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Rethinking Performance Management for Post-Pandemic Success

Organizations serious about high performance must rethink performance metrics.

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Performance Management

Will dispersed, distributed, and remote workforces become the post-pandemic new normal? It may be too soon to say. Much clearer is how misleading and unhelpful legacy metrics are for assessing work-from-home performance. Pre-COVID-19 workplace analytics are no longer fit for purpose. They don’t capture the disjointed realities of digital workflows. Stressed, separated, and challenged to do better with less, people need greater insight into how they’re doing. Productivity now demands more aggressive and actionable measures.

Recalibrating key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential to ensuring that remote work actually works. Enterprises that want the best from their workers — and for their customers — innovatively invest in digital accountability, but these efforts must acknowledge and respect newly blurred distinctions between work and home life. Digitally colonizing people’s homes is not an option; workforce mood and morale matter. Thoughtful leaders grasp the need for a healthy coexistence.

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Without trust and transparency, remote workforce monitoring appears intrusive and exploitative. With transparency and trust, tracking can authentically be branded and experienced as data-driven workforce support . Increasingly, monitoring and measuring morale — qualitatively, as well as quantitatively — matters. But soft skills deserve hard numbers, too. Emergent post-pandemic dashboards embrace affective metrics as firmly and fairly as effective ones.

That means that leading companies must renovate their data-driven dashboards to better inspire people and project teams and promote positive outcomes. They must automatically capture and analyze, and explicitly communicate, their high-performance criteria. The most important takeaway: High-performance management depends on high-performance measurement. The digital future of one depends on the digital future of the other.

Redefining and remeasuring high performance may prove to be the true disruptive opportunity for post-COVID-19 growth.

At one global professional services company, for example, top management dramatically accelerated project delivery schedules for its newly remote teams. This forcing mechanism deliberately inspired greater communication, coordination, and collaboration expectations for team members. At the same time, however, the company created a complementary buddy system to help ensure that more isolated and/or introverted employees felt connected. Tech support migrated from a back-office help-desk function to a digital project facilitator and enabler for global teams with demanding deadlines. The number of pulse surveys monitoring employee engagement and morale increased from fortnightly to every few days. Top management is tracking what‚ and who — delivers value well.

A senior global research project manager at Adobe programmed his laptop to display a personalized end-of-day dashboard visually summarizing — with pie charts and graphs — how he spent his time, whom he contacted, messages sent and received, documents exchanged, appointments scheduled, commitments made, and to-do list items accomplished, along with the top three items for the following day. He started sharing this dashboard with his team and is now wondering whether he should nudge — or require — colleagues to create comparable dashboards. “Should we be visible to each other in this way?” he asks. He says that such “dashboard transparency” has sparked cross-functional exchanges he’d never had before.

At least two global banks seek to capture remote-working lessons and best practices for internal discussion and sharing. Looking ahead, they’re rethinking whether they really need all the commercial office space they currently possess. They’re now reviewing with IT how significantly having a dispersed workforce alters their process automation road maps. Consequently, IT and its business process owner counterparts now track and map dispersed workforce workflows with a new remote automation strategy in mind.

Using Data to Better (See and Communicate) Performance

Mandatory remoteness quickly obsolesced executive truisms like “management by walking around,” and “under management’s watchful eye,” along with the concept of an “open-door policy.” Disrupted organizations soon learn just how little they know about how well — and how poorly — their people and teams work together. Virtually every serious organization now grasps that some meaningfully measurable form of real-time monitoring is essential to value orchestration and oversight.

For some, this quest for transparency translates to “Trust but verify”; for others, the mantra is “Verify but trust.” Either way, trust is core. “Do I trust my people? Yes,” says one investment banking lead. “Do I now need to be able to see how they spend their time? Yes. They need to trust me, too.”

Proactive enterprise communication is central to this cultural shift. When a Fortune /Adobe survey asked CIOs what has proved to be the biggest challenge in facilitating their companies’ remote work, only 20% said hardware, and 21% tech tools. Over half — 53% — said the hardest issue was getting employees to effectively communicate with one another. Why is that so seemingly hard? There’s certainly no shortage of smart messaging tools. As the COVID-19 crisis reveals, companies overwhelmingly depend on them.

Yet, most companies lack real-time metrics or measures assessing team and/or process communication effectiveness. Typically, those indicators are bundled into performance management reviews. That helps explain an accelerating managerial trend: greater reliance on performance management systems to better orchestrate and upgrade team performance. This emergent application of performance management systems ensures more communication and conversations about performance.

Unsurprisingly, next-generation performance management depends on digital monitoring and tracking platforms to generate real-time analytic insights. Those workflow and process insights can be prescriptive and predictive, as well as descriptive. High-performing leaders embrace this practice. Dispersed, technologically enabled enterprises seamlessly converge people, process, and technology into performance management systems.

With improved dashboards, leaders can see which teams best add value to what processes. They can observe which workflows invite consolidation, automation, and/or professional development . Leadership now has the data and analytics necessary to refine what high performance should mean for people and what it could mean for machines. These insights are indispensable. The more repeatable, replicable, and scalable the high-performance workflow, the better its candidacy for automation and/or machine learning. Correlating and connecting instrumented workflows with KPIs lets organizations turn the “remoteness from COVID-19”-imposed bug into a high-performance-enabling feature.

We see this in law firms, logistics providers, customer contact centers, and even health care providers. From telemedicine to texts about a customer’s arrival for curbside pickup, organizations are repurposing and instrumenting their performance management platforms in ways that measurably redefine high performance.

For example, colocated contact centers have been forced to geographically disperse. This has brutally disrupted legacy work patterns and forced a performance management reevaluation. Chatbots prioritize and route inquiries; support workers more easily message or transfer callers to colleagues; automated follow-ups with relevant links attached are readily sent. Response time, Net Promoter Score, and customer satisfaction KPIs retain pride of metrics place. But better analytics orchestration lets management track the digital blends of process and performance ingredients best correlated to desired outcomes. The resultant data highlights touch points best suited for automation and those where human contact best improves outcomes. The new constraints and opportunities imposed by remoteness and automation have transformed how the contact centers have chosen to align performance assessment, efficiency, and customer response.

Similarly, a “remote-ified” Silicon Valley law firm quickly and effectively deployed transcription-as-a-service to convert every Zoom-based client and partner meeting into editable documents. Instant transcripts dramatically changed how legal teams collaborated with each other and with clients. Measuring value-added revisions to those documents — and how those revisions were included in filings and client communications — immediately emerged as an essential workflow monitoring challenge. Version management governance became a new driver for decision-making. Partners now track their time-and-version ratios between simultaneous and asynchronous review. For some partners and associates, ROI effectively means return on iteration — in other words, which lawyers and legal teams have the biggest productive impact editing, annotating, and converting transcripts into desired client deliverables.

These examples show that successful leaders can use performance management analytics as portal and platform to convert new capabilities and constraints into new value. Data-informed performance management invites and inspires more productive workforce exchanges.

These interim COVID-19 findings represent genuine business applications of conclusions reached by our 2019 research report “ Performance Management’s Digital Shift .” That report anticipated the disruptive dominance data-driven workforce communication would enjoy. “The biggest cultural and organizational impact of next-generation performance management systems,” we observed, “will be feedback time, tempo, and impact. Instead of annual, quarterly, or impromptu reviews, talent- and accountability-oriented enterprises will encourage and enable near-constant feedback.”

Feedback — actionable, constructive, trackable, and influential — is the informational and motivational coin of the digital realm in the post-pandemic distributed workforce. Feedback — data-enriched, KPI-aligned — simultaneously promotes situational awareness and self-awareness. Feedback is how people get better at getting better. High-performance systems require high-performance feedback. Better-quality feedback means better-quality outcomes. This simple management — and leadership — truth is being rediscovered and reconfigured in light of COVID-19.

To cultivate healthy returns from a healthy — if remote and distributed — workforce requires leaders to treat data and analytics as nutrients for people, not just fuel for economic growth. That means leaders need to do the following:

Commit to a continuous feedback culture. Much as individuals use Google Maps or Waze to manage expectations around travel, employees and associates need dynamic visualizations to manage their expectations around work. Performance management platforms must facilitate ongoing feedback on professional progress, growth, and development opportunities. Executives must define the feedback experience for their people. Doing so forces leaders to define and develop a shared perspective about what high performance means.

Commit to clarity between assessment and development. Managers should make clear when feedback targets performance assessment versus cultivating new capabilities and skills. Development matters. Especially for remote workers and distributed teams, human resource policies must balance assessment and the safe cultivation of new skills and capabilities.

Commit to transparency. Post-pandemic performance management credibility and trustworthiness depend on transparency. People must be able to see that their contributions to meetings are recognized and/or that their blown deadlines cost the company a big client. This requires significant shifts in data governance: Connecting and aligning feedback transparency to data collection must become a core cultural value and practice. In short, transparency is the foundation for a performance culture that can also literally be seen as a fair and equitable culture.

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Commit to performance management and KPI alignment. Aspiration and expectation require quantification. There is no meaningful performance management without measurable KPIs. High-performance accountability requires clear and concise KPIs or key results. Linking performance management to KPIs or objectives and key results is the strategic duty and obligation of serious leadership. Managers, not HR, ensure that performance management activities support measurable, valuable business outcomes.

There will always be tensions — and opportunities — between managing high-performance people, high-performance machines, and high-performance systems. Innovatively confronting those challenges will be the most important leadership challenge this global pandemic creates.

About the Author

Michael Schrage is a research fellow at the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, where he does research and advisory work on how digital media transforms agency, human capital, and innovation.

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The Performance Management Revolution

• Peter Cappelli

Hated by bosses and subordinates alike, traditional performance appraisals have been abandoned by more than a third of U.S. companies. The annual review’s biggest limitation, the authors argue, is its emphasis on holding employees accountable for what they did last year, at the expense of improving performance now and in the future. That’s why many organizations are moving to more-frequent, development-focused conversations between managers and employees.

The authors explain how performance management has evolved over the decades and why current thinking has shifted: (1) Today’s tight labor market creates pressure to keep employees happy and groom them for advancement. (2) The rapidly changing business environment requires agility, which argues for regular check-ins with employees. (3) Prioritizing improvement over accountability promotes teamwork.

Some companies worry that going numberless may make it harder to align individual and organizational goals, award merit raises, identify poor performers, and counter claims of discrimination—though traditional appraisals haven’t solved those problems, either. Other firms are trying hybrid approaches—for example, giving employees performance ratings on multiple dimensions, coupled with regular development feedback.

The focus is shifting from accountability to learning.

Idea in Brief

The problem.

By emphasizing individual accountability for past results, traditional appraisals give short shrift to improving current performance and developing talent for the future. That can hinder long-term competitiveness.

