Managing and evaluating employee performance can often be one of those dreaded tasks within an organization for everyone involved. This includes the human resources department, the employees’ managers and the employees themselves. Is the dreaded aspect of performance reviews the actual results of the process, or the process itself?
Performance evaluation varies widely among organizations and is not often accomplished consistently even within the same industry. It is also one of the functional areas that are difficult to obtain adoption and buy-in from both management and employees, and sees a number of companies modifying this type of program on a regular basis, or abandoning it altogether.
The challenges associated with Performance Management often include:
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archaic record keeping processes using only hard-copy files for storing performance data
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under-developed processes with few performance-related or measurable goals to justify a formal review process
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data exchanges with stand-alone Performance Management systems which may be unreliable or incomplete
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isolated performance data among other systems or spreadsheets which is not fully integrated with the HCM solution to otherwise support comprehensive record keeping and HR reporting
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difficulty in getting buy-in and full co-operation from managers and employees to fully adopt a performance management program
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justification for implementing and adopting a formal process, and the investment of time and effort to maintain it
For some organizations, they are satisfied with simply having an infrequent conversation with the employee to establish how satisfied the organization is with the employee’s performance. However, it is also becoming increasingly important to accurately document the details of performance reviews, however complex or simple they may be, to ensure compliance, due diligence and access to accurate records to reference in case of any disputes, or disciplinary action associated with performance.
Assessing performance and providing feedback on an ongoing basis is of importance to many organizations and, for those organizations which have chosen to adopt this type of program, may be designed to get the very best results out of your employees. Depending upon the complexity of the program, it may be accomplished through specific performance objectives which can be defined to align with your overall business strategy.
These objectives may include, for example:
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assessing performance against measurable goals and job competencies
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creating achievable employee development plans
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identifying high-performing employees for key positions
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building an overall environment that maximizes talent and rewards your best performers
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developing a performance scoring mechanism from which to build decisions for merit increases and employee bonuses
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creating a transparent environment of continuous communication, ongoing review of goals, and the sharing of ideas for improvement among employees, managers and the organization as a whole
Supporting these types of objectives may be accomplished through the use of a well-designed Performance Management module within a unified HCM solution. It will also provide the reporting of performance management information, including the full history of previous reviews, to establish trends and support decision making.
For those HCM solutions that support workflow, the status of performance assigned tasks and activity may be more-easily monitored. Electronic document attachment, dashboard results of the review process, and access to the employee’s complete record from a single reliable source of unified information will simplify the performance management as a value-added, and not a dreaded, process.
If your organization doesn't have a performance evaluation process that easily integrates with your HRIS then it is time for an upgrade to an integrated HCM solution that can manage the day to day HR functions along with performance management and reporting.
