Mind the Gap….. In Performance Optimisation
No, this isn’t about the London Underground but about the perception gap between how Senior Executives view and experience their Company’s performance optimisation and that of it’s employees.
Betterworks 2024 Global HR Report surveyed 2,105 respondents and found:
Why is there a gap? Performance Optimisation is a marketeer’s dream, it undergoes rebranding every so often, be it agile performance management, performance enablement or performance development. When a new name doesn’t solve the problem, we start looking at what we are trying to manage e.g. is it past performance, future potential, skills or outcomes. Then finally we play with measurement from a numbered scale (is 3, 4 or 5 the right number!) to different words to describe performance. Every change seems to be an attempt at making it more palatable to employees who are unhappy with being put in a so-called box with no discernible outcomes that help them development.
But there is a simple truth to performance processes:
Improved employee performance = increased productivity and increased employee engagement
Performance doesn’t improve because of a brand, the best HR system or changing how it is measured but through meaningful feedback, support, opportunities to develop and goal alignment. Don’t get me wrong, I am not deriding branding your performance management process as it can provide strong alignment with your Company’s goals, mission and vision. And there is no doubt that a good HR system can help keep everything on track and provide a central place to retain documents. But performance optimisation can be likened to building a house where the foundations need to be in place before you can do the window dressing.
So how do you lay strong foundations and avoid the gap?
1. Build a high performance culture – organisations with such a culture are those where employees are aligned to the goals and values of the organisation leading to high productivity and high levels of engagement. Embedding this as one of your core goals will ensure it has the focus and measurement it deserves
2. Equip your Managers - Improving performance relies 100% on the competency of your Managers to give constructive feedback and develop and grow their people. Provide mandatory training to all Managers be they new to the role or new to the organisation.
3. Hold regular 1:1s – these conversations are about more than giving feedback. Regular 1:1’s allow Managers to build a connection and relationship with the employee so that when it comes to giving feedback, the Manager understands the best way to communicate it
4. Provide meaningful feedback – in order to be impactful feedback should be:
· Timely – so it is top of mind and relevant
· Specific – in order to instil behaviour change
· Actionable – solutions focussed so performance improves
5. Manager as Coach - the Manager who takes a coaching approach to providing feedback and developing employees asks questions instead of providing answers. This promotes self-awareness in the employee, ultimately leading to them taking greater accountability for improvement and growth
6. Career Growth - providing opportunities for growth leads to increased employee motivation and engagement, which is also beneficial for performance. Smaller organisations should think outside the box where formal promotion isn’t an option and consider lateral moves into new or different roles, shadowing more senior roles or perhaps project roles giving insight into different functions.
Want to find out more?
Amelore can work with you to find the best ways to help your business transform people performance, culture and team cohesion. Just get in touch with us here.