The Solution

To better support employee development, many organizations are dropping or radically changing their annual review systems in favor of giving people less formal, more frequent feedback that follows the natural cycle of work.

The Outlook

This shift isn’t just a fad—real business needs are driving it. Support at the top is critical, though. Some firms that have struggled to go entirely without ratings are trying a “third way”: assigning multiple ratings several times a year to encourage employees’ growth.

When Brian Jensen told his audience of HR executives that Colorcon wasn’t bothering with annual reviews anymore, they were appalled. This was in 2002, during his tenure as the drugmaker’s head of global human resources. In his presentation at the Wharton School, Jensen explained that Colorcon had found a more effective way of reinforcing desired behaviors and managing performance: Supervisors were giving people instant feedback, tying it to individuals’ own goals, and handing out small weekly bonuses to employees they saw doing good things.

• Peter Cappelli is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at the Wharton School and the director of its Center for Human Resources. He is the author of several books, including Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting Is Bad for Business and Employees (Oxford University Press).
• AT Anna Tavis is a clinical associate professor of human capital management at New York University and the Perspectives editor at People + Strategy, a journal for HR executives.

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Harnessing the power of performance management

These days, performance management is a source of dissatisfaction at many organizations. Large shares of respondents to a recent McKinsey Global Survey on the topic say their organizations’ current systems and practices have no effect—or even a negative one—on company performance. 1 1. The online survey was in the field from July 18 to July 28, 2017, and garnered responses from 1,761 participants representing the full ranges of regions, industries, company sizes, functional specialties, and tenures. To adjust for differences in response rates, the data are weighted by the contribution of each respondent’s nation to global GDP. Moreover, they do not see positive returns on investment for the time spent on performance management. Yet the results also show that when executed well, performance management has a positive impact on employees’ performance and the organization’s performance overall.

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Our analysis indicates that the key to reaping positive business outcomes from performance management is to establish a system that employees and managers perceive as fair. 2 2. As McKinsey’s Scott Keller and Mary Meaney write in Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths , “We believe people aren’t against being evaluated, and, in fact, they want to know where they stand. They just want the process to be fair. They want a process that differentiates without false precision, that is both forward- and backward-looking, that happens far more frequently than once a year (but not so much as to create feedback fatigue), that involves an honest, two-way conversation, that is based on more data and input than just the boss’s view, that considers not just what was achieved, but also how, and links rewards and consequences to performance.” For more, see Scott Keller and Mary Meaney, Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths , first edition, London: Bloomsbury Business, 2017. To ensure that perception, managers should master three critical practices: linking individuals’ goals with business priorities, coaching effectively , and differentiating compensation across levels of performance.

Disappointed and seeking to improve quickly

On the whole, respondents express doubt that their current performance-management systems foster strong performance. In fact, more than half of respondents believe performance management has not had a positive effect on employee or organizational performance (Exhibit 1).

Accordingly, many respondents say their companies are making changes. Two-thirds report the implementation of at least one meaningful modification to their performance-management systems in the past 18 months. These results also show that companies are making a wide variety of adjustments. No more than one-third of respondents report implementing even one of the three most commonly cited changes—simplifying ratings, streamlining formal review processes, and separating conversations about performance and compensation (Exhibit 2).

Despite the lack of consensus on where to focus improvements, the responses clearly indicate that performance management, when done well, boosts overall performance. Respondents who say their companies’ performance-management systems have a positive impact on both employee and business performance are much likelier than others to report better business outcomes. 3 3. We measured business outcomes based on respondents’ reporting of how their organization performed in the past three years, relative to peers. The outperforming companies are those that, according to respondents, have performed much better or somewhat better than their competitors. Among respondents who consider their companies’ performance-management systems effective, 60 percent say their companies have outperformed their peers in the past three years—nearly three times the share of respondents who rate their companies’ performance management as ineffective.

Three practices for successful performance management

From the results, we have identified three practices that correlate most closely with the key factor of performance management’s effectiveness: the perceived fairness of the system . These practices are linking performance goals to business priorities , effective coaching by managers, and differentiating compensation across levels of performance (Exhibit 3).

What’s more, these practices are mutually reinforcing: implementing one practice well can have a positive effect on the performance of others and leads to more effective performance management overall. In fact, among respondents who say their organizations perform well on all three practices, 84 percent report a positive impact on performance management (Exhibit 4). They are 12 times likelier to report effective performance-management systems than respondents who say their companies have not implemented any of the three.

Linking performance goals to business priorities. The first practice of the three, linking individual employees’ performance goals to business priorities, not only correlates with a higher level of perceived fairness but also helps companies achieve their strategic goals. Where employees’ goals are linked to business priorities, 46 percent of respondents report effective performance management, compared with 16 percent at companies that don’t follow this practice.

The results suggest that performance goals, besides being linked to strategy, should be adaptable and revisited as market conditions change or extenuating circumstances occur. The regular review of goals helps ensure that individuals in the organization continue to believe that the system is fair and also has a positive impact on performance management. Of respondents who report effective performance management, 62 percent say their companies revisit goals at least twice a year or on an ad hoc basis.

Manager coaching. Our analysis indicates not only that effective coaching is the strongest driver of perceived fairness but also that there is a direct relationship between effective managers and the effectiveness of a company’s performance-management system. When managers effectively coach and develop their employees—a practice that less than 30 percent of all respondents report—74 percent say their performance-management systems are effective, and 62 percent say their organizations’ performance is better than that of competitors. Where respondents do not see managers as effective coaches, only 15 percent report effective performance management, and just 30 percent report outperformance relative to competitors.

On specific coaching methods, the results suggest that ongoing development conversations between managers and employees also support better outcomes. In fact, 68 percent of respondents agree that ongoing coaching and feedback conversations have a positive impact on individual performance. Respondents who say that ongoing discussions take place are ten times likelier than others to rate performance-management systems at their companies as effective, and they are nearly twice as likely to say their companies have outperformed competitors. So if organizations do nothing else to improve performance management, they should invest in managers’ capabilities and communicate their expectations for having high-quality coaching and development conversations with employees.

Other results suggest that respondents, on the whole, understand the value of strong manager capabilities . When asked about changes their companies have made to existing performance-management systems in the past 18 months, the change that links most closely to improved employee performance is resetting manager expectations around coaching and development . And among the actions that respondents say their organizations will take in the next 18 months, the most common is more frequent coaching conversations.

Differentiating compensation. The third practice is meaningful differentiation of compensation among low, midlevel, and high performers. Less than half of all respondents agree that at their organizations, employee pay is meaningfully different across levels of performance—and the results confirm that this practice links closely with outperformance. Of the respondents reporting differentiated compensation at their companies, 54 percent rate their performance-management systems as effective, compared with only 16 percent at companies without meaningfully different compensation. Among those following the practice, 52 percent say their organizations have performed better than their peers in recent years.

Also on compensation, the results suggest that effective performance management is more likely when organizations separate compensation conversations from formal evaluations. Of the respondents who say their companies separate discussions about performance from discussions about compensation, 47 percent report effective performance management—compared with 30 percent at companies that don’t separate such discussions.

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While multiple factors contribute to a perceived sense of fairness, the previous three practices have the most impact on whether respondents say their companies’ performance-management systems are considered to be fair. And of all the organizational practices the survey asked about, perceived fairness correlates most closely with positive business outcomes. Among respondents who agree that their performance-management systems are perceived as fair, 60 percent report an overall effective system. 4 4. Thirty-eight percent of respondents rate their performance-management systems as effective (that is, they say that performance management has had a positive impact both on individual employees’ performance and on their organizations’ performance). Of their peers who do not agree, only 7 percent report an overall effective system. What’s more, the respondents reporting perceived fairness are nearly twice as likely as those who don’t (52 percent, compared with 27 percent) to say their companies are outperforming competitors.

Beyond these key points, the responses also indicate a few secondary—but important—practices that can encourage effective performance management. One is the use of technology to revamp performance-management systems. Respondents say their organizations are using technology for a wide variety of performance-management interventions, from tracking progress against performance goals to monitoring completion of development conversations. Yet other than the completion of forms for formal performance reviews, none of the other applications is used moderately or greatly by a majority of respondents. The value of technology seems to be clear, though, for the companies that have already implemented it. At companies that have launched mobile technologies to support performance management in the past 18 months, 65 percent of respondents say this change has had a positive effect on both employee and company performance. But while technology can certainly enable effective performance management, the most important measures to get right are the three best practices that foster a sense of fairness across the organization.

The contributors to the development and analysis of this survey include Sabrin Chowdhury, a consultant in McKinsey’s New Jersey office , Bill Schaninger , a senior partner in the Philadelphia office , and Elizabeth Hioe, an alumna of the New Jersey office.

They wish to thank Lili Duan and David Mendelsohn for their contributions to this work.

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Evidence-Based Performance Management: Applying Behavioral Science to Support Practitioners

Matthew d. novak.

4001 Dole Human Development Center, Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA

Florence D. DiGennaro Reed

Tyler g. erath, abigail l. blackman, sandra a. ruby, azure j. pellegrino.

The science of behavior has effectively addressed many areas of social importance, including the performance management of staff working in human-service settings. Evidence-based performance management entails initial preservice training and ongoing staff support. Initial training reflects a critical first training component and is necessary for staff to work independently within an organization. However, investment in staff must not end once preservice training is complete. Ongoing staff support should follow preservice training and involves continued coaching and feedback. The purpose of this article is to bridge the research-to-practice gap by outlining research-supported initial training and ongoing staff support procedures within human-serving settings, presenting practice guidelines, and sharing information about easy-to-implement ways practitioners may stay abreast of current research.

Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to. —Richard Branson

The science of behavior has effectively addressed many areas of social importance including education (e.g., Sulzer-Azaroff & Gillat, 1990 ), traffic safety (e.g., van Houten, Nau, & Marini, 1980 ; Yeaton & Bailey, 1978 ), substance use (e.g., Higgins, Silverman, & Heil, 2007 ), parent training (e.g., Lindgren et al., 2016 ; Phaneuf & McIntyre, 2007 ), behavioral medicine (e.g., Piazza, Milnes, & Shalev, 2015 ), and others. Perhaps the most widely known application is the behavioral treatment of autism (Freedman, 2016 ). Due to the research supporting its effectiveness (e.g., National Autism Center, 2009 , 2015 ), autism treatment based on the principles of behavior analysis is endorsed by the U.S. Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1999 ), National Institutes of Health (Strock, 2007 ), and the National Research Council (Lord & McGee, 2001 ). The model that has evolved for the provision of services to individuals with autism and other disabilities presents a challenge that is unique to those in health and human services. Whereas psychological therapy is delivered by licensed psychologists and medical procedures are performed by doctors, behavior analysts with the most amount of training and education (i.e., Board Certified Behavior Analysts®) often do not deliver services directly. Rather, they typically oversee the provision of services delivered by others. Thus, the challenge for those providing behavioral services to vulnerable populations is ensuring that individuals with relatively less training and education (i.e., Registered Behavior Technicians® or Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts®) provide direct services in an effective and responsible manner.

