Performance Management Steps That Are Often Overlooked

Performance management is not just about the numbers or performance appraisals. We like to think that adopting the newest techniques in employee management will equate to the best team. While you should explore trends and continue providing and soliciting continuous feedback from your workforce, there are many pieces to this employee performance puzzle that go unnoticed. Have you forgotten these steps?

Periodic Internal Assessments

If there is one statement that is true for just about every arm of a business, it is that doing what you’ve always done will get you the same results. And if not the same results, ones that are far worse. The old performance management process probably won’t work for today’s workforce and don’t be surprised when today’s brand new system is tomorrow’s hinderance. It’s exhausting, but it is so important to your employees’ productivity.

Speak with organization experts. (Hint: Your employees.) Periodically send surveys that gather the reactions and perceived effectiveness of current performance techniques. Keep them anonymous so employees feel comfortable being honest. Adjust the questions with the implementation of new performance strategies so each survey accurately represents the latest process.

Align Deliverables to Overall Goals

It doesn’t matter what role you play within an organization, you, your department and your boss is busy. Every day in the office is spent balancing tasks and deadlines which usually results in a more checklist attitude. While it’s great to work on checking another box off the to-do list, it’s important to find a balance between following the daily deliverables and seeing the bigger picture.

When you align an individual’s work to the greater departmental or organizational goal, the importance of that goal is magnified. That instills a feeling of importance and encourages the employee to do their best and hit their deadline.

Learn More: Annual performance reviews are tools, not the goal.

Personalization

Business is busy. That said, you can’t cut corners when it comes to management. People performance is directly linked to how people are managed and in order to get the best of one, you have to give the best of the other.

Take time to identify the unique culture of the organization and how that approach to work translates to employee performance processes. Some teams might be made up of trailblazers who are far more likely to take initiative with new processes, while other teams might be more inclined to reach out to management when adversity arises. Neither is wrong, but both require different styles of leadership.

Actual Appreciation

So this may not be groundbreaking, but perks are often overlooked when it comes to instilling a culture of recognition. When we hear appreciation, we often relate that back to employee benefits. While those are important to the performance of an employee, they aren’t the only forms of appreciation. It doesn’t always take massive additional funds to appeal to an employee’s productivity. Stop think expensive perks and start thinking simple thank-yous. Providing luncheons, or company merchandise can refresh employee happiness and productivity without breaking the bank.

If you think your organization is great at this, you might be in for a surprise: 56% of senior managers believe their companies are above average at showing appreciation, which contrasts with the 23% of employees who believe the same.

Want the facts to keep on coming? Check out these 5 ways to learn more about performance management!

One of the best ways to prevent overlooking obvious and important employee performance steps is to implement a performance management tool that suits your team. Trakstar keeps the everyday performance tasks on track so nothing is left on the back burner. If you’re interested in hearing how we do it or how we can help your organization, drop us an email and we’ll let you in on our secrets!