Appraisals

Formal appraisals are an integral part of just about any organization’s performance management process. Dreaded by employees and managers alike, appraisals are generally touted by human capital management professionals as key in increasing productivity. There are a wide range of appraisal solutions out there, which are mostly designed to make managers and employees hate the process less, and make it a little more likely that the system will be used according to design.

Ultimately, the primary purpose of the performance appraisal process is to manage employee performance. So are there other ways to manage performance?

The key to managing performance is feedback. Feedback can be handled in any numbers of ways, and doesn't have to be a formal process at all. In an ideal world, where feedback is a constant occurrence, clearly communicated and reciprocated, perhaps you could do away with a formal performance management system, but the reality is that such systems serve more than one purpose. For one thing, they serve to demonstrate that conversations concerning performance have occurred, and to document the key points of the discussion. Should you ever need to terminate an employee for cause, this and other documentation will prove to be critical in determining whether or not proper cause exists (hint: it’s pretty rare outside of cases of serious misconduct) .

In an organization with a very high level of trust between colleagues, where open and honest communication and feedback is a part of everyday working life, perhaps a case can be made that formal appraisals aren't necessary from a feedback perspective, whether they are 360s, online, or otherwise. However, they will always be necessary for documentation, in the absence of a world where all employees are good ones, and thus, managers and employees alike better just resign themselves to the fact that they really aren't going anywhere. 

Performance Management

Performance management is one of the key areas in which a strong human capital function can bring value to the organization. Having an effective  PM system contributes directly to the bottom line of the organization through ensuring that desired outcomes and goals are clearly understood by all involved, and that everyone is working towards these common goals. The problem lies in ensuring that your organization’s performance management system is effective.

Purchasing a pre-made PM system is a convenient option, but pre-made systems are very rarely targeted specifically enough to the needs of your organization to ensure maximum effectiveness. Hiring a consultant to design a PM system can be much more tailored, but may be prohibitively expensive. Consequently, the project design may fall right into the laps of the HR department itself.

When that happens, it’s important to make sure you’re doing it right. One of the ways in which HR can fail the organization is by getting too caught up into what the perfect PM system looks like from HR’s perspective, and forgetting what it looks like to the rest of the stakeholders. If your managers and employees are not on board with the system you’ve designed, it won’t be effective. Have you ever complained that your managers “just don’t get it” and wondered why they can’t be bothered to use the fabulous system you’ve designed/implemented? If so, my guess is that you don’t have great buy-in from your managers- either they don’t understand why your system is important, or it doesn’t measure what’s important to them. In either case, you have some work to do.

That means that the very first part of designing a performance management system is identifying your stakeholders, and getting them involved. Identify the goals- what do you want your PM system to manage? And why? If your system covers the things your managers need it to cover, you’ll have a much higher acceptance level and therefore much higher effectiveness.

This is also the time to have a conversation about areas your PM system needs to cover- and now is the time to talk about competencies. Chances are really good that between the managers and the employees doing the work, they have a much better idea of the competencies required to do the job than you do. It’s also an opportunity to make sure that the staff see your PM system as fair. If the employees don’t think your PM system is fair, they won’t engage, and your effectiveness will be much reduced. Keep bringing those competencies back to your identified goals, too- your system will only be valid if it’s actually measuring the elements required to meet the goals you’ve already identified.

Once you have your list of competencies, then you need to decide how the PM system should be set up. Is an annual review really going to be as effective as you need it to be? How about quarterly coaching? Weekly coaching with quarterly reviews? How formal does your system need to be? What works best with your organizational culture? And how much paperwork is too much?

The closer you can keep your Performance Management System to the needs outlined above, the higher the effectiveness of the system will be. Designing a system with the input of your SMEs and stakeholders is the best way to ensure that you get a system that serves the needs of the organization and helps contribute positively to the bottom line through increased productivity and clarity of purpose.