To be successful, this unique service model necessitates effective performance management—the careful training and supervision of staff who implement behavioral treatment. Unfortunately, recent research suggests the field could benefit from improvements in this area. DiGennaro Reed and Henley ( 2015 ) administered a survey to certified and aspiring behavior analysts to determine the extent to which evidence-based staff training practices were implemented by their employers. The results were worrisome and launched efforts by the authors to disseminate recommended practices to practitioners and organizational leaders (e.g., DiGennaro Reed, 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 ; Henley, 2018 , 2019 ). Only 55% of respondents indicated they received initial training after being hired; when training was provided, organizations relied on tactics with little empirical support, such as instruction alone. Fortunately, 71% of respondents reported they received ongoing training and support, but primarily in the forms of a lecture or monthly feedback, which are typically less effective than other forms of performance management. Respondents who worked as supervisors were also queried about the training they received to prepare them for the important responsibility of leading and managing staff. Only 33% indicated they received any formal training on how to effectively implement research-supported supervision practices. These results suggest training and performance management in settings that employ behavior analysts are not consistent with recommended practices. Many respondents began working without any formal training, received less-than-ideal ongoing support, and were expected to supervise staff without any guidance regarding best practices.

Many practicing behavior analysts lack sufficient training and ongoing support, which is worrisome because the lack of evidence-based staff training and performance management may lead to negative outcomes, including staff turnover, poor service quality, and charges of unethical conduct. Kazemi, Shapiro, and Kavner ( 2015 ) surveyed 100 behavior technicians from several companies and found that satisfaction with initial training, ongoing staff support, and supervisor behavior were key factors influencing respondents’ intent to quit their jobs. These results suggest that providing evidence-based staff training may help to mitigate staff turnover, which is reported to be as high as 75% within human-service organizations (Kazemi et al., 2015 ). Moreover, staff turnover places substantial financial strain on an organization, with average costs ranging from $5,000 for a single behavior technician to $10,000 for a certified behavior analyst (Sundberg, 2016 ).

In addition to affecting workforce stability, insufficient training and performance management may further disrupt the quality of behavioral services by influencing treatment integrity—the extent to which prescribed treatment procedures are implemented correctly (Peterson, Homer, & Wonderlich, 1982 ). In a review of 19 parametric analyses of treatment integrity, Brand, Henley, DiGennaro Reed, Gray, and Crabbs ( 2019 ) reported that treatment integrity errors produce unpredictable client outcomes. Although, in some instances, errors in behavioral treatment did not negatively influence client skill acquisition or problem behavior (e.g., Leon, Wilder, Majdalany, Myers, & Saini, 2014 ), in general researchers showed that integrity errors resulted in slower learner progress and less effective treatment. These findings underscore the importance of ensuring that staff implement treatment protocols as designed, which is fostered by the quality of training and performance management staff experience.

Insufficient performance management practices may have consequences that extend beyond affecting direct services; they may carry severe consequences for behavior analysts individually as well as for the profession more broadly. To ensure quality provision of services, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB, 2014 ) outlines a set of guidelines that all behavior analysts must follow. For example, section 5.03 of the Code states, “If the supervisee does not have the skills necessary to perform competently, ethically, and safely, behavior analysts provide conditions for the acquisition of those skills” (p. 14). Thus, supervisors are obligated to provide staff with effective training. On the topic of ongoing staff support, section 5.06 states, “Behavior analysts design feedback and reinforcement systems in a way that improves supervisee performance. Behavior analysts provide documented, timely feedback regarding the performance of a supervisee on an ongoing basis” (p. 14). Together these statements indicate that behavior analysts must rely on evidence-based staff training and performance management procedures to ensure compliance with this code. Failure to do so may result in ethical charges against the credentialed behavior analyst, which could lead to loss of certification or state licensure.

Evidence-based performance management involves a program that includes initial preservice training and ongoing staff support. Initial training, often referred to as orientation or onboarding , reflects a critical first training component and is necessary for staff to work independently within an organization. However, investment in staff must not end once preservice training is complete. Ongoing staff support should follow preservice training and it involves supervisors providing continued coaching and feedback regarding the staff’s performance in one or more areas. The purpose of this article is to bridge the research-to-practice gap by outlining research-supported initial training and ongoing staff support procedures within human-service settings, presenting practice guidelines based on our experience and current research, and sharing information about ways to stay up to date with research.

Preservice Training

The natural first step to ensuring high-quality staff training is the delivery of preservice training, which allows new employees to learn relevant job skills in a controlled, distraction-free environment. Although orientation and onboarding procedures are ubiquitous across all forms of employment, the presence of training alone does not guarantee proficiency with job skills. To be most effective, preservice training should use empirically supported training techniques. One empirically supported technique is behavioral skills training (BST), which is a procedure used to train new skills through a package including instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback (Parsons, Rollyson, & Reid, 2012 ). Behavioral skills training can be implemented individually or in groups and has been used to train several tasks in the human service industry, including discrete trial instruction (Sarokoff & Sturmey, 2004 ) and mand training (Nigro-Bruzzi & Sturmey, 2010 ) among others. Each component of BST is outlined below.

Instruction

The first component of BST is instruction, which involves describing a target skill or behavior one expects the trainee to perform (Miltenberger, 2016 ). Trainers can deliver instruction by describing procedures vocally (e.g., lecture, discussion) or textually (e.g., written protocols). Written protocols can include text alone or text with supplemental components, such as diagrams and images (i.e., enhanced written instructions; Berkman, Roscoe, & Bourret, 2019 ; Graff & Karsten, 2012 ). All too often, preservice training ends after instruction alone (DiGennaro Reed & Henley, 2015 ). It is critical to know that instruction alone is insufficient in training new skills (Ducharme & Feldman, 1992 ). Instead, training should begin with instruction followed by the other components that comprise BST.

This is not to say that instruction does not influence performance. Indeed, there are several ways in which instruction can be delivered to influence trainees’ performance. For example, Henley, Hirst, DiGennaro Reed, Becirevic, and Reed ( 2017 ) compared the use of directive instructions (e.g., “you must”) to nondirective instructions (e.g., “you might consider”) on trainees’ responding under changing reinforcement schedules in a laboratory task. When presented with directive instructions, participants responded in accordance with the instructions, even when the instructions were inaccurate (i.e., instructions did not match the reinforcement schedules). Participants in the nondirective condition, however, responded in accordance with the reinforcement schedules, independent of the instructions. Studies on this topic suggest that, when creating instructions for staff, it is important to consider how instructions are delivered, as minor variations may affect performance.

There are isolated instances in the literature of participants correctly performing skills after detailed instruction alone. For example, Graff and Karsten ( 2012 ) taught staff to effectively conduct preference assessments using enhanced written instructions, which included a detailed data sheet, diagrams, and step-by-step instructions written without technical jargon. However, Shapiro, Kazemi, Pogosjana, Rios, and Mendoza ( 2016 ) only partially replicated Graff and Karsten’s findings and had to include additional training procedures to reach criterion performance. Instances of performing to criterion after instruction alone are rare and may depend on various factors, such as the skill being trained, the instruction format, and the trainee’s history. Because these several factors must align for instruction alone to be effective, it is prudent to implement all components of BST when conducting preservice training.

Practice Guidelines

We recommend that trainers present clear and succinct instructions about procedures, as Jarmolowicz et al. ( 2008 ) demonstrated that treatment adherence is better when instructions are written in a conversational form than in technical language. Moreover, it may be helpful to provide jargon-free, written protocols with diagrams (Graff & Karsten, 2012 ) that staff can use during training and refer to later, if needed. In our consultation experience, we have observed that trainees often appreciate the rationale for certain procedures, and providing that information may help guard against performance drift, though research is still needed in this area. Finally, we recommend trainers and supervisors be transparent about specific behaviors that will be observed and measured. It is presumed that the behaviors that will be observed and measured are of the utmost importance and, thus, should not be kept a secret from trainees. Also, new staff members generally want to perform well and may become nervous about their responsibilities and being observed. In our experience, transparency about what is expected and how performance will be measured generally reduces trainees’ nervousness.

The second component of BST is modeling, which involves an experienced staff person demonstrating perfect performance of a target skill or behavior one expects the trainee to imitate (Miltenberger, 2016 ). Modeling can take place in person or shown via video. Video modeling includes the advantages of conserving resources if used over time and being transportable, allowing trainees the opportunity to view the video model outside of the training session. Further, a live model may contain slight errors or inconsistencies across trainings that affect training outcomes; video modeling provides the added benefit of standardizing training procedures and ensuring that only desired models are shown 1 (DiGennaro Reed, Blackman, Erath, Brand, & Novak, 2018 ; Shapiro & Kazemi, 2017 ).

Recent research has shown video modeling, in particular video modeling with voiceover instruction, to be more effective than written instructions alone—though feedback was required for some participants—when training new staff to implement discrete trial instruction and behavior reduction interventions (e.g., DiGennaro Reed, Codding, Catania, & Maguire, 2010 ; Giannakakos, Vladescu, Kisamore, & Reeve, 2016 ). Furthermore, staff effectively learned how to conduct preference assessments after receiving training comprised of video modeling with voiceover instruction (e.g., Delli Bovi, Vladescu, DeBar, Carroll, & Sarokoff, 2017 ).

When incorporating modeling in training, it is important to model the entire procedure for the trainee. In addition, we recommend standardizing the models across training episodes to ensure the relevant skills are being modeled consistently. The latter recommendation may be accomplished by relying on video models or ensuring live models receive written protocols to follow during training. Finally, to aid in generalization, modeling should entail multiple exemplars of the target skill (Moore & Fisher, 2007 ). DiGennaro Reed, Erath, Brand, and Novak ( 2019 ) provide resources for creating video models, which readers may find beneficial.

The third component of BST, rehearsal—also referred to as practice or role play—involves having trainees practice a target skill (Miltenberger, 2016 ). Rehearsal can be arranged in multiple ways, such as using a trained researcher or confederate (e.g., Iwata et al., 2000 ; McGimsey, Greene, & Lutzker, 1995 ; Phillips & Mudford, 2008 ), another trainee who is acquiring the skill being rehearsed (e.g., Palmen, Didden, & Korzilius, 2010 ; Wallace, Doney, Mintz-Resudek, & Tarbox, 2004 ), a service recipient (e.g., Erbas, Tekin-Iftar, & Yucesoy, 2006 ), or by varying the number of rehearsal opportunities (e.g., Jenkins & DiGennaro Reed, 2016 ). An important distinction is that rehearsal alone does not guarantee high levels of performance; in fact, it may allow trainees to practice errors, which may impede acquisition (Ward-Horner & Sturmey, 2012 ). Thus, rehearsal is typically accompanied by performance feedback and continues until trainees achieve mastery (Reid, Parsons, & Green, 2011 ).

