[Checklist] Spring Clean Your Performance Management
Did you know that 30% of performance reviews actually end up in decreased employee performance? If you’re wondering how that can be, just take a look at your own performance management system. Are you one of the lucky 14% of organizations happy with their system? Good for you. But if not, it may be time to do a little spring cleaning in terms of performance management.
After all, a disorganized process can get quite messy if not attended to. With only 8% of companies reporting their process drives high levels of value and a whopping 58% of companies saying it is not an effective use of time… there’s definitely a need to clear out the cobwebs of an outdated process, tidy up what is working, throw out what isn’t and reorganize a structure for 2016 and beyond!
Use the following checklist to plan, measure, organize and evaluate your performance management process:
Planning
The first phase and the foundation of a solid performance management process is planning. Setting performance objectives, identifying what success looks like and creating development goals should be your main focus. Whether you’re using this checklist to build a process or clean one up, make sure you address these points.
Benchmarking – measure, organize and evaluate
Training for managers – measure, organize and evaluate
Budgeting – measure, organize and evaluate
Measuring
What does employee performance ROI look like? Create a calculation that takes time, money, and improvement into account.
Tweet This: The first step in building a solid foundation for your performance management process:
Clean up feedback cadence – How often should you perform reviews, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly or annually? Is there a follow up to reviews? Use surveys to find out if your current process is useful, then adjust accordingly.
Are your managers utilizing performance data to their best abilities? Spring a pop quiz on your managers and ask them to submit answers to questions like:
Q1. Name 3 unique things you’ve learned about the way your team works best.
Q2. Tell us about a time an employee gave you feedback recommending a process be changed. How did you respond to the feedback and what did you do to either make or not make the change. If you didn’t make the change, why?
Q3. Do you have any concerns with the current performance management structure.
Fill out the form at the bottom of this post to download the checklist
Toss What Doesn’t Work
After you’ve measured your current process and gathered feedback from managers and employees, it’s time to analyze what your employees are trying to tell you. Notice a common pain point across the board? Then, toss it! Having a hard time letting bad practices go? Spring is the perfect time to put a fresh set of eyes on your process. Invite new people in your organization to share their input on the current structure and look at the feedback. Chances are they’ll notice something you’re overlooking.
Tweet This: Chances are, you’re overlooking parts of your performance management process. Fix it, like this:
Sweep away archaic structures – Has your company always conducted performance reviews from the top down? Is it time to consider switching to a 360-degree review model?
Throw out performance benchmarking plans that never come to fruition – coming up with a plan is easy, but sticking to it is a different story. Have you set a guideline that absolutely nobody is following or has forgotten about? Get rid of it and set realistic benchmarks that work for your team.
Organize departments, roles and responsibilities
Roles and responsibilities are ever-changing in any organization, and a one-size fits all approach to performance management does not work in dynamic companies. You’re not going to measure the performance of your front line manufacturing workers with the same metrics as you would use for their managers or a corporate employee. Reorganizing and re-evaluating how individual roles are contributing to their respective departments is the first step in cleaning up your performance management process.
Clean up job descriptions with essential responsibilities, tasks and functions specific to each position.
Break down performance expectations for each position into two categories: Performance Results (objectives) and Performance Dimensions (expected behaviors).
Toss out granular metrics for high-level positions and save them for frontline roles so you can focus KPIs on the metrics that matter.
Open the windows for a fresh goal structure, like SMART goals, and create new parameters that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely with your newly focused metrics in mind. (Sick of SMART? Check out ROWE right here!)
Polish What Does Work
Your performance management house is almost spick and span! We’ve planned, measured and organized the entire process. We’ve thrown out performance management clutter and can now focus on making what works shine.
Sweep up the management training program to ensure the new processes of performance management are clear, consistent and in practice.
Establish a working budget and clue your managers in. If they can visualize how the time their efforts return increased employee performance which in turn increases their own performance, they’ll have a better understanding of their role in the entire process.
Evaluate and throw away your clunky, underperforming performance management process.
Tweet This: What are you doing to clean up your performance management processes?
Whether it’s an underperforming software you’re already using, or a manual system, it’s time to quit breaking your back! Recycle the filing system and let go of Excel for a web-based system. Join the 67% of companies planning to purchase performance management software.
Upgrade to a web-based performance management system that allows you to automate, track and complete employee evaluations online. An integrated system with reviews, 360-degree feedback capabilities, compensation planning and learning management are the best!
Download the Printable Checklist
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