As more businesses shift toward an agile approach, shouldn’t performance management change as well? Organizations must start developing a more flexible performance management style to fit a contemporary workforce.
Many employees dread performance evaluations, but they are not the only ones who feel this way. According to Corporate Executive Board (CEB) research, nine out of 10 managers are dissatisfied with how their organization handles performance evaluations. Similar to this, nine out of 10 human resources (HR) executives think that the performance evaluation procedure doesn’t deliver reliable information.
So why do such dreaded evaluations still exist? These evaluations should be used to assess performance and make plans for future improvement. Ideally, they can also encourage interaction and communication while enhancing professional relationships. That’s not so horrible, is it? It can even sound essential. Therefore, it’s possible that the issue is not with performance assessments, but rather with the way they’re managed.
In the wake of this digital transformation and the past few years, annual performance reviews are no longer sufficient. Due to external forces and quickly evolving technology, the speed of change has accelerated, necessitating organizational agility to respond to ongoing change. So, shouldn’t the way we monitor performance change to be more agile? Agile used to be primarily a philosophy for product development. But in recent years, it has become popular across the board in a company, including
When done correctly, adopting an agile approach can help your team reach new heights. Employees with good agile management skills work better quickly and are better equipped to anticipate the demands of their jobs. It results in improved connections between managers and direct reports, as well as increased team morale and dedication.
Agile Performance Management Promotes Quicker Team Growth
Agile performance management is holding weekly or biweekly meetings with each of your reports to discuss the status of both individual and group goals. Biannual assessments need to be a thing of the past in our more distant environment when adaptability and flexibility are required to be more pronounced.
More frequent meetings can offer managers lots of opportunities to actively teach and provide feedback to their reports. Your team members can become more sensitive to change and problems in their work, providing a greater opportunity for conversation. Additionally, it can enable managers to compile additional data on their employees’ training and improvement areas, which can then be used to develop coaching strategies.
The agile methodology can help increase the chances for leaders and subordinates to establish fruitful work relationships. Agile performance management is, at its core, all about communication and cooperation involving managers and the people they manage. A one-time progress report that occurs just a few times a year at most may not be well received by employees. However, agile style reviews with a clear focus on assisting them in succeeding could engage them more. These regular meetings can also help managers better understand their employees’ motivations and values.
Deliver Continuous Coaching and Feedback
Managers and team members should meet regularly to review what’s working and what isn’t for their employees. This can also offer the opportunity for coaching, upskilling and reskilling. By developing a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) or objectives (OKRs) for every individual member on the team, you can offer personalize coaching and mentorship. In these coaching sessions, you can target specific areas for improvement and customize KPIs depending on their role and skill sets.
Above all, annual performance reviews must be done away with. Regular check-ins must at the very least be used in conjunction with annual reviews to create a more flexible performance management approach. According to a Reflektive study, 92% of participants said they’d prefer to receive continuous performance reviews and feedback versus once a year. Frequent check-ins can encourage two-way communication between management and their employees. This can enable your staff to foster stronger bonds among team members and make them feel more appreciated at work.
Increase Your Attention to Wellness
Agile performance management can also provide managers with an effective way to manage employee mental health and well-being. Employee well-being has a positive impact on work satisfaction and a company’s overall success. By engaging in regular meetings, managers and team leads can build an authentic relationship with their team built on loyalty and trust. This can empower employees to speak up If something is wrong and they need help.
An Agile Performance Management Model
Let’s take a look at three actionable ways you can adopt an agile approach to managing employee performance in your organization.
1. Keeping The Present in Mind.
Annual performance reviews evaluate past behavior, many times, skipping over future progress. An agile approach provides continuous feedback, keeping not only the future but the present in mind. If the past few years have shown us anything, it’s that a lot can happen in just one year. Because of this, businesses can no longer afford to concentrate on performance management once a year.
Managers and team leader should consistently and regularly check in with their team to keep a pulse on team morale and productivity. This can help managers concentrate on the here and now and swiftly identify any issues that may come up along the way.
2. Promotion Of Employee Recognition.
Along with emphasizing the here and now, your company has to make a commitment to publicly showcase outstanding performance and behavior by swiftly acknowledging accomplishments and excellent practices. This can help create a feeling of belonging and community among your employees at work, which in turn can increase employee engagement.
3. Improve Company Culture.
A more agile corporate culture and workplace atmosphere should go hand in hand with agile performance management. Encourage your workers to be innovative, take risks and challenges authority to revitalize your organization’s culture. By doing this, your company will be able to optimize employee potential and make the most of your workforce.
Looking Ahead
Agile feedback can enhance workflows, enables teams to develop more productive and efficient procedures and boosts performance. It gives employers and learning leaders the ability to foster a more independent, adaptable and agile corporate culture and monitor employee progress in real-time.