In suggesting guidelines for trainers, we offer that practice does not make perfect; rather, practice with feedback makes perfect. That is, feedback should be delivered immediately following each rehearsal opportunity; thus, rehearsal and feedback should occur in tandem. Feedback is described in more detail in the next section. To help trainees acquire all relevant skills, the trainer must engineer opportunities for the trainee to practice the entire procedure, respond to a range of client responses, receive feedback, and meet a mastery criterion. These opportunities include using confederates in-vivo or in an analog setting, and having the confederate behave in scripted or predetermined ways to ensure the trainee practices all the components of a procedure and responds to a range of behaviors. Allowing trainees to respond to many situations is important, especially when dealing with vulnerable populations and procedures that need to be implemented with high integrity.

The fourth component of BST is feedback, which refers to information about past performance that specifies how the trainee can improve performance in the future (Miltenberger, 2016 ). At this stage of training, feedback should be delivered immediately after each rehearsal opportunity and specify steps performed correctly and steps requiring correction (DiGennaro Reed et al., 2018 ). Several reviews of the literature reveal there are various dimensions of feedback, such as its source (supervisor, peer), medium or mode (written, verbal), frequency (daily, weekly), recipients (individuals, groups), privacy (private, public), and content (type of information provided; Alvero, Bucklin, & Austin, 2001 ; Balcazar, Hopkins, & Suarez, 1985 ; Prue & Fairbank, 1981 ). In addition, the way in which corrective and positive feedback are sequenced can influence its efficacy (Henley & DiGennaro Reed, 2015 ; Slowiak & Lakowske, 2017 ). Although supervisors and trainers have flexibility regarding how to implement the various dimensions of feedback, it is likely most efficient and effective to deliver both corrective and positive verbal feedback immediately upon completion of rehearsal.

The numerous variations and dimensions of feedback present a challenge to researchers seeking to examine the most effective combinations. Thus, no practice recommendations with an exact combination of methods can be made, which may be impractical as most supervisors are subject to various organizational and logistical constraints that limit their control over certain factors. However, research on the dimensions of feedback and its delivery has produced results with enough consistency to support general practice guidelines.

We recommend trainers base their feedback on direct observations rather than verbal reports or indirect measures. The use of observational data provides important information for the trainer and may also be used as a data source for delivering feedback. Next, trainee performance may improve faster if corrective feedback is presented before positive feedback (Henley & DiGennaro Reed, 2015 ); however, we often ask trainees to specify their preference for the order in which feedback is delivered. Third, supervisors should deliver feedback immediately after performance, as research suggests immediate feedback is more effective than delayed feedback (Goodman, Brady, Duffy, Scott, & Pollard, 2008 ) and staff prefer immediate feedback compared to delayed feedback (Reid & Parsons, 1996 ). We also recommend that feedback is used in conjunction with the components of BST described previously. Finally, it is important that feedback is delivered in a respectful and professional manner to maintain a positive working relationship, in particular when corrective feedback must be shared.

Ongoing Staff Support

It would be a mistake to assume that, once preservice training is complete, staff will perform all skills with high integrity while on the job and in a complex real-world environment. Thus, high-quality preservice training should be viewed as the initial investment in the professional development of staff. Based on decades of research, it is reasonable to assume that staff may not generalize skills learned in a contrived training environment to the actual work setting or maintain high levels of performance over extended periods of time. To address these challenges and support the maintenance and growth of staff skills, ongoing coaching is necessary. In the following sections, we outline how supervisors can provide ongoing support to staff following preservice training.

Observations and Feedback

The next step in the training process is the provision of ongoing supervision and support. This usually involves supervisory observations of the staff implementing varied procedures. The purpose of direct observations is twofold: to provide the supervisor with opportunities to monitor treatment integrity in the natural environment and to use data to provide performance feedback to staff. Depending on contextual variables operating in the organization (e.g., staff schedules, supervisor schedules, the setting), these observations can vary widely in when, how, and how often they are employed. For example, observations can be scheduled in advance or unscheduled drop-ins ( when ); viewed live (i.e., in-vivo) or via video recordings ( how ); and conducted as often or as little as needed, depending on staff performance, feasibility, and other related variables ( how often ).

Although variability exists regarding how supervisory observations are implemented, one commonality across all variations is to ensure recommended practices are being used. Table ​ Table1 1 depicts an on-the-job training protocol (adapted from Ricciardi, 2005 ) for using recommended practices to conduct ongoing observations. This protocol uses a competency-based approach to training (e.g., Reid & Parsons, 2002 ), and shares many of the same components used in initial training procedures (e.g., instruction, rehearsal, performance feedback). Thus, divergence from initial training procedures is more in relation to the training process , not training content , wherein the goal of ongoing supervision observations is to provide practice opportunities for staff to demonstrate high levels of treatment integrity in their actual workplace setting. The provision of supervision and support in this capacity also affords other benefits, such as the opportunity for supervisors and staff to troubleshoot issues regarding implementation in practice—an issue which may not have been present in the controlled training settings where initial training typically occurs. Related to this, supervisors can also embed coaching procedures (e.g., prompting, prompt fading, reinforcement) into their observations to facilitate staff implementation at mastery levels.

On-the-job training protocol (adapted from Ricciardi, 2005 )

Pay for Performance

An important consideration for maintaining desirable performance is the method by which staff are compensated for their work. Most compensation systems in the United States involve pay-for-time systems, in which compensation is primarily based on the amount of time spent at work, not performance of job duties. The prevalence of pay-for-time systems presents an interesting challenge for behavior-analyst supervisors, as the primary contingency (i.e., pay) is delivered largely independent of performance of job duties. Although pay-for-performance systems likely maintain higher quality and quantity work than pay-for-time, several factors impede implementation of the pay-for-performance systems.

The first barrier to performance-contingent pay is that many supervisors may not be in a position in their organization where they are able to dramatically change existing pay structures. Those supervisors who have control over organizational pay structures would also be likely to experience resistance from staff due to the ubiquity of traditional pay structures. A second barrier to pay-for-performance systems is a concern that these systems may place undue stress on employees—because their income is tied directly to their performance (Ganster, Kiersch, Marsh, & Bowen, 2011 ). This issue is made worse when incentive systems are dependent on factors beyond staff control.

Notwithstanding these barriers, supervisors must identify methods for reinforcing desirable performance within a traditional pay-for-performance system. A large body of research on the use of incentives in organizational settings suggests that desirable staff performance can be maintained by monetary incentives that account for a relatively small proportion of total compensation for staff (e.g., Dickinson & Gillette, 1994 ). That is, desired performance is maintained by the presence of an incentive contingency, not the percentage of incentive pay (Poling, Dickinson, Austin, & Normand, 2000 ). Thus, one solution may be for supervisors to use monetary incentives in conjunction with traditional pay systems—readers in organizations capable of and interested in providing performance-based pay are directed to Abernathy ( 1996 , 2014 ) for additional resources. Note that this type of system is not without limitations. First, monetary incentives must be arranged so they are sustainable over an extended duration, and many human-service settings simply do not have the funds to maintain these efforts. Second, monetary incentives may be subject to certain federal and state labor regulations (e.g., Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ), which may create unwanted logistical difficulties for an organization. Thus, despite the advantages of using a generalized conditioned reinforcer in the form of monetary incentives, supervisors may seek alternative forms of incentive delivery to maintain desirable staff performance.

Identifying Potential Incentives

Although supervisors may feel confident in their ability to select effective nonmonetary incentives for their staff, we urge caution in doing so. Wilder, Rost, and McMahon ( 2007 ) asked supervisors to rank-order potential incentives based on how effective they thought the incentive would be for each of their employees. When comparing supervisor predictions with employee rankings, Wilder et al. observed high agreement between supervisors’ indication of their employees’ most preferred items or activities; however, few supervisors accurately predicted moderate- and lower-preferred items or activities. These findings were replicated by Wilder, Harris, Casella, Wine, and Postma ( 2011 ) and suggest that supervisors generally do a poor job at predicting effective incentives.

Daniels and Bailey ( 2014 ) offer a systematic procedure to assist with selecting incentives. First, supervisors should consider what types of incentives they can reasonably provide. At this stage it is important to consider that incentives may be a mix of items, activities, or privileges. Whereas monetary and most tangible incentives have an inherent cost to an organization, many activities or privileges may come at little or no cost. For example, Iwata, Bailey, Brown, Foshee, and Alpern ( 1976 ) maintained high levels of daily care and training activities from staff working in a residential facility using an incentive where staff could rearrange their days off for the following week. Another important consideration at this stage is that supervisors should select items or activities that are sustainable for use for the indefinite future. Although reinforcement schedules may be thinned over time, the incentive program is only effective for as long as it is being implemented. Supervisors may need to have conversations with their organization’s management to identify incentives that the organization allows and can support—so the supervisor does not have to pay for it out-of-pocket.

Second, supervisors may wish to discuss these options for potential incentives with staff to identify a small number of items, activities, or privileges. This step should be conducted after first identifying potential items and activities because, otherwise, employees do not know what is available or may ask for things that cannot be delivered (see Daniels & Bailey, 2014 ).

Finally, after potential incentives have been identified, supervisors should conduct a systematic preference assessment with staff. Although there is a rich literature evaluating methods for assessing preference in clinical populations with limited verbal repertoires (e.g., Fisher et al., 1992 ), these methods are likely not appropriate for staff with strong verbal repertoires (see Waldvogel & Dixon, 2008 ). Two commonly used methods for assessing employee preference for incentives are a reinforcer survey (Daniels & Bailey, 2014 ) and a ranking procedure (Waldvogel & Dixon, 2008 ; Wine, Reis, & Hantula, 2014 ). The reinforcer survey asks employees to rate how much work they would be willing to do for each item or activity on a Likert-type scale from 0 ( none at all ) to 4 ( very much ). The ranking procedure is similar but provides a relative value for each potential incentive by asking employees to rank the items or activities from least to most preferred. Both the survey and ranking procedure provide relatively accurate indications of effective incentives—although the survey method may be better at identifying a greater range of effective incentives (see Wine et al., 2014 for a comparison).

