Making Performance Management Part of the Daily Routine

We’ve all done it — once a year, we set goals we don’t revisit until the next year rolls around. It’s

why performance management doesn’t seem to work. It also makes it really easy for people to skate along, doing well but perhaps not going above and beyond.

Measuring great performance requires understanding where the baseline is and enforcing that every day. Daily performance management not only encourages the right behaviors, it also helps address any concerns early on, before they become problems. Employees can stick to the right goals, and management can align performance with the business’s needs.

Here are tips on how to make performance management part of the daily interactions you have with employees:

·       Break goals into actionable items: Large goals that require a year to accomplish can be daunting. But if you break the goal into smaller items, you can include how someone could work daily toward accomplishing that goal. Then when you do regular check-ins, it’s much easier to talk about progress.

·       Find ways to recognize good performance: Whether your company has an official recognition program or not, take time to say, “Good job,” when an employee is performing well. Make the recognition as specific as possible, especially if it relates to one of their goals. For example, if an employee built an internal enablement guide that also included engaging messaging and creative design (just like an ad campaign), say, “Good job applying marketing practices to internal training to help us increase adoption.”

·       Adjust as you go: Goals set at the beginning of the year might have to change over time. Making performance management part of a daily routine means it’s much easier to see when a goal might need to be modified or corrected. Check to make sure that adjusting the goal still fits into the company’s strategy. By updating the goal, it’s more likely the employee will succeed than if the goal and the daily work are no longer aligned.

Performance management can be effective if it’s part of daily management practices. It might require managers to be more proactive about goals and define action items with employees if internal performance software or processes aren’t set up for that level of detail. But the results will be worth it if you make the extra effort.

Customizing Performance Reviews for Higher Education

Faculty and staff populations at universities are filled with people who have been doing the same thing for many years, as well as new employees trying to find the best ways to be productive on small budgets. The performance review can seem like an interruption when people have other priorities.

Instead, universities can embrace their learning culture with Reviewsnap and make the performance review an opportunity for development.  

Download “Customizing Performance Reviews for Higher Education: Make Performance ManagementMeaningful for Faculty and Staff” so you can see how universities can get more out of the performance review process.

In this brief, you’ll learn how to customize reviews to make the process more meaningful by:

• Changing the language
• Defining the goals 
• Asking for clarity

Download the brief and see how customizing goals and competencies can make the performance review process worthwhile.

360 Degree Reviews: Mixing Personal and Professional Feedback

If you’re lucky enough to work at a company where your co-workers are also your friends, it’s easy for the lines between personal and professional relationships to blur. Feedback often isn’t as objective as it should be — best friends might pump each other up, or if there is a critique, it can be more about feelings than performance.

A 360 degree review provides the opportunity to get multiple perspectives, but it’s important to put some processes in place so feedback doesn’t get personal. Follow these tips to make performance management meaningful and maintain a friendly culture:

1.     Make the review about balance: Especially if you’ve never had much of a performance management culture, reviews can be scary. People might want to hide areas for improvement and inflate areas of strength. When you kick off the 360 degree review process, discuss how balance is important. Have a discussion around what a high-rating behavior looks like, as well as middle- and low-rating behaviors. Give people examples to work with so they know how to be objective and provide balance when they’re filling out the survey.

2.     Maintain anonymity: It’s important to make it easy for raters to maintain anonymity. If an employee is going to select peer raters, have at least three so it doesn’t become obvious who left what feedback. The employee will get more-rounded feedback and he won’t feel like he has to confront a rater if there is a negative comment.

3.     Keep the feedback meeting objective: The meetings in which managers and employees discuss a feedback report can be filled with anxiety and stress. Acknowledge that there are going to be some personal feelings mixed into the feedback, as well as the employee’s reaction. Then focus on talking about behaviors. Understanding that there’s a personal element means the meeting won’t be cold and detached, but talking about behaviors (which can be changed) will keep things on track. And when there are good things to discuss, talk about how those good behaviors might be used in other situations.

