Continuous Performance Management

Once upon a time, when Apple & Blackberries were just fruits, & Pentium-I was the fastest microprocessor in the world, there were managers who used to do performance appraisals of their team, once a year. And guess what, it never improved anything! 🙂

In today’s VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, change is the only constant; therefore, performance feedback also needs to be prompt, specific & continuous. The autopsy approach to managing performance at the year-end must stop TODAY!

Continuous Performance Management (CPM) & Organizational Values:

Your organizational values should be aligned with the concept of CPM. The only way an organization can successfully perform CPM is when its organizational values are aligned & support CPM.

Quick Tips for Effective CPM:

The following 3 simple tips (PMS) can help us improve the efficiency as well as the effectiveness of performance management.

1. Plan

Management guru, Tom Peters, says ‘Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance’. So beginning with the end in mind and planning the exercise right from the start of the year will help leaders coach their teams, continuously.

How to go about it?

• Lock time (one hour should suffice) and brainstorm on how you want to do it? (what to gauge & how to gauge)
• Make a schedule to follow, throughout the year (10 min. a day should be sufficient)
• Make a simple format in MS Excel to help you with the task (if need be, get help from your L&D to share a simple format)

2. Measure

A very famous saying goes like ‘What gets measured, gets accomplished’. Leaders must ask themselves what they need to measure (KPIs) and how to do it (a simple MS Excel sheet), and the frequency (daily/weekly/forth-nightly) of such observations. A leader can note down each day’s achievements/observations for a team of 5 people in 5-10 mins. easily.

3. Share

Once the leader has collected the data (KPIs, achievements, observations) on a daily basis, it’s time that they share it with the respective team member, every fortnight. The discussion would require the leader to spare 13 mins. for each team member, once every two weeks. These 13 mins. could be distributed using a 5 – 5 – 3 formula.

• 5 Mins. of Empathetic Listening: The initial 5 mins. of this conversation are for empathetic listening (remember, listening is not just hearing) to your team member. Ask them how are they doing & if they need any help/guidance with their work? Listen to not just their words, but feelings as well.

• 5 Mins. of Specific Feedback: The next 5 mins. must be invested in giving your team member, specific feedback on their areas of improvement. Use the sandwich approach to proceed. Start with what they specifically did well that week, then specify their area of improvement & its impact on the organization, and next share a specific solution that could help them improve their performance.
  

• 3 Mins. of Encouragement & Appreciation: The last 3 mins. should ONLY focus on encouraging them to do well, and appreciate their contribution to the team & the organization. Don’t hesitate to appreciate in public, a simple Thank You in front of the entire team can do wonders to enhance a team member’s morale & performance.

Use this 5-5-3 formula and share your feedback with us 🙂

PS: This article was possible with the help of a great friend & fellow L&D enthusiast, Muhammad Fayyaz Kerawala