Incentive Delivery

A final consideration for ensuring effective use of incentives is the way they are delivered. Some variables that warrant additional consideration for use with staff include incentive quality, probability of delivery, and delay to delivery. Incentive quality is largely determined by preference, although incentive magnitude and schedule also affect quality. Incentives may be delivered on a dense schedule initially and thinned once the employee has consistently demonstrated desired performance. Two considerations with respect to quality are that staff preferences may shift over time (Wine, Gilroy, & Hantula, 2012 ) and the use of incentives of varied preference may maintain high levels of performance (Wine & Wilder, 2009 ). Thus, supervisors should consider assessing preference on a regular basis and using a variety of moderate- to high-preferred incentives.

Although rules can help bridge the gap of delays to reinforcement, supervisors should seek to minimize delays as much as possible. In addition, with respect to the probability of incentive delivery, reinforcers may not need to be delivered each time. Though there is little research assessing probability of incentive delivery in OBM settings, several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of lottery systems at maintaining performance (e.g., Cook & Dixon, 2006 ; Iwata et al., 1976 ). Taken together, there has been little OBM research assessing the relative impact of reinforcer dimensions. However, recent research incorporating the area of behavioral economics has provided a promising methodology through which a thorough understanding may be developed (e.g., Henley, DiGennaro Reed, Reed, & Kaplan, 2016 ; Wine et al., 2012 ).

Assessing Performance Problems

Despite best efforts to train and provide follow-up support to staff, supervisors will likely encounter instances of less-than-desirable performance. As is true with service delivery in clinical populations, performance management interventions typically provide benefit when they are informed by preintervention functional assessment. Though several informant assessments exist and have been implemented with success (e.g., Daniels & Lattal, 2017 ; Mager & Pipe, 1984 ), the Performance Diagnostic Checklist–Human Services (PDC–HS; Carr, Wilder, Majdalany, Mathisen, & Strain, 2013 ) has emerging support for use in human-service settings. The PDC–HS may be especially advantageous for BCBAs in supervisory positions who may have limited OBM experience as it is less time consuming and does not require the same level of expertise as behavioral systems analysis (for more information about behavioral systems analysis, see Johnson, Casella, McGee, & Lee, 2014 ; McGee & Diener, 2010 ; Sigurdsson & McGee, 2015 ). The PDC–HS is an informant assessment that may be used to identify variables causing or maintaining substandard performance. The assessment consists of 20 questions across four domains: (a) training; (b) task clarification and prompting; (c) resources, materials, and processes; and (d) performance consequences, effort, and competition. As its name suggests, the PDC–HS was developed specifically for use in human service settings, and the questions and domains were developed to target environmental variables that commonly affect performance in this particular setting.

The first section, training , contains questions about the type of training received and whether the employee has demonstrated desired levels of performance in the past. The second section, task clarification and prompting , includes questions about the employee’s knowledge of job requirements and the environment where the behavior is expected to occur. Third, the resources, materials, and processes section contains questions about the organization’s systems and resources that may be beyond the employee’s control. Finally, the performance consequences, effort, and competition section includes questions about overall supervisor support and supervision, feedback, and potential competing activities.

Carr et al. ( 2013 ) indicated that seven of the items on the PDC–HS can be answered through direct observation and recommended administering the remaining 13 items through discussion with the employee’s supervisor. Practitioners administering the PDC–HS might consider also administering it with multiple supervisors or across different levels of the organization (e.g., management, supervisors, employees) as there may not be 100% agreement across all relevant parties (e.g., Merritt, DiGennaro Reed, & Martinez, 2019 ).

When complete, results of the PDC–HS are scored by counting the number of items for which an area of concern was flagged in each domain (see Carr & Wilder, 2016 ; Carr et al., 2013 ); the domain with the most flagged items typically indicates the “function” of the performance problem, or the area to be targeted for intervention. Where the PDC–HS may be particularly useful is the accompanying intervention planning guide, which provides a list of recommended interventions (with supporting literature) for each domain. For example, Bowe and Sellers ( 2018 ) conducted a PDC–HS to assess inaccurate implementation of error correction procedures during teaching sessions, and results indicated that insufficient training was likely the greatest contributing factor for performance problems. The experimenters then compared an indicated intervention of BST with an intervention recommended in the task clarification and prompting domain (posting reminders; i.e., a nonindicated intervention) and found that performance improved only following the indicated intervention. In sum, the PDC–HS is particularly beneficial for supervisors in human service settings as it provides a systematic assessment of performance problems, is tailored specifically for use in human service settings, and helps supervisors select a function-indicated intervention.

Continuing Education for Staff

As employees continue their professional growth at an organization, their interests may begin to extend beyond the scope of what a supervisor is able to provide. These interests may be viewed as an opportunity to develop skills by facilitating additional learning opportunities. Many of the approaches described in the section below on staying up to date with research can also be adapted for staff development. For example, a supervisor may encourage staff to attend regional conferences or workshops by providing time off work or assisting with registration costs. Those who oversee a large number of staff may consider inviting speakers to deliver workshops on topics related to the services the organization provides. By facilitating continuing education opportunities, supervisors create varied learning opportunities for staff while also creating natural rewards for staff who stay with an organization.

Staying Up to Date in Performance Management Research

Staying current with the research literature is an important skill for practitioners as it may foster the provision of high-quality supervision, training, and services across all levels of the organization. Section 1.01 of the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code includes a provision that states “behavior analysts rely on professionally derived knowledge based on science and behavior analysis when making scientific or professional judgements in human service provision, or when engaging in scholarly or professional endeavors” (BACB, 2014 , p. 4). To meet this standard, credentialed behavior analysts must remain abreast of current scientific findings. At the broadest level, this often involves various classes of behavior that can be categorized into two areas: (a) attending professional development opportunities and (b) reading peer-reviewed publications in staff training and performance management.

Attending professional development opportunities often means attending local, regional, and/or international behavior-analytic conferences and workshops to learn about recent developments in a given area. With current technology, webinars, online-based trainings, and podcasts may be options. For example, the OBM Network ( http://obmnetwork.com ) provides numerous webinars from excellent researchers in the field of OBM on topics such as feedback, remote supervision, pay-for performance, leadership, and staff turnover, among others.

Carr and Briggs ( 2010 ) offer helpful recommendations for overcoming barriers to staying abreast of the scholarly literature. In addition, a means of remaining up to date on latest publications is to use software- and internet-based tools for alerts on recently published literature in a journal or content area. For example, many journal providers offer table-of-content alerts, which present the user with a brief snapshot of the articles published in the newest issue of a journal. Pubcrawler ( http://pubcrawler.gen.tcd.ie/ ) is an internet-based alert service that allows users to create personal queries for recently published articles, which are then compiled into a list and sent via email. A notable feature is that users can set their search criteria for the query using an extensive list of settings, including but not limited to commonly used components such as keywords and articles from particular journals. For example, if a user were interested in receiving updates for recent publications on staff training, the user could set up a search query by setting the search criteria for “staff training” as the keyword and a list of behavior-analytic journals as the places in which the query should search.

Given the expansive and ever-growing body of literature, it can be difficult to discern which literature is most relevant, in particular when many articles are accessible only through fees or university subscriptions. However, there are numerous methods to find articles that contain staff training or performance management content. One simple and straightforward way is to purchase access to behavior-analytic journals through the Association for Behavior Analysis International©, which can often be done at a discounted rate for members. Credentialed behavior analysts also have access to select journals through the online portal of the BACB. Another method is to use Google Scholar ( https://scholar.google.com ), where articles may be freely available. An additional benefit to using Google Scholar is that searches expand beyond the scope of just peer-reviewed articles, as their database also indexes books, conferences, and other nonpeer-reviewed materials. ResearchGate© ( https://www.researchgate.net ) is another tool for individuals to use to either download an article or reach out to the researcher directly. Finally, although many articles can be accessed using the methods described above, authors will typically be happy to send articles to those who reach out to them directly via email (often found on their university web page) or ResearchGate.

Recent research suggests that recommended staff training and performance management practices are not being regularly implemented in organizations that hire behavior analysts, which could affect the quality of services being provided. This article attempted to bridge the research-to-practice gap by outlining research-supported initial training and ongoing staff support procedures within human service settings, presenting practice guidelines, and sharing information about easy-to-implement ways practitioners may stay abreast of current research. Assessment and intervention procedures based on the science of behavior analysis have empirical support, but we must ensure they are being implemented with high integrity by a well-trained and supported workforce.

1 To our knowledge, the extant research has focused on effects of models of exemplar performance only; more research is needed on the effects of including models of nonexemplar performance on training outcomes.

Portions of this manuscript were presented as an invited talk by Florence D. DiGennaro Reed at the OBM in Health and Human Services Conference, Denver, CO.

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A new blueprint for performance management

Featured topics, october 23, 2021.

In-depth interviews with 67 elite performers have shown us where organizations are going wrong with performance management — and how to make it right.

It's time for businesses to make feedback a natural and regular part of working life

Almost nobody we speak to in the corporate world seems satisfied with their performance management processes — and absolutely nobody knows what to do about it. We’ve all tried making tweaks. We’ve revisited, revised and relaunched. But no organization has managed to crack the age-old problem of how to cultivate feedback conversations that consistently drive improvements in performance.

To get a fresh and highly informed perspective on the subject, we asked 67 top-flight performers in fields ranging from theatre, film and TV to medicine and emergency services to tell us about their experiences of performance management. What they described to us was an approach, understanding and mindset that are unlike anything we are used to in the corporate sphere.

In their world, feedback is built into the day-to-day rhythm of work, not stored up to be shared in annual performance reviews.

In their world, those giving feedback are masters in human behavior, so they do not have to fall back on fixed performance management plan of action but can instead provide personalized and highly effective input whenever and wherever it is needed.

In their world, performance management is seen as a collaborative process, where feedback givers share “notes” rather than opinions, and work with feedback receivers to co-create improvement ideas.

In their world, people become accustomed to receiving feedback very early on in their careers and see input from others as critical to driving performance.

The point is that their world works. Ours doesn’t. So, we say it’s time for us to rip up the rulebook of performance management and create a new blueprint for driving individual and team performance across the corporate world.

What’s wrong with performance management?

In the corporate world, we tend to discuss performance management in terms of ratings, structure, process and other formal procedures and techniques. But for the elite performers we spoke to, feedback is the key to shaping growth, improvement and course correction — not formal performance management plans or interventions. What’s more, feedback is viewed as a fundamental part of everyday life. Everyone expects it. Everyone is hungry for it. As British Olympian, Alex Partridge, put it:

“Feedback is the only way to improve in rowing. You come off the water and analyze immediately. This feedback loop — three times a day — ensures you constantly do what is needed.”

Learning from our research participants, we believe it is time to redefine feedback conversations and their role in how we think about performance management. Feedback should not be seen as a nice-to-have. It has to become a natural and regular part of the corporate workplace.