Personal feelings can make the feedback process stressful for people, or make it hard to get at what behaviors really need to be changed. By striking a balance, maintaining anonymity, and keeping things objective, employees can get the feedback they need and the organization can get the change it’s working toward.

Even Small Businesses Need Compensation Management

During the early days of a startup, making payroll might seem touch-and-go. You might be able to close deals, but money goes straight back into the business — whether that’s to fund more development or just keep the lights on. Employees in a fresh startup environment know that checks might not come regularly, and amounts might vary. But the sacrifice can be worth it to work on something so new and exciting.

As your company starts to see some stability, though, it’s time to come up with compensation plans for your current and anticipated employees, even if your company is the smallest of the small.

Compensation management for small businesses is just as important as it is for large enterprises. In fact, it can be even more important because things are pretty transparent for small businesses. Here are five things to keep in mind as you develop your small business compensation plan:

·       Check the market rates: People are willing to work for less when it’s something they believe in, and in the early days, that flexibility could help you keep the business going. As you stabilize, employees and prospects will be checking how your plans rate against salaries on Payscale.com or Salary.com. Knowing these rates will be critical when you also need to recruit talent as you grow.

·       Be clear about the whole package: Salary is just one component of compensation, so if you offer additional benefits such as full healthcare coverage or flexible PTO, communicate how that rounds out an employee’s total compensation package.

·       Add non-financial rewards when you can: Especially when money is tight, look into creative ways to reward employees. Small businesses require employees to wear a lot of hats, and the early phases may mean employees work around the clock. Can you give an employee a title boost? How about the ability to work from home?

·       Project what rewards will look like in the future: You don’t have to take standard approach to raises and bonuses, but figure out what you are going to do (so you can budget for it). High performers might deserve a significant boost, but you might also want to give everyone a reward if the business overall is doing well. Identify the options you’ll want managers to have when it is time to reward performance and make sure they’re in line with the values you want to communicate to employees.

·       Answer questions when they come up: You’re not going to be able to predict what will happen in three years — things change really quickly — but answer questions about your plans when they do come up. Be honest and clear. Employees will appreciate open communication and trust the decisions your leadership team is making.

Small businesses can make a big difference in the market, so rewarding employees is important to that success. Develop a comprehensive compensation management plan, and then you can focus on other strategic elements of your business.

Client Story: Maternal and Child Health Consortium

Reviewsnap is excited to share its newest case study with the Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County (MCHC). As MCHC worked to build a sustainable future for the organization, it was clear that strong performance management was going to be necessary for the success of the organization.  

MCHC, founded in 1991, is a nonprofit organization in suburban Philadelphia with a mission to improve maternal and child health through the collaborative efforts of individuals, healthcare providers, and policymakers. MCHC’s programs include ensuring that pregnant women deliver healthy children and secure well-baby care, as well as supporting families as they prepare their children to enter school. The organization serves an incredibly diverse population of women and families in the Chester County community, so the consortium needs to support a diverse workforce.

In pursuit of continuous quality improvement, leadership development, and alignment of its mission and core values, MCHC selected Reviewsnap’s performance management offerings to infuse greater accountability into the organization’s culture.

Download the case study to learn how MCHC developed a pilot program to launch its performance management system, how Reviewsnap helped the consortium develop custom content to fit its unique culture, and the results MCHC has seen with the program.

Identify and Uplift Disengaged High Performers

Employees are always asked to do more, and while there’s the very real employee population that’s only productive 60 percent of the time, many more are productive and performing well. They might

also be burned out.

Believe it or not, some employees want to do a good job, even if the workplace is beating them down. Maybe they’re going through a rough patch, or maybe they’re having issues with a colleague. These people usually see a light at the end of the tunnel, so they keep working hard.

The last thing you want to happen is for your high performers to get burned out and decide they’ve had enough. If that happens, you’re out a great employee, and that worker potentially parts ways with you on bad terms. Situations like this can be avoided if you identify and uplift your disengaged high performers.

