Performance Management

What is Performance Management?

Performance management is an ongoing process of communication between an employer and an employee that occurs throughout the year. The purpose has always been to assess employee performance compared to company goals and set additional goals for the upcoming year.

Effective performance management techniques will be able to highlight what’s lacking and what deserves credit. The strengths and weaknesses of your company will become more evident and hence, easier to improve.

Performance Management Process

Ongoing performance conversations enable employers to check in on short-term goals, help employees struggling, and ensure your team is staying on track with larger learning and development goals.

It allows for a more closely followed natural cycle of work since it switches the focus of reviews from past performance to present performance. Ultimately, it delivers higher rates of engagement, productivity, and enables development and retention.

What is a 1:1 Meeting?

The most important factor in any performance management strategy is 1:1 (one-to-one) meetings. A 1:1 is a regularly scheduled meeting that supervisors hold with each of their direct reports to provide an open forum for dialogue on the full scope of an employee’s role within the organization.

Watch the following HR Party of One episode to learn more about 1:1 meetings.

How to Implement an Effective Performance Management Strategy

If you are implementing a performance management program, you should consider the following:

Determine a frequency: weekly is recommended.
Schedule recurring meetings
Implement a form of documentation: it’s important to gather all correspondence and remain compliant by allowing managers to see communication and feel confident employees are receiving coaching.
Document process expectations in your employee handbook