Create the right environment for feedback

Effective performance conversations do not just happen by chance. It is critical to develop, embed and sustain the right conditions to enable free-flowing feedback between managers and employees to thrive within an organization. We have identified three key pieces of “scaffolding” you need to have in place to create a more impactful performance management environment.

First is a shared performance purpose . This gives people reason to seek out, accept and understand feedback — because, in doing so, they are helping the team achieve a common goal.

Second: culture and values . The aim should be to create an environment where feedback becomes just “what we do around here,” and is given and received across the peer group.

Third is a climate of psychological safety. This means an environment in which people do not feel threatened by feedback, and where they know they won’t be punished for making a mistake. As Ted Brandsen, Director of the Netherlands National Ballet, explains:

“I think they’ve got to be in a place where they feel comfortable and in control, not threatened. It’s not being called into the headmaster’s office. A bit more casual, I think, would be best.”

Sort the timing

The elite performers we spoke to were shocked to learn how long feedback is routinely “stored up” in the corporate world before being shared. In their minds, feedback is something to be given in the moment, circumstances permitting. The idea that performance management plans arrange for feedback to be given on an annual, quarterly or even monthly basis is completely alien to them.

The arguments in favor of regular, spontaneous feedback are many. For one thing, people’s memories are extremely unreliable. The longer feedback is delayed, the less recognizable it becomes and the less impact it has on the receiver. For another thing, the shorter work cycles of today’s business environment are not suited to a formal process of annual or quarterly reviews. It is much better to have a performance management process where individuals can set a personal rhythm for feedback directly linked to the cycle of their work.

Achieving a constant flow of feedback between managers and employees is difficult — but doable. Organizations could start by baking “feedback moments” into the daily cycle of work (for example by starting every meeting with a quick note on what feedback attendees might want at the end) and ensuring there is time for a dedicated reflection point at the end of each performance cycle.

Help leaders see the person

Providing nuanced and actionable feedback is not easy. Organizations have tried to help feedback givers meet the challenge by providing them with conversation models, scripts, rules and formulas. But the truth is that no amount of formal support mechanisms or stringent performance management plans will ever be enough. Delivering personalized feedback in the moment requires leaders who have both a deep understanding of human behavior and a significant level of self-awareness, as well.

Our research participants have helped us identify five key traits that define a successful feedback giver: courage, humility, credibility, empathy and honesty. Through our discussions, we have also managed to define the thought process that effective feedback givers go through before delivering any feedback. It looks something like this:

“What is it specifically I see going on?

“What am I hearing? Am I totally present?”

“What is the impact of what I am seeing and hearing?”

“Will the feedback I want to give shift performance?”

“Is this the right moment for the feedback to be received?”

The final piece of the puzzle for effective feedback-giving is the concept of “notes”. It’s a concept we came across many times in our interviews with participants in fields as wide-ranging as the military and the arts. It describes an approach to collecting and summarizing observations on a performance, with the aim of making the performance better — and thus, your performance management efforts more meaningful. Most critically, the process of taking and delivering notes is a part of how the work gets done. It’s not treated as a separate activity (as feedback in industry often is).

Grow feedback-hungry individuals

Feedback is a two-way process. So, if we really want to boost performance — and make sure our performance management efforts do not fall on deaf ears — we need to look beyond feedback givers to consider what makes a good feedback receiver, as well.

The good news is that effective feedback receivers — like feedback givers — are made, not born. It demands a set of skills that can be acquired through practice. And the earlier you start building those skills, the bigger impact it will have on your long-term performance and career.

One critical area for individuals to work on is self-awareness. Not only does this make you more receptive to feedback from others, but it also promotes a mechanism for more objective self-assessment.

Another critical area is resilience. Why? Because feedback, however constructive, is a form of adversity. The more resilient you are, the better equipped you will be to handle — and benefit from — regular, honest feedback.

Driving individual and leadership accountability

Our research tells us there are some key enablers of successful performance management transformation in terms of the culture and work environment, the process fundamentals, the traits and thought processes of feedback givers, and the resilience and self-awareness of feedback receivers. Get all these interdependent elements right and you will have gone a long way to driving individual and leader accountability for great feedback conversations.

We’ll leave the last words to one of our participants, Patsy Rodenburg OBE, Head of Voice at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, who provided us with a perfect description of the kind of performance management interaction we should all be aiming for:

“You can’t say, ‘Come into my office and you sit on that chair and I’ll sit here.’ You have to have a tremendous amount of respect for the person. There’s got to be a humanity in that moment when two people are present together.”

Download the full performance management whitepaper for more a detailed breakdown of our research and to discover the key steps organizations can take to create a performance management process and culture that enables individuals and teams excel.

Download the PDF

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Handbook on Management and Employment Practices pp 503–524 Cite as

Performance Management and Wellbeing at the Workplace

• Monica Franco-Santos 6 ,
• Dan Stull 6 &
• Mike Bourne 6  
• Reference work entry
• First Online: 25 February 2022

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Part of the book series: Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences ((HDBSOHS,volume 3))

Performance management systems can be a source of stress and anxiety, and yet they can also provide clarity and focus, which are both factors that have positive effects on wellbeing at work. Employee wellbeing is essential as it has been shown to enhance organizational performance and employees’ quality of life. These paradoxical results represent a challenge for organizations when designing performance management systems. In this chapter, we examine current research on the relationship between performance management practices and employee wellbeing and formulate a conceptual framework elucidating the conditions under which different wellbeing results are likely to occur. The purpose of our work is to help organizations design performance management mechanisms that account for and foster employees’ wellbeing as well as raise awareness regarding the situations that can deteriorate it. We conclude by highlighting the importance of managerial philosophies and organizational goals definitions, recommending the adoption of a enabling or a hybrid set of performance management mechanisms to better accommodate the complex nature of wellbeing and other organizational goals.

• Performance management systems
• Performance measurement
• Management control

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Franco-Santos, M., Stull, D., Bourne, M. (2022). Performance Management and Wellbeing at the Workplace. In: Brough, P., Gardiner, E., Daniels, K. (eds) Handbook on Management and Employment Practices. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29010-8_42

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8 Performance Management Best Practices Backed by Research

Table of Contents

What is performance management, top performance management trends.

8 Performance management best practices 

How technology supports your performance management strategy

Performance management. Every company needs to do it. But not every company is doing it well.

Traditionally, organizations have relied on clunky, cumbersome, and disengaging approaches to performance management . They’re working with disparate systems, low buy-in, and frustrated managers and employees. Without a strategic direction—and the right tools—your performance management strategy can lead to low adoption and, ultimately, underperformance.

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Employees crave fairness, transparency, and ongoing coaching and feedback. When leaders prioritize these things, employees feel connected to the rest of the organization and can do their best work. Our research shows what an engaging performance management approach looks like.

Performance management is the process leaders use to measure, develop, and motivate employee performance. The process should be ongoing to keep a constant pulse on individual, team, and company-wide performance. With continuous performance management , you can empower and engage employees to drive goals and objectives critical to business success. Here’s how:

Help managers address obstacles and opportunities as they come up

When managers keep a pulse on employee performance, they can tackle problems and get their teams back on track. They can also outline opportunities that align with each employee to capitalize on strengths and close skill gaps.

Make employees feel heard, valued, and recognized

Helping employees feel part of the process is the best way to ensure they feel heard, valued, and recognized. You don’t want employees to feel like performance management is happening to them. It should be a shared responsibility between employees and managers and an opportunity for growth and increased impact. Building a performance management approach that engages employees looks like:

• Continuous conversations around performance and development
• Real-time recognition when an employee’s work contributes to business success
• Setting goals together—and moving those targets as needed
• Exchanging regular feedback that helps employees (and managers) grow

When employees are active participants in their performance management journey, they feel a stronger sense of voice and influence, further reinforcing their dedication and motivation to excel.

Connect employees to organizational goals and purpose

Having clear and aligned goals alongside regular performance conversations help leaders outline the bigger picture. When employees understand how their daily initiatives make an impact, they feel more connected to their work and its purpose. When employees feel connected to a purpose, they’re more likely to make an impact. 

Support a healthy company culture

Your company culture is all about the way you get work done at your organization, and your approach to performance is a key part. When you coach employees in a way that motivates and engages them, with ongoing feedback, recognition, and goal alignment, you’ll foster a culture that employees can thrive in. 

According to our research on organizational culture , how an organization approaches performance management is a critical part of how employees feel culture within their organization.

Promote employee growth and development

A good performance management strategy helps employees grow to reach their full potential. Leaders can use performance management to address skills gaps, outline growth opportunities, and bolster employee strengths. It helps managers understand when an employee might be ready for a new project or role. It helps employees feel like the organization is invested in their development and career growth.

Shape strategic people decisions

When you understand the big picture behind employee performance , you can make decisions that empower employees across the company. An effective approach to performance will help you identify performance impact, growth potential, and retention risk. When you keep a pulse on these metrics, you can give your employees the tools they need to succeed.

Drive employee retention

Your approach to performance makes all the difference in the employee experience. And the employee experience is a key indicator of whether your employees decide to leave or not. Performance management can be used as an ongoing tool to strengthen employee retention and keep your key players.

‘Productivity’ has earned buzzword status recently. And with good reason. Numerous organizations, driven by productivity concerns, continue to rely on outdated data and assumptions for measuring employee performance. 

However, it is crucial to understand that there are effective and ineffective ways to enhance performance. To truly ignite employee impact, leaders need to prioritize the development of performance management strategy that fosters inspiration and motivation. In other words, organizational leaders need to shift their focus away from employee productivity and start inspiring employee impact. 

The data below is informed by over 1 million employee voices at more than 9,000 organizations across the United States.

Performance management greatly impacts employee engagement

The traditional aspects of performance management, like ratings, rankings, and pay-for-performance don’t engage employees. 

But performance management definitely has an impact on engagement. Quantum Workplace research shows that the top drivers of engagement—related to performance management—are recognition, fairness, alignment, feedback, and empowerment.

Leaders can use these drivers to design an approach to performance management that motivates performance, impact, and engagement.

1 in 2 employees want more recognition for their work

Despite the importance of employee recognition , 1 in 2 employees would like more recognition for their work. Only 37% receive recognition monthly or weekly. 

Overwhelmingly, at 71%, employees' most preferred recognition reason is for their performance or accomplishments in their role. By increasing the frequency of recognition, organizations can drive both performance and engagement. 

1 in 3 employees want weekly 1-on-1 conversations

One-on-one meetings between employees and managers are a fundamental pillar of effective performance management. Our research shows that 36% of employees express a desire for weekly one-on-one conversations with their manager.

This preference for frequent interaction underscores the value employees place on regular, meaningful engagement with their managers.

When employees are given the opportunity to engage in weekly 1-on-1 meetings, several benefits emerge. Most importantly, these meetings provide a stable platform for employees to discuss their priorities, align with personal and organizational goals, receive feedback, and gain clarity on job expectations. 