First, discover the high performers. You should already have a performance management system in place that helps you manage how well your employees are doing. Check out who’s considered a high performer and identify who’s on your team and who else you might interact with.

Next, see who’s becoming disengaged. On your own team, that might be really easy to see. You should also take a look around and see if high performers from other departments that you interact with are having a rough time. You’ll want to see if you can determine the factors that are contributing to that disengagement, too. Some will be within your control, and some won’t.

Finally, uplift the high performers. When you can make a change for your team, make it. If there’s a temporary challenge making life rough for everyone, be sure to express that you know things are difficult. Keep assuring people there’s a light at the end — and deliver on that. For people on other teams, check with them personally, if you can. You might also have to say something to their manager. It could be there’s a problem no one was aware of or something that a simple realignment of priorities could fix. Don’t step on toes, but you can always look out for your colleagues, whether they’re on your team or not.

Check out our white paper “Giving High Performers a Runway.” You’ll find more tips on how you can help high performers succeed and help your company accomplish its goals, too.

Internal Expertise Is an Untapped Learning Resource

While learning programs are going more digital, don’t forget that your company has many internal experts who have knowledge to share. Those specialists have expertise in areas that affect different parts of the business.

For example, the logistics manager will have insight into how the supply chain affects whether products are delivered on time. When marketing needs to set product launch dates, it’s critical to partner with the logistics manager.

What if marketing could get a download from the logistics manager before ever scheduling a meeting?

Your company can create learning content developed by your own internal experts. Here are some things you can do:

·       Have departments record introductory videos about responsibilities and contacts

·       Launch a wiki for the product development team to give everyone the ability to learn the ins and outs of your new offering

·       Set up Google+ Hangout events with your executive team and let employees ask about new initiatives or strategic direction — or allow people to collaborate remotely on projects

·       Record radio and webinar broadcasts that feature your employees and share them on the internal network

·       Invite teams to host “Lunch and Learn” events to keep everyone abreast of what’s happening in other departments

·       Let authors of internal process manuals deliver a recorded presentation of rules, processes, or best practices to follow so new employees have access to onboarding resources

As you can see, there are many ways you can transform your learning programs from being generic to being customized. As you log all these materials, you’ll create a learning library that makes it easy for employees to get answers faster. Your teams will stay productive, and your experts can share their insight across the company.

Course Correct Early with 360 Degree Reviews

It’s exciting when you get to bring new people on at your company. They’re fresh faces with lots of energy. However, their hire date could put them out of rotation with the performance review cycle. The first round might be too soon for the information to be meaningful, but the second round could be a year and a half later. Don’t let that much time go by before you’ve had a chance to talk about performance.

Using 360 degree feedback tools can help you have performance conversations with employees when they’re off-cycle with performance reviews. You’ll get them feedback earlier, as well as make any course corrections before formal review season. Here’s how to integrate 360 degree tools into your off-season performance review program:

·       Select a standard 360 review cycle: You might not use 360s for every employee, but if you set a standard cycle time, new employees will get feedback sooner rather than later. For example, all new employees can complete a 360 degree review after six months.

·       Take away the pressure: Using 360s for developmental purposes can relieve the pressure of this being a performance-related event. Set expectations early that this is a progress check and an opportunity for improvement, not a tool to be used for punishment.

·       Help the employee select the raters: By six months, most employees are comfortable with peers and co-workers. When they go over their rater selection with you, make sure they’ve selected an “A” team.

·       Review feedback and get employee input: Many employees have ideas around how they’d like to improve, so ask for that input before prescribing next steps. If there’s a behavior that needs course correction, discuss it in a constructive manner. Find ways to address the behavior, but also make sure that there are not outside factors influencing the behavior. If you have influence on those factors, assure the employee that you’re doing what you can to address those.

For many people, a 360 degree review offers the chance to get a better idea of their performance than meetings or daily interactions might provide. Employees often want to improve before it’s too late, but they just might not know what’s wrong. Make sure you help employees prepare for formal reviews by giving them an interim step. And don’t forget to celebrate great performance, too. You could find a rising star ready for new responsibilities sooner than if you had waited until the formal review.

