4 Ways to Improve Employee Morale with Performance Management Software

For many managers (and their employees), managing employee performance and boosting employee morale are mutually exclusive concepts. But what if the opposite were true? What if properly managing employee performance is actually one of the best ways to improve employee morale? If you’re not convinced, maybe you aren’t familiar with the ways performance management software can be your not-so-secret ace in the hole when it comes to improving employee morale.

Let’s take a closer look.

1. IT REDUCES STRESS — REALLY? YES, REALLY!

Performance management may have a bad reputation in the minds of employees because of how their reviews may have been conducted in the past. There aren’t many employees who enjoy having a quarterly, or yearly, performance review looming over their head for months on end with little or no communication in-between. It can add stress to their everyday life and make them feel unprepared for the appraisal itself.

This is why an ongoing communication model is so important. Instead of waiting months at a time to address issues or discuss personal goals an employee may have, these things are dealt with in real-time. Stress levels don’t build up like they had in the past, and both the manager and employee can focus on the things that matter.

Performance Management and 360-degree feedback software can help your team shift to a continuous communication model and maximize employee potential.

Tweet this: An ongoing communication model keeps stress levels down in your organization

2. IT INCREASES ENGAGEMENT LEVELS

If your employees aren’t engaged, the organization suffers from top to bottom. Unengaged employees waste potential and are less loyal to the company. So, how do you go about increasing engagement levels with performance management software?

For starters, in a recent survey of millennials, 51 percent of respondents expressed their desire for frequent, continual feedback. This goes right along with implementing an ongoing communication model, as mentioned previously. When implemented properly, a formal review process has been shown to increase employee performance by 25 percent and employee engagement by 35 percent. In addition, 43 percent of highly engaged employees are those receiving feedback on at least a weekly basis.

It’s important to note, however, that engaged employees want more than a paycheck—they want to feel valued. Take time to really listen to their ideas and empower them to achieve the goals they may have set for themselves (outside of those coming directly from management).

Tweet this: 51 percent of millennials want more frequent feedback from their managers

3. IT TURNS COMPENSATION INTO A REWARDING EXPERIENCE

In one of Reviewsnap’s popular whitepapers, “How Performance Reviews Can Boost Morale,” they discuss how a manager can directly influence employee morale by demonstrating real concern for their employees’ future success and earning potential.

Dashboards built into a performance management tool can help managers effectively communicate performance results and give suggestions for development and improvement to every employee. It’s not just the managers benefiting here, however. Employees can use the dashboard to gain insight into how their achievements are being valued. And as we already know, feeling valued goes a long way towards an employee’s level of engagement.

Tweet this: Boost employee morale by showing them you truly care about their future success

4. IT HELPS YOU DO A BETTER JOB OF SAYING THANK YOU

Employee morale is tied to a number of different things, as evidenced by the topics we’ve covered so far. And while each area has its own merit, employee appreciation (an often overlooked part of performance management) may be the most crucial one of the bunch.

Why? Because 69 percent of employees say they would work harder if their efforts were recognized more often!

Furthermore, appreciation ties into every area of improving employee morale. Which means if you’re taking the right steps to make sure your employees know they’re valued, it’s likely that stress levels will be down, engagement levels up, and compensation conversations won’t cause as much tension.
Using employee praise and recognition as a powerful morale booster is not a new idea, yet it’s still an area that many businesses underestimate. A simple “thank you” can, at times, outweigh a monetary bonus in the mind of an employee. That’s what makes appreciation so powerful.

Tony Falbo is a contributor for TechnologyAdvice.com — a research company that connects buyers and sellers of business technology. He writes about human resources, performance management, and other technology verticals.