Performance management. A topic that has been somewhere at the top of the priority list in most HR departments for years. And that's not surprising, either. But especially lately, this has been a hot topic. Performance management is changing. But what exactly does it entail? And what is changing so much? I'll explain it to you!
What is Performance management?
Wikipedia formulates it as follows: "Ensuring that goals are consistently achieved in an effective and efficient manner. So performance management is a process. A process focused on people and goals. Getting people to perform as effectively as possible so that they always achieve the best possible results. Steering by qualities and talents. Creating an open and results-oriented culture. You want your employees to be aligned with the vision, mission and goals of the organization. That they can and want to give 100%. Focusing on strengths and looking at opportunities is a prerequisite for this, instead of looking at problems and obstacles. Then there is a greater chance of success. By allowing people to perform effectively and sustainably, you achieve better results as an organization. Strong performance management also helps you prepare for change and improve engagement within the organization. That is the process of Performance management in a nutshell.
What is central to performance management is the collaboration of employees with their manager(s). Here the main focus is on setting and achieving goals and developing competencies. What are your goals for the coming period? What results or deliverables will you deliver? What do you need to do to achieve these goals? And what might you need to develop?
As I mentioned earlier in the blog on creating the ideal work environment , money has long since ceased to be the main driver for people. Today, current employees would rather trade time and effort for growth and learning opportunities. A Gallup survey found that 87% of millennials consider this very important.
The evolution of Performance management
At many companies it works like this (still): Goals are set in January. These are discussed roughly in July. What is going well? What is not going well? And at the end of the year an appraisal meeting is held. This traditional way of working is fairly outdated. Setting a global goal for an entire year no longer works for many people. As a result, you see more and more companies moving away from the traditional assessment model and working with short-term goals. So, for example, an objective to be achieved in three months. After all, goals (and especially achieving them) can keep people motivated. But when a goal is not concrete enough and has too large a time frame, there is a good chance that it can be demotivating. Later in this blog, I'll explain how we at Treams handle goal setting.
Rewards
But how do you make sure that goal setting is not demotivating? And how do you ensure that your employees set different goals and then achieve those goals? There are several ways to do this. HR software is a good tool for this. Software can stimulate you and by asking different questions help you formulate these goals correctly.
What also often works are rewards and dwelling on goal achievement. Especially for the generation that grew up playing online games. They are used to achieving "achievements," as they are also present in every game. If, when setting a goal, you immediately attach a reward to it, this can motivate you even more to achieve this goal.
How do we do this at Treams?
Picture, talk, deed. I am a huge fan of it. So I hear you thinking, "Yes fine all that performance management, but how does it really work in practice?". Let me tell you how we do it within Treams.
At Treams, we work with 3-month goals. At the beginning of these three months we have a day entirely dedicated to the upcoming period. During this meeting, our CEO Iris Zonneveldt explains where we are going with the organization. She has set goals for 2030, reduced these goals to goals for 2020 and finally to 2018. These goals are very concrete and defined per department.
After this, it is up to me and my colleagues to formulate our own goals. What do we need to do in the next three months to help achieve the organizational goals? We discuss this as a team, so with us it does not happen in a conversation between an employee and manager. This way we divide the work equally and everyone knows from each other what his/her goals are. It makes it easier for us to help and support each other.
During these three months, each employee has a 1-on-1 conversation with the manager once every two weeks . Sometimes this conversation lasts an hour, other times 15 minutes. But that way the manager knows what you are doing and whether you are going to achieve your goals. As colleagues, we also regularly ask each other for feedback . We do this through our own software. This enables us to ask quick, but also extensive (360°) questions. At the end of these three months, we evaluate and set goals for the next period. By setting goals for three months, they are very concrete and easy to measure. Together we work towards the shared ambition of Treams, and that gives enormous energy!
Hopefully you now have a bit of an idea about the concept of Performance Management. At Treams we are working on this 24/7, so should you want to know more, be sure to contact us!