Get Relief Before Cabin Fever Strains Performance

We’re heading into that time of the year — when kids get excited about spring break and employees are itching to take a few days off. If your employees don’t get a chance to recharge a little before summer, they’re likely to experience some cabin fever.

Cabin fever symptoms can affect performance:

·       Constantly thinking about warm, sunny places might result in extensive daydreaming

·       The desire to get away can lead to long lunches or early happy hours

·       No R&R might make employees snippy, frustrated, or stressed

·       Too many back-to-back workdays can lead to burnout

You don’t have to call the doctor just yet, but here are four things you can do to make sure cabin fever doesn’t hinder your team’s performance:

1.     Take your team’s temperature: Is everyone stressed out? Are people working 24/7 or hardly working at all? Is a rebellion on the rise? Make sure you’ve evaluated what your employees are feeling and what their behaviors say about stress levels.

2.     Give them a break: All companies have different policies for flexibility, but if you can find some, give it to your employees. That could mean taking them out to a team lunch, or even giving them a Friday off to reward good performance. If your policies still require employees to be at work, perhaps do an afternoon activity that lets people blow off some steam (laser tag is pretty fun).

3.     Build in some healthy habits: Encourage employees to use your company’s wellness benefits so that they’re not feeling unfit in addition to feeling stressed. If you don’t have a formal program in place, try things like instituting walking meetings for your one-on-ones, or have a snack day once a week. Instead of cookies, have everyone bring in their favorite ingredient for trail mix and create a trail-mix bar.

4.     Take a breather yourself: Managers who are stressed can pass their stress on to their employees. If you’re feeling frustrated because everyone’s coming back to work with a tan and you haven’t seen the sun since October, don’t take it out on employees. Instead, take a breather. You might need to get up and have lunch away from your desk, go for a walk, or even meditate in between meetings. Literally take a breath before you react out of frustration and you won’t derail productivity because of stress.

Cabin fever may not affect everyone, but it can make performance a serious issue when people aren’t focused or energized. Follow these four tips and your team will slide through spring a little healthier and a little happier.

Upgrade Higher Ed Performance Management by Answering These Three Questions

HR managers in higher education institutions need to find an easy way to streamline the performance management process. But they have the same question we’ve heard from many businesses:

How do we manage performance across a varied workforce when we have practically no budget?

The easiest response might be to just put a paper process in place. Everyone uses Microsoft Word, so it should be pretty easy to get these reviews done. But then managing data collection, confirming reviews have taken place, or even checking that the right forms got to the right people can create administrative chaos.

Who has time for that?

No one, but it’s a very real scenario that these organizations deal with every time there’s a review cycle. When HR managers in higher education institutions and universities finally throw their hands up, it’s time to find another way to get quality performance management, even on a tight budget.

Here are three questions to ask when you’re ready for a better way to manage your performance: 

1.     Can we utilize technology? Today, almost everyone is connected to a computer 40 hours a week. If that’s the case, an online or cloud solution might be exactly what you need. Make it easy for faculty and staff to log in and complete a form online instead of using paper handouts. Things don’t get lost in the shuffle, and you can then track completions. 

2.     Can we transition quickly? It’s not too difficult to imagine that universities are filled with processes that have been in place for years … and no one will change them, even if they’re flawed. Since new programs could cause upset, making sure the transition can happen quickly and cleanly will be important. That means getting all the stakeholders on board, finding a technology with easy implementation processes and having a rollout plan. 

3.     Can we make some room in the budget? Sometimes just looking at the loss of productivity can be enough to secure some spend. Not all technology solutions will use up every dollar in your HR budget. Especially when you need to secure spend approvals beforehand, making the case for the savings (even if there is a cost) will help you get some budget freed up for the solution purchase.

Streamlining your performance management can be easy, but getting your institution or university ready for the change will go a long way toward program success. Answer these questions and get ready to upgrade your own performance management approach.