How do you create, implement, and communicate a performance management system in meaningful ways?
First, just start!
- Putting an effective performance management system in place can feel daunting. Don’t let this deter you. When things are daunting, you just have to start.
Bird’s eye view: Your system should not be binary (“your work is great/not great”). It should rely on evidence, not people’s thoughts. When the system is leveraged objectively, you move forward based on what the evidence shows. Otherwise, performance management will feel punitive, subjective, and based on people’s moods.
- “I think you’re good at project management” is not evidence-based.
- “Here are samples of your project plans demonstrating your project management skills” is evidence-based.
Start small, but not too small.
Start with these high-impact 10 steps
- Select 3-5 competencies that every individual in your organization should develop. (Competencies inform career pathways and feature leadership and growth.)
- Communication (verbal, written, and nonverbal cues), time management and organization, complex project management, and interpersonal skills are relevant competencies for most organizations.
- Other competencies might be mission alignment, commitment to DEIAB, and content area expertise.
- Create a rating scale for each competency.
- The scale could be anything from 1-3 to 1-5. Clearly define what every step of the scale looks like, and if possible, include at least 2-3 examples of each step.
- Consider the size and structure of your organization and your most immediate priorities. Then choose a small team to pilot this new performance management system.
- You may want to implement it first with the senior leadership team, talent team, or another team altogether. If your organization is small, you might even implement it across the entire team.
- Alternatively, consider having individuals in your team opt into the performance management system pilot. These early adopters can help get buy-in from the folks that are more skeptical about the changes.
- Using evidence, have direct reports rate themselves and managers rate their reports.
- Have managers and their direct reports engage in conversations about the results.
- Engage in these conversations at least four times a year!
- Consider providing managers with professional development or coaching on delivering critical feedback.
- Repeat steps 4-5 consistently for one year.
- Leverage the data and “steer the ship in the right direction.”
- Are there patterns in the data? What do team members report about themselves? Does it match up to what managers are reporting?
- Identify areas of opportunity for the team and plan developmental and coaching plans to support them in improving and growing their skills.
- Caution: The cost of not leveraging the data collected will amount to a huge (!) missed opportunity. Don’t invest the work, time, and energy for nothing.
Change management elements
- Communicate the performance management system and plan over and over again.
- Communicate with the team through multiple channels and in various spaces.
- Once the team begins speaking the performance management language back to you in meaningful and thoughtful ways, they will have internalized the system.
- Organizational leaders — this step will, and should, require intensive support and active listening.
- Seek feedback as you implement the system.
- Hold feedback sessions and town halls, or send feedback surveys to gauge how the implementation is going.
- You’ll need lots of feedback to ensure that the system is running efficiently, thoughtfully, and inclusively.
- Implement the feedback — have a plan but be flexible! We can’t stress this enough.
- As you gather more feedback on how things are running, you’ll want to stay agile if pivots or changes are appropriate and needed to improve the system.
- Because every organization and team is different, systems that have worked for you in the past might not work for you now.