You may not ever be able to keep everybody happy with your performance management system. But if it is effective, and measures the things it’s supposed to measure, you will see positive results.Performance management is one of the key areas in which a strong human capital function can bring value to the organization. Having an effective  PM system contributes directly to the bottom line of the organization through ensuring that desired outcomes and goals are clearly understood by all involved, and that everyone is working towards these common goals. The problem lies in ensuring that your organization’s performance management system is effective.

Purchasing a pre-made PM system is a convenient option, but pre-made systems are very rarely targeted specifically enough to the needs of your organization to ensure maximum effectiveness. Hiring a consultant to design a PM system can be much more tailored, but may be prohibitively expensive. Consequently, the project design may fall right into the laps of the HR department itself.

When that happens, it’s important to make sure you’re doing it right. One of the ways in which HR can fail the organization is by getting too caught up into what the perfect PM system looks like from HR’s perspective, and forgetting what it looks like to the rest of the stakeholders. If your managers and employees are not on board with the system you’ve designed, it won’t be effective. Have you ever complained that your managers “just don’t get it” and wondered why they can’t be bothered to use the fabulous system you’ve designed/implemented? If so, my guess is that you don’t have great buy-in from your managers- either they don’t understand why your system is important, or it doesn’t measure what’s important to them. In either case, you have some work to do.

That means that the very first part of designing a performance management system is identifying your stakeholders, and getting them involved. Identify the goals- what do you want your PM system to manage? And why? If your system covers the things your managers need it to cover, you’ll have a much higher acceptance level and therefore much higher effectiveness.

This is also the time to have a conversation about areas your PM system needs to cover- and now is the time to talk about competencies. Chances are really good that between the managers and the employees doing the work, they have a much better idea of the competencies required to do the job than you do. It’s also an opportunity to make sure that the staff see your PM system as fair. If the employees don’t think your PM system is fair, they won’t engage, and your effectiveness will be much reduced. Keep bringing those competencies back to your identified goals, too- your system will only be valid if it’s actually measuring the elements required to meet the goals you’ve already identified.

Once you have your list of competencies, then you need to decide how the PM system should be set up. Is an annual review really going to be as effective as you need it to be? How about quarterly coaching? Weekly coaching with quarterly reviews? How formal does your system need to be? What works best with your organizational culture? And how much paperwork is too much?

The closer you can keep your Performance Management System to the needs outlined above, the higher the effectiveness of the system will be. Designing a system with the input of your SMEs and stakeholders is the best way to ensure that you get a system that serves the needs of the organization and helps contribute positively to the bottom line through increased productivity and clarity of purpose.

You may not ever be able to keep everybody happy with your performance management system. But if it is effective, and measures the things it’s supposed to measure, you will see positive results. 

Critical Skills

I recently completed a survey from an HR association asking what I thought was the most critical skill in professional practice in HR. Now, I think it’s very difficult in just about any profession to pick just one critical skill, and I spent quite a bit of time thinking about it.

Part of the problem is that HR really is a very broad function. As someone who has experience as the entire HR department for a small function, I can certainly attest to the many different hats an HR Generalist can wear. That’s a job title that doesn’t lie, folks. And because HR encompasses so many different areas, it’s hard to pick one key skill that covers them all.

After I’d thought about it for a while, I decided that the absolutely most critical skill in HR is paying attention. I thought about saying “listening”, but decided that that’s a bit too narrow for what I actually mean. Certainly the ability to listen actively and empathetically is very important to practice in HR, but often it’s as much about what people don’t say as it is about what they do. It’s also very much about body language and facial expression, too- so it goes way beyond just listening. It’s also about picking up on unvoiced cues, and analyzing the information that you’re getting. Sometimes it’s about putting together a conversation you’re having now with other bits and pieces of information that you’ve collected along the way.

If you can pay attention to everything, you may find that the casual lunchroom conversation you overheard can take on a whole new meaning during the manager’s meeting. You can never have too much information, and I can think of several times in my career where a seemingly unrelated tidbit has turned out to hold some very useful information that’s helped to clarify other issues.

If you can listen, carefully, and pay attention, and then think critically about that information, you will find that you have a leg up in making key decisions.

What do you think are key skills in HR?