2 | Performance Management Myths and Facts
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Myth: It's important to lock in goals at the
beginning of the year and hold people
accountable for them.
Fact: Adaptability is a new part of the
performance management process. For years,
companies were satisfied with identifying goals
at the beginning of the year and then reviewing
them at year end. The world has evolved. It's likely
for markets to shift, new competitors to emerge,
and priorities to change during the course of
a year. Adaptability is important in this world.
Performance management systems must have the
flexibility and adaptability to evolve along with
changing circumstances.
That said, new goals needn't be written
every month. Instead, organizations strong in
performance management identify overarching
strategic priorities that remain in place while
supporting goals and activities adjust. These
strategic priorities create consistency amidst
chaos and provide a beacon for employees
to follow even as they adapt their individual
priorities to fit the environment.
Myth: Performance management works best
when it focuses solely on the individual.
Fact: Ideally, individual contributors should be
able to trace their own goals to department goals
to division goals and up to corporate goals. The
best performance management systems link
individual and organizational goals clearly. These
cascading goal systems help ensure that the
organization is entirely aligned and focused on its
overarching strategies and priorities.
Myth: Performance management happens when
setting goals at the beginning of the year and when
reviewing performance at the end of the year.
Fact: Performance management works most
successfully when it is integrated into daily work.
The best performance managers solicit, give, and
receive feedback constantly. After all, if people
aren't doing what they need to do, isn't it better
that they find out quickly so they can change?
Myth: Performance management always focuses
on the individual.
Fact: Innovative performance management
systems include groups or teams by creating
goals that require staff to collaborate in order
to achieve results. Team goals help individuals
think more holistically about the needs of the
organization and its customers. While team goals
can be complex and difficult to achieve, they
have the potential to bring much value to an
organization.
Myth: Performance management is primarily
an administrative task.
Fact: There's a portion of performance
management that is administrative: logging
performance review information into an online
tracking system and completing performance
review documentation. However, the best
companies take performance management way
beyond administration. At its most effective,
performance management is an ongoing,
dynamic interplay between performers,
managers, and goals. Performers work to clarify
goals, create action plans, and execute. Managers
help by letting performers know when they are
off track. Goals evolve in response to changing
environmental conditions, causing managers
and performers to adjust. All three - performers,
managers, and goals - evolve throughout the year
as people learn what it really takes to achieve
corporate objectives.