Let’s dive into some of these benefits using our research as a guide.

Continuous 1-on-1s are associated with elevated engagement levels

Your employees are more likely to be engaged when you meet with them often. In fact, over 71% of employees who have weekly performance conversations are highly engaged. And one trend is becoming remarkably clear: As the 1-on-1 meeting cadence decreases, so does employee engagement. Only 53% of employees are highly engaged when they meet annually with their manager.

As organizations mature their approach to employee performance, they should aim to increase the frequency of meaningful one-on-one meetings that focus on goal-setting, performance, development, engagement, feedback, and more.

Hybrid and remote workers prefer to have more frequent one-on-ones with their managers

Different work environments require different approaches to performance. In fact, hybrid and remote workers are more likely than their onsite counterparts to want weekly 1-on-1s. 43% of remote workers and 37% of hybrid employees prefer a weekly cadence, compared to 27% of onsite employees.

Half of employees want more feedback from their manager

Our research shows that 1 in 2 employees express wanting more feedback , and employees primarily want to receive that feedback directly from their manager. 

Employees who receive more frequent feedback are: 

• 2X more engaged
• 3X less likely to be applying or seeking other jobs
• 1.4X more likely to stay at the organization.

Frequent and collaborative goal setting is associated with higher employee engagement levels

When done well, goal setting can have an enormous positive impact on employee performance. In fact, goal setting has proved to be one of the most powerful management tools to improve performance in today’s workplace. 

Our research found that employees who have individual goals set are 2X more likely to be engaged at work. Goal setting and revision frequency appears to be directly related to employee engagement. As collaboration and frequency decreases, employee engagement levels follow suit.

Redefining employee growth and development

One of the most notable performance management trends is the redefinition of career growth and development. 

Of course, most organizations understand the importance of providing career growth and development opportunities for their employees to help boost skills, drive engagement, and retain top talent. 

But in order to design an effective development strategy, employers must first understand what ‘growth and development’ means to their employee base.

Our research shows that:

• 42% of employees define career growth as a promotion or advancement 
• 33% say it’s education and training 
• 21% say it’s a role change or expansion

In other words: employees want different things when it comes to their own career growth. It’s more important than ever for managers to individualize employee development using the data they gather from those more frequent one-on-one meetings we discussed earlier in this article. 

8 Performance management best practices  

The performance management research above can help leaders across all industries create an engaging approach to performance. Keep these performance management best practices in mind when shaping your strategy.

1. Conduct continuous performance management conversations

The annual performance review doesn’t align with employee expectations around performance conversations. It’s not useful for facilitating the coaching and feedback needed to maximize alignment and impact throughout the year. 

Employees want to have frequent one-on-ones with their manager. 

When one-on-ones happen frequently, teams are more likely to be aligned, efficient, and engaged. While weekly one-on-ones are preferable, ensure you’re holding these conversations at least monthly. With a high meeting frequency, managers and employees can address challenges, questions, and concerns as they come up. 

Not to mention, more frequent one-on-ones enable your managers to tailor employee growth and development to the unique needs of individual employees.

2. Prioritize collaborative goal setting

When managers and employees set goals collaboratively—and frequently—employee engagement increases. 

To maximize employee impact and engagement, managers should help align team and individual goals with organizational goals. This helps employees visualize how their work contributes to the larger organization’s success. Outline why each goal is set and how it contributes to business outcomes. 

When employees understand why their efforts are important, they’re much more likely to give their full effort day-in and day-out.

3. Recognize great work

Employee recognition is associated with strong employee engagement levels. That’s why leaders should always provide recognition for employee contributions. Acknowledge employees when they achieve goals, showcase increased effort, and practice valued behaviors. Not only will your employees' engagement levels increase, but they’ll have the motivation needed to continue their efforts in the future.

4. Give regular performance feedback

Employees need feedback that helps them improve. Employees are likely to be engaged when they receive effective feedback from their managers. That’s because helpful feedback fosters a culture of trust and supports employee growth. Ensure your feedback outlines tools and strategies for employees to improve. 

Feedback doesn’t always have to be constructive or regulated to a form. 1 in 2 employees want more recognition for their work. And while managers play an important role in giving recognition, organizations should also ensure that managers are recognized frequently for their efforts as well. Encourage employees to request input from peers and managers—asking for both constructive and positive feedback.

5. Evaluate performance fairly

Research shows that fair performance evaluations are a top driver of engagement. That’s why leaders should prioritize honest, inclusive, and ongoing feedback. Don’t save all your feedback for a once-a-year performance review. Instead, align, assess, and adjust regularly throughout the year. Ensure you communicate the “why” behind each evaluation and give employees the opportunity to voice their opinions too.

6. Create a unique growth and development strategy to maximize performance

Employee growth and development is not a one-size-fits-all initiative. Our research indicates that ‘growth and development’ means very different things to employees. Focus a good chunk of your one-on-one meetings on what growth and development within the organization looks like for each employee. These discussions can help shed light on what each employee wants and how their needs evolve over time.

7. Bring employees into the performance process

If your employees feel like performance management is something that’s happening to them instead of something they’re actively contributing to, you have a big problem. Bringing your employees more actively into the performance process is one way to boost impact across the organization. 

One of the most effective ways to do this is to leverage employee surveys to gather feedback on your current performance practices. And then use this feedback to continuously improve your performance management process using employee insight—not the assumptions of your leadership team.

8. Make performance management easy for everyone

Performance management shouldn’t be hard to build, adopt, and navigate. And that starts by having the right performance management tools. Cumbersome processes and disparate technology (or NO technology) can throw a wrench in your plan and make it more difficult for both employees and management to participate. 

There are several ways the right technology solution can help to support and scale your performance management strategy.

Less than one-fifth of HR leaders believe their approach to performance management is effective right now, and 81 percent of leaders are changing their performance management system . A large shift is happening, and the best leaders leverage tech to navigate it. Here’s how performance management tools can help you:

Consider these performance management trends and best practices when shaping your approach. By coaching performance with employee engagement in mind, you’ll help employees reach their full potential and drive consistent business outcomes

Is performance management a priority for your organization this year? Learn more about how Quantum Workplace can help you make performance management easier. Get a demo today!

Published July 20, 2023 | Written By Kristin Ryba

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Work performance management and assessment.

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• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.25
• Published online: 28 June 2021

Performance management is a collection of activities designed to help individuals and organizations improve performance. It includes setting expectations, monitoring progress, providing feedback, evaluating results, and using performance information to make talent decisions. Despite decades of research, little evidence supports the assertion that performance management leads to improvements in either individual or organizational performance, leading to a fierce debate about its usefulness. Critics charge that performance management is often too time-consuming and cumbersome, providing little value for all the effort required. Proponents argue that performance management is essential for aligning individual work to organizational goals, ensuring fairness in rewards, and protecting organizations against legal challenges. Controversies aside, the vast majority of organizations have a performance management system that includes formal performance reviews, the results of which are tied to compensation or other talent decisions. Organizations are increasingly seeking ways to streamline the process, simplify practices, and find more value. Achieving these goals entails defining the purpose that performance management should serve and implementing the specific components of performance management that are most likely to foster effective performance.

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Increasingly, organizations are understanding that their management systems must be brought into the 21st century if they are going to be competitive in the current market.

Research shows that previous systems, such as yearly appraisals, are outdated and can even serve to decrease employee engagement and motivation. In light of this, more companies are turning to performance management than ever before.

This dynamic and strategic approach to developing improved performance in employees is gaining ground in companies large and small, including many Fortune 500 and industry-leading organizations.

What is performance management?

The importance of performance management, the purpose and goals of performance management, the benefits of performance management, 15 employee performance management best practices, 5 real-world examples of performance management, what is the difference between performance management and performance appraisals.

Performance management is a strategic approach to creating and sustaining improved performance in employees, leading to an increase in the effectiveness of companies.

By focusing on the development of employees and the alignment of company goals with team and individual goals, managers can create a work environment that enables both employees and companies to thrive.

Based on the definition of performance management, a system is built within an organization to measure and improve the performance of the people in that organization.

In practice, performance management means that management is consistently working to develop their employees, establish clear goals, and offer consistent feedback throughout the year.

In contrast to other systems of reviewing employee performance, such as yearly performance appraisals , employee performance management is a much more dynamic and involved process with better outcomes.

For the Human Resources department, performance management is an important system for onboarding , developing and retaining employees, as well as reviewing their performance.

It is increasingly understood that a yearly performance appraisal system does not effectively engage employees, fails to consistently set and meet company objectives, and does not result in a strong understanding of employee performance.

Why is performance management important?

In any organization, no matter the size, it is important to understand what your employees are doing, how they are doing it, and why they are doing it.

Without a system in place to define roles, understand individual strengths and weaknesses, provide constructive feedback , trigger interventions and reward positive behavior, it is much more difficult for managers to effectively lead their employees.

Smart organizations pair their performance management with an incentive management process. The two systems have a lot in common, from defining roles and setting goals to reviewing and rewarding employee behavior, and as such, do very well when run simultaneously. Using incentive management also means that the all-important ‘reward’ step of performance management is done properly.

Talent management is an important part of every organization. Three of the main problems that organizations face are:

• keeping employees engaged
• retaining talent
• developing leaders from within

These are the issues that performance management very effectively targets.

1. Keeping employees engaged

Engagement of employees is a focus of any management team. In a yearly appraisal system, goals would be given at the beginning of the year and then revisited 12 months later to see if they had been met. This long stretch of time without feedback or check-in is an almost certain engagement killer.

In fact, 94% of employees would prefer their manager gives them feedback and development opportunities in real-time, and 81% would prefer at least quarterly check-ins with their manager, according to the Growth Divide Study .

Studies show that employees do best with feedback on a monthly or quarterly basis, with regular check-ins serving as a zone to problem solve, adjust goals as necessary, and to refresh their focus on the goal. In fact, companies where employees meet to review goals quarterly or more frequently are almost 50% more likely to have above-average financial performance.

When surveyed, employees had some negative feelings about a yearly appraisal system:

• 62% of employees feel that their performance review was incomplete
• 48% did not feel comfortable raising issues with their manager in between performance reviews
• 61% feel that the process is outdated
• 74% feel that they would be more effective with more frequent feedback
• 68% of executives don’t learn about employee concerns until the performance review

All of this adds up to a lot of missed opportunities to solve problems and increase employee performance and engagement.

As employee engagement rises, nine key performance indicators show successful outcomes. Absenteeism, turnover, shrinkage, safety incidents, patient safety incidents and defects in quality are lessened by at least 25%, and often more, across the board. Customer experience, productivity and profitability all show positive outcomes.

