A good performance management process is an excellent solution for taking your business to the next level. However, many organisations need help to get these systems to work effectively; more often than not, the process ends up failing.
There are many reasons why performance management fails, from employees believing it to be a waste of time to adherence waning over time. Understanding why performance management processes often fail is vital in helping ensure it does not happen to you. That is why we thought we would take a closer look at five of the most common reasons:
1) The process is too complicated
One of the most common reasons performance management fails is because the processes need to be simplified and clearer. We live in a fast-paced world, and many of us do not have the time or patience to take on new and intricate systems.
Two Complications to watch out for:
1) Too many forms or the form is too big.
The data you collect should be helpful for the manager and the individual as a minimum. Anything else is pointless. If you collect other data with the intention of using it at a company level but don’t, stop collecting it!
2) Too many people involved, or specifically, how others are involved
It’s good to get other people involved so you get a rounded review. But do you really need them all? Also, I bet there are easier ways to get their feedback, either as a natural extension of some other process (e.g. matrix management in PerformanceHub’s case) or by super simple feedback – another PerformanceHub feature.
2) A lack of leadership support
Another common reason performance management falls apart is a lack of adequate support from the leadership team. For it to work, management and leaders not only support the process, but actively drive it.
A lack of commitment and engagement from senior staff will lead to employees not seeing the program’s benefits and begin to drift away over time.
Online systems like PerformanceHub give you real-time adherence data. PerformanceHub will chase people to do the right thing at the right time and give HR the ‘power’ to follow up at the click of a button, making it super easy for HR to achieve amazing adherence.
3) Poor training and communication
If employees are not given proper training on the process or, more importantly, are not told what the benefits of performance management are, then you are doomed from the start. This is one of the most common causes for performance management process failures. Without the right insight, employees will simply not see the point.
That is why employee engagement should be a major focus when implementing a system or onboarding new staff members.
4) Overemphasis on recent performance
While recent performance is, of course, an important consideration, it can be very common for managers to place too much emphasis on this rather than looking at the larger picture. Recency bias can be very dangerous and leave employees feeling like they are not being properly appreciated. This is why PerformanceHub encourages a more continuous approach to performance management with features like 121s.
5) Lack of strategic focus
An effective performance management system needs to ensure that the overall strategies and goals of the company are being integrated into it to guarantee that employees are helping to deliver true business value. Without that focus, the point of performance management becomes murky.
Of course, it is about more than just having a lack of strategic focus. Going too far in the opposite direction and focusing on too many specific goals will only lead to employees becoming confused and unaligned with the overall strategy, increasing inefficiency and reducing performance.
Don’t let performance management fails or the systems you use hold you back.
Poor performance management processes and tools can be incredibly costly and will not provide any value to your overall business. In fact, it can actually hamper employee engagement and prevent your business from growing.
Here at Cogendo, we aim to transform the process and ensure that your organisation and employees are able to perform at their best. We know the dangers that poor performance management systems can bring, which is why we have developed an intuitive solution that combines joined-up thinking with clear goals.
Our mission is to help boost your performance, save time and maximise efficiency. Want to find out more? Get in touch today!
