin said. Employees need resources to find those opportunities within the business. This used to happen via structured career paths, Bersin said. Today, there are additional options, such as talent marketplaces, open agile structures, and lateral career-pathing tools.<\/p>\n
Connect Performance Management With Daily Work<\/h2>\n
Help managers and employees understand why performance management is so important \u2014 notably, the benefits it can generate for them. \u201cThis should be something that they want to use because it helps them do their jobs better,\u201d Bersin said. \u201cAnd I know that isn’t easy, but that’s really what performance management in the flow of work is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch the full webinar<\/a><\/span>, as Josh Bersin shares how recent innovations in workforce performance technologies are enabling exceptional individual and organizational performance.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n