According to a 2019 Gallup poll, only about 14% of employees polled strongly agree that their performance reviews inspire them to improve. This is very, very challenging news to hear for organizations that spend as much as $2.4 million to $35 million a year in lost working hours on annual performance evaluations that aren’t effective.
As it turns out, the time-honored tradition of annual performance reviews simply aren’t delivering the real-time feedback and performance improvement employees need to succeed in their roles – or capturing the data managers and human resources professionals need to make good decisions about talent. Instead, organizations need to consider modern performance management software solutions that create more efficient, effective, and less expensive ways to measure and improve employee performance.
Here are six things you need to look for when selecting a performance management system that will help you see the whole picture of employee performance over time and capture actionable intelligence for decision-making:
Employee Performance Management System Checklist
- Performance Reports
- Continuous Performance Tracking
- Completion Tracking
- Peer and 360 Reviews
- Face-to-Face Reviews
- Integration With Other HCM Tools
1. Performance Reports
From the organization’s perspective, the most important performance management system criteria is customizable and thorough reporting abilities. You need to be able to quickly and accurately review employee data at the departmental and individual level, and you need to be able to trust that this data is up-to-date and accurate as close to real-time as possible. Look for features like Predictive Performance and Real-Time Feedback that show you how you’ll be able to access the performance data you capture.
2. Continuous Performance Tracking
Business needs change from day to day, even minute to minute, so it’s no wonder organizations can’t capture an accurate view of employee performance in an annual performance review. Modern performance management software allows employees to check in and update their performance on a regular schedule, promoted by automated alert, so that your performance data is always up-to-date.
3. Completion Tracking
Companies that manually track employee professional development or training waste valuable time. Today’s performance management software allows employees to access training modules digitally through a learning management system (LMS) so that employees and managers alike can track progress and check in on the completion of different training tasks. This is especially important in industries where monitoring and reporting on training is a part of maintaining compliance.
4. Face-to-Face Reviews
The annual performance review may not work as a sole performance management solution, but that doesn’t mean the face-to-face or 1:1 meeting format doesn’t bring a lot of value to the process. An effective employee performance management system will allow you to schedule and incorporate data from a traditional face-to-face meeting, as well, so that managers and employees can continue to nurture warm and responsive personal relationships.
5. Peer and 360 Reviews
In addition to face-to-face reviews, advanced performance management software allows you to incorporate peer and 360 reviews. These reviews allow employees to review anonymous feedback from their peers, supervisors, and subordinates about important performance metrics like communication and job skills. Bringing this kind of data into the performance review process allows managers to capture the full picture of an employee’s contributions to identify areas where they excel and areas where they may be able to improve.
6. Integration With Other HCM Tools
In today’s digital and connected work environments, organizations often deploy different tools and technologies to achieve all of their goals. That’s why it’s especially critical for your performance management software to integrate easily with other HCM tools, like talent management, recruiting, benefits, and more. This also makes it easier to bring a new performance management software into your organization, as you can continue using your preferred platforms for some tasks while still upgrading the way you monitor and improve employee performance.
If you’re like the majority of organizations, talent is your highest priority and largest expense. And yet you’ve had to work within the limitations and inefficiencies of annual performance reviews to monitor, reward, and improve employee performance. Fortunately, there’s now a better way to manage all facets of employee performance, and it starts with choosing an employee performance management system that offers the six benefits listed here.
Sarah Greesonbach turns cutting-edge research and data into captivating HR technology marketing content. She loves to consider the possibilities of humanizing, organizing, and minimalizing all things HR, and her writing helps HR executives and professionals develop their instincts and arrive at actionable insights for employee engagement and business performance.
