Performance Review and Management Training

Performance management is a style of management in which a business builds a work environment that enables employees to do their best possible work. It’s a comprehensive system that extends all the way from initial hiring to exit interviews with the main objective of creating a shared understanding of how employees contribute to overarching business goals.

By aligning the workforce with business goals and focusing on continuous individual development, performance management creates a sustainable company culture that maximizes individual, team, and organizational performance.

This may seem like vague definition, but the point is that performance management is all-encompassing of the employee lifecycle. The practice is not:

• Limited to an assessment process
• Simply a self-evaluation
• Or just a measuring tool

The whole system only works when employee interactions are treated as learning opportunities—continuously and frequently. That’s why training for performance management can be such a challenge. This is a major departure from traditional employee interactions as managers must shift from strict authority figures to coaches focused on long-term growth of employees.

With this high-level concept in mind, talent development professionals can start to formulate a new approach to performance management training.

Selecting performance management training courses requires an understanding of the nuances involved in the actual process. While there are many individual steps that can come together to form a unique performance management process, most systems will consist of 4 key components—the planning phase, employee assessment, performance recognition, and career development.

For every new hire, there needs to be a process of goal setting in the onboarding stage. Employees should have a complete understanding of both their goals relative to the business and expectations for their roles. 

These goals should address both personal and company-oriented pursuits and managers should leave the process with as much understanding as the employee. Any goal agreed upon should be attainable within a year, but the specifics will depend on the context. 

Having these goals in place gives managers and employees a reference point for ongoing evaluation.

We’ve referenced the fact that modern performance management is about more than just annual appraisals. But that doesn’t mean annual evaluations aren’t part of the process.

Rather, smaller-scale evaluations should occur on a more regular basis. Whether it’s daily, weekly, monthly, or anything in between, employees should have a regular source of feedback relative to their goals.

In addition to evaluations from managers, employees should also walk through self-evaluations to ensure alignment. 

Engaged employees are more productive and more effective at driving business results. Lack of recognition leads to disengagement and frustration. 

Having clear goals and a regular assessment process gives managers an opportunity to recognize outstanding work. But that also means strategic leaders must take part in performance management training that focuses on building effective recognition programs.

Performance management often falls under the responsibility of human resources. And one of the biggest challenges HR faces at every company is retaining employees. Anyone involved in hiring knows that employee retention and promoting from within is far more cost effective than constantly hiring external talent.

Performance management must include an ongoing focus on career development for individual employees. With the help of talent development leaders, managers can provide courses that enhance strengths and provide opportunities for new skill development. 

Any successful training for performance management will help business leaders improve their skills in each of these four categories. Beyond coming up with an effective performance management strategy, managers must also have the right tools at their fingertips to execute the program.

Unlike other areas of a business, performance management can’t be automated with new technology. It’s a subjective, person-to-person function of the business that depends on effective relationship building.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t common performance management tools, though. They may not be as technical as, for example, a marketing automation platform. But they provide a foundation for managers to effectively execute a performance management program.

As an L&D professional, consider how to tailor training for performance management toward these tools:

• 360 Feedback: Performance appraisals are often thought of as private conversations between employees and managers. However, the most effective performance management systems will include 360-degree feedback that tells employees how they’re performing from the perspective of those impacted by their work. Whether it’s feedback from teammates or stakeholders in other departments, this tool helps provide employees with a more comprehensive understanding of their performance.
• Performance Management Framework: The most common framework for performance management is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). This tool is meant to assist strategy execution. It clearly defines strategic priorities and help managers more effectively convey action plans to ensure employees are driven toward the right goals.
• Reward Programs: Whether it’s financial bonuses or a system for public recognition, reward programs are critical for maintaining employee engagement. An employee that knows good performance is recognized will remain motivated.

In addition to these common performance management tools, managers and business leaders could use any number of solutions to support their employees. L&D leaders shouldn’t focus on forcing managers to learn certain toolsets. Rather, it’s best to focus on strategic lessons that enable managers to choose their own tools wisely.