This study, by Gallup , was conducted across a broad range of industries, showing that employee engagement is a critical factor, no matter the industry.

2. Retaining talent

Employees who have frequent meetings with management to discuss performance, solve problems and receive training are more likely to stay with the company.

If employees see that their management team is putting in the work to develop them professionally, help them succeed with their goals, and reward performance on a consistent basis, then they are more incentivized to both stay with the company and work harder.

3. Developing leaders from within

This consistent development and partnership between managers and employees allow for the development of leaders from within the company.

Recruiting costs can be extremely high, as are costs for onboarding and training new employees. To be able to groom leaders from within the company means that there is already a proven culture fit with this individual and that training costs and resources spent developing this person into an asset are not lost.

This leadership path also serves as a motivating force for employees, who can see that their hard work will be rewarded with promotions and other benefits.

Performance management also creates a need for management to consistently focus on company objectives and goals, and to consider how best to achieve them. This continual revisiting of goals means that they are more likely to stay relevant, as goals will be adjusted in light of new technology, changes in the market, or other factors throughout the year.

According to Forbes , ‘companies that set performance goals quarterly generate 31% greater returns from their performance process than those who do it annually, and those who do it monthly get even better results.’

The purpose of performance management is to give both managers and employees a clear and consistent system within which to work that, in turn, will lead to increased productivity.

• This system shows employees the pathway to success, allows for the measuring of performance coupled with feedback and offers training and development opportunities.
• Performance management allows management to understand what their employees are doing and track progress on company objectives while providing consistent feedback.

There are five main objectives of performance management:

• Develop clear role definitions, expectations and goals
• Increase employee engagement
• Develop managerial leadership and coaching skills
• Boost productivity through improved performance
• Develop a performance reward program that incentivizes accomplishment

These performance management goals show a clear path from the developing of goals to the rewarding of increased accomplishment. If one of these performance management objectives is not done well, then the others will suffer as a result.

Performance management has a multitude of benefits for employees and managers, as well as for the company as a whole. If a company can successfully create an environment of engagement where customers are equally engaged by employees on the front line, their outcome is even better.

When organizations successfully engage their customers and their employees, they experience a 240% boost in performance-related business outcomes compared with an organization with neither engaged employees nor engaged customers. – Gallup

• Having well-defined roles and performance standards makes hiring an easier process, as candidates know what is expected of them, and HR can more easily understand if a candidate is a right fit for the role.
• Those well-defined roles and standards make training easier, as trainers know exactly which areas need to be covered, and which information is nonessential.
• Consistent developing and revisiting of goals ensure that the organization keeps up with changing market forces easily, and reacts quickly as a whole, regardless of the size of the organization.
• Clear expectations and roles set employees up for achieving goals from the start, providing a springboard to success.
• Employees who feel that their company is invested in their success stay with their companies, increasing employee retention.
• Consistent feedback and coaching from managers lead directly to increased engagement from employees while developing the ability to provide good coaching and feedback leads to more skilled managers.
• As employees become more skilled, they can move up through the company, creating a leadership pipeline.
• Productivity will increase thanks to increased engagement, clear goals and upskilling of employees.
• Employees remain incentivized to perform long-term, as they are properly rewarded for their hard work.

While performance management can sound deceptively simple, with just four steps as outlined above, the process itself is very complicated. That’s why we have put together this list of best practices for performance management.

Think of it like the essentials of performance management – these will help make sure that your employee performance management system is performing the way it should.

1. Identify the goals of your performance management initiatives

As you are creating your performance management program, you need to understand what you want to accomplish.

Asking the following questions can help you:

• Is increased productivity a priority?
• Does your organization want to identify leaders from within and develop them?
• Do you want to streamline the compensation process?
• Are you seeking to improve employee retention or engagement?

If you know what you want your program to do, it will be easier to build it to accomplish that goal.

2. Define and describe each role

We mentioned this above, but it bears repeating. It is much harder for an employee to be successful if they don’t know exactly what is expected from them, how they should do it, and what the end result should look like.

3. Pair goals with a performance plan

As you set goals, develop a performance plan to go alongside. Year-long goals often fail, as they are too large and employees can get overwhelmed before they start. A performance plan helps them visualize their path, making it much more likely that they will meet their goal.

4. Monitor progress towards performance targets

Review key areas of performance. Use metrics and analytics to your advantage, tracking how goals are progressing to make sure that interventions can happen early, if necessary.

5. Coaching should be frequent

The point of coaching is to help identify and solve problems before they get too big. If it’s not frequent, it’s not going to help at all. Monthly or quarterly meetings should be held to help keep employees on the right track.

6. Use guidelines to your advantage

Guidelines should be created for each role as part of the first stage of the performance management cycle. These policies or guidelines should stipulate specific areas for, or limits on, opportunity, search and experimentation. Employees do their jobs better when they have solid guidelines to follow.

7. Build a performance-aligned culture

Make sure your workplace has shared values and cultural alignment. A sense of shared values, beliefs and expectations among employees creates a more harmonious and pleasant workplace. Employees should be committed to the values and objectives outlined, and exemplified by, top management.

8. Organize cross-functional workshops

This helps employees – and managers – understand what other departments do, how they think and what their strengths and weaknesses are. They can discover something new and find new connections, which can help them in future work.

9. Management should offer actionable feedback

During these coaching meetings, tensions can arise if the feedback is not given in a constructive, actionable manner. It is not very important to look backward and point fingers, rather management should guide employees towards future success.

10. Keep it professional, not personal

Giving less-than-stellar feedback is hard on both managers and employees, it’s one of the reasons that performance appraisals tend to be a least-liked task. Managers should make sure to keep feedback professional and remember to focus on behavior, rather than characteristics.

For example, pointing out that David regularly turned in important reports late is feedback about a behavior. Saying that David is lazy, and that’s why the reports were often late is feedback about a characteristic. One of these can help an employee own their role in a project’s success (or lack thereof) and the other will make them defensive instantly.

11. It’s not only employees that need training

Management should be trained too. Coaching and offering good feedback are not easy jobs, which is why there are so many specialist coaches out there. For managers to be able to lead well, they should be trained in these skill sets.

12. Take advantage of multiple-source feedback

Ask employees to write feedback for each other. This will give management a more holistic view on employee performance, understand the challenges that teams are facing, and be able to better offer feedback.

13. Don’t depend only on reviews

While the review process is important, it is only one part of the system as a whole. Planning, coaching, and rewarding employees are equally key parts of the system.

14. Problems are not always employee-based

It can be easy to assume that problems are always caused by employees, but that simply is not the case. Problems can arise from external factors such as availability of supplies, internal processes that are causing issues, or organizational policies. Seek out the source of problems as precisely as you can in order to fix them.

15. Recognize and reward performance publicly and frequently

Management cannot expect employees to stay motivated if they are never rewarded, yet many companies overlook this key step. Make sure that employees are compensated and recognized for their hard work, and they will continue delivering for your organization.

Of course, it’s one thing to understand the theory of what performance management is, but it’s another thing to use it in a real company. Let’s take a look at some real-world examples of the performance management process in action:

It’s no surprise that Google would show up on a list of companies that use a newer, innovative system of management. This company has always been a trendsetter, and their performance management process is one that relies on data and analysis, as well as making sure that their managers are well trained.

When assessing their performance management system, Google launched a project dedicated to assessing their managers, which has led to a thorough training and future development process that sets managers, and thus employees, up for success.

They also use a system of setting goals that have caught on across multiple industries. Using their Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) system, they reframe the goal-setting process, with great results.

Another tech trendsetter, Facebook has a performance management process that puts a heavy emphasis on peer-to-peer feedback. In semi-annual reviews, they are able to use that feedback to see how well teams are performing and understand where collaboration is happening – and where it is not. They also have developed an internal software to provide continuous, real-time feedback. This helps employees solve issues before they become problems.

Cargill is a Minnesota-based food-producer and distributor with over 150,000 employees and serves to demonstrate that even huge companies can ditch unwieldy performance appraisals and institute a new system. In following the latest research on the dissatisfaction of management with outdated performance management process, Cargill created their ‘Everyday Performance Management’ system. The system is designed to be continuous, centered around a positive employee-manager relationship, with daily activity and feedback being incorporated into conversations that solve problems rather than rehash past actions.

The Everyday Performance Management system had overwhelmingly positive results, with 69% of employees stating that they received feedback that was useful for their professional development, and 70% reporting that they felt valued as a result of the continuous performance discussions with their manager.

Adobe calculated that managers were spending about 80,000 hours a year on performance reviews, only to have employees report that they left those reviews demoralized and turnover was increasing as a result.

Seeing a system that only produced negatives, Adobe’s leadership team made a bold leap into a performance management system that began by training managers how to perform more frequent check-ins and offer actionable guidance, then the company gave managers the leeway they needed to effectively lead.

Management was given much more freedom in how they structured their check-ins and employee review sessions, as well as more discretion in salaries and promotions. Employees are often contacted for ‘pulse surveys’ – a way for the leadership team to make sure that individual managers are leading their teams well. One of the many positive results of this has been a 30% cut involuntary turnover due to a frequent check-in program.

Accenture is a massive company – over 330,000 people, so changing their systems means a huge effort. When they switched to their new system, they got rid of about 90% of the previous process. Now, they are using a more fluid performance management process where employees receive ongoing, timely feedback from management. This has been paired with a renewed focus on immediate employee development and an internal app for communicating feedback.

There are common threads in all of these examples. Each company has built a system that works for them, rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach. What works for one company might not work for another – it depends on the industry, the speed and flexibility of the company, and the overall goal of the system itself.

With similar names and purposes that sometimes align, it is no surprise that some people find it hard to spot the difference between performance management and performance appraisals.

In fact, performance appraisals are often part of the performance management process , although some companies still rely on performance appraisals alone.

An easy way to understand the difference between the two is that performance appraisals are reactive, and performance management is proactive.

A performance appraisal looks at all of the past actions of the employee within a set amount of time , and rates how well they performed in their role and how many goals they met.

Performance management looks at the present and future of the employee, and what can be done to help future performance and meet future goals . Performance management is focused on the development and training of an employee, and how that can benefit both the employee and the company.

A performance appraisal is a formal, operational task, done according to rigid parameters and in a quantitative manner. HR leads performance appraisals, with input from management. Performance management is much more informal and strategic, led by management with input from the employees in a more flexible manner.

Ivan Andreev

Demand Generation & Capture Strategist

Ivan Andreev is a dedicated marketing professional with a proven track record of driving growth and efficiency in various marketing domains, especially SEO. With a career spanning over a decade, Ivan has developed a deep understanding of marketing strategies, project management, data analysis, and team leadership. His strong commitment to knowledge sharing, passion for process optimization, and turning challenges into opportunities have solidified his reputation as a pivotal player in the marketing team.

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