During tough times where people are being made redundant and there’s been drastic changes to people’s work and home environments, some organizations are coping better than others.
It’s no surprise that employee engagement and productivity might be suffering. As an employer, you have a duty to look after your employees. Your employees will be the ones moving your organization forward—so invest your time on them.
With the unpredictable changes that are happening in organizations, continuous performance management is even more important right now to give your people stability, and make them more productive and engaged. We’ve recently launched a Performance Management Academy to create a space for HR professionals to learn about continuous performance management through a free course, as well as connect with other HR professionals to learn about best practices in other organizations and how they are coping.
In this article, we will go through the core elements of continuous performance management and explain why it is important for your organization right now.
Aligning goals across the organization
Many organizations have been pushed into the unknown. During such times, it’s important to address the uncertainty by making sure everyone understands their role and purpose at your organization. This can only be done if everyone’s aligned and clear on their goals as well as how they contribute towards the organization’s goals. Aligning team goals to organizational goals will help employees feel like they’re making a difference, ultimately boosting productivity and engagement. According to Gallup, employee productivity increases by 56% when goals are aligned with the needs of the organization.
Aligning goals is also important for organisations that may be shifting some of their workforce permanently remote. When teams are dispersed and working from different places, it is even more important for communication of goals to be explicit.
Regular coaching conversations and check-ins that help drive performance and engagement
Having regular conversations with your employees is super important to understand how you can support their growth and how you can help them feel more engaged in their work. Using check-ins to facilitate coaching conversations is a great way to discuss strengths which can drive performance and engagement. Research suggests that employees want to spend time with their managers to discuss projects and progress against objectives. Additionally, employers that encourage check-ins create a valuable channel for dialogue and create an environment for strong relationships and rapport building between managers and employees.
Continuous feedback removes uncertainty and gives recognition to your work and motivates employees
In the moment feedback will help employees feel like their manager is committed to helping them improve and achieve their best, which can boost performance and engagement at work. In particular, during an economic downturn, regular, in the moment feedback can help reduce uncertainty as well as boost engagement through recognition.
Reducing uncertainty:
Giving and receiving regular feedback ensures that there is a constant dialogue between your manager and your team. This reduces uncertainty around the quality of your output because you get feedback in the moment—not 6 months down the line. Any improvements you should make are made aware much earlier on. Reducing this uncertainty by getting regular feedback can have a huge impact on performance and productivity. For example, a Corporate Executive Board (CEB) study found that giving fair and accurate feedback during performance reviews improved performance by a massive 39%.
Recognising employees through continuous feedback
During tough times, retaining your top talent is crucial. Increasing pay may be nice, but for many employees, it’s not enough. Employees want recognition. According to research from Gallup, workplace recognition motivates employees as well as giving them a sense of accomplishment. It boosts employee engagement and has been found to increase productivity and loyalty to a company.
Additionally, this research shows that many employees feel more engaged when recognition comes from senior leaders and managers. This is why a culture of regular feedback is so important across all employees and teams in an organization.
Continuous feedback can also help motivate employees, especially if their strengths are recognised. Identifying an employee’s strengths can help them leverage those strengths for the rest of the team—giving them a sense of purpose.
What can you do next?
To help you cement this into your organization, Clear Review have recently launched the Performance Management Academy with free short courses on performance management. The first course, “Performance Management 101” goes through each of the elements we have discussed today in more detail. You can also connect with other HR professionals in the communities and learn best practices and tips from other organisations. Join us now!