By giving employees clear success metrics, they can stay on track and managers can assess progress in real-time.
SMART goals help prevent employees from feeling overwhelmed. For example, a salesperson’s goal could be increasing conversions by 20% within three months. That’s measurable, achievable, and relevant to the company’s growth goals.
1. Keep the Momentum with Development Plans
Once the goals are set, create a clear development plan. What training, resources, or coaching do your employees need to succeed? This should be a two-way conversation. If an employee wants to move into management, help them build the skills they’ll need with 10 Steps to Your Best Performance Management Year To Date
Performance reviews. Just hearing those words can make managers and employees cringe. But what if we could make this process a little less painful and, dare we say, effective? According to the document, 66% of employees are dissatisfied with their last performance review, which isn’t shocking when many companies stick to outdated annual reviews. But don’t worry—there’s a way to shake things up and boost performance. Let’s dive into the ten steps for your best performance management year yet.
2. Reflect Before Setting New Goals
Before you rush into planning your goals for the year ahead, take a beat. Look back at last year’s targets. Did your team smash them, or did you struggle? Either way, reviewing past performance gives you valuable insights to guide the new year. As the saying goes, you’ve got to look back before you move forward.
Pro Tip: Celebrate the wins, no matter how small. Whether someone crushed their goals or just improved steadily, recognition builds motivation for the challenges ahead.
3. Establish a Clear Vision
We all love a good company mission, but does everyone know how their role fits into the bigger picture? Alignment with the company’s vision can skyrocket motivation. When your SEO manager understands their role in boosting traffic to support the organization’s vision, they’re not just checking off daily tasks—they’re helping achieve the company’s mission.
Example: If your goal is to become the most trusted source of political news in Canada, make sure your marketing, editorial, and even photography teams know how they contribute to that larger vision.
4. Set Better, SMARTer Goals
Forget about setting vague, unattainable goals. Try using SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). targeted training, like leadership seminars or conflict resolution courses.
Platforms like Totara make it easy to integrate learning and performance goals seamlessly. Check it out here.
5. Regular Check-ins – Your Secret Weapon
The era of the once-a-year performance review is over. Regular, informal check-ins (even as short as 15 minutes!) can keep things on track. Adobe ditched annual reviews and opted for quarterly check-ins, increasing productivity and morale. So, why not take a page from their book? You don’t have to overhaul everything overnight—start small, with monthly chats to assess goals and progress.
6. Give Constructive Feedback (Without the Drama)
Here’s a stat that’ll blow your mind: 94% of employees prefer real-time feedback over waiting until the end of the year. Makes sense, right? Feedback should be timely, specific, and objective. Instead of saying, “You missed the deadline,” say, “I noticed this project was delayed—what barriers did you face?” It opens up dialogue without making anyone feel defensive.
7. Encourage Coaching and Mentoring
Mentoring doesn’t always need to come from the top. Sometimes, peer mentoring can be just as effective. Consider pairing employees based on their strengths and goals. For example, a junior engineer might benefit from shadowing a senior engineer who’s been through the same challenges. This builds camaraderie and practical learning opportunities.
8. Use 360-Degree Feedback
Think you know your employees’ performance? Think again. Gathering input from colleagues, clients, and even vendors can give you a well-rounded view of someone’s work. For instance, a top performer in sales might not be great at follow-up, or a quiet team member may be praised by peers for their creative solutions.
Just remember to keep feedback anonymous for accurate results!
9. Rethink the Annual Appraisal
We’ve already established that annual reviews are a relic of the past. But if you’re still required to conduct them, consider making them less about ratings and more about development. By the time the formal review comes around, nothing should be a surprise. Check-ins throughout the year should make performance appraisals a formality, not a shock.
10. Keep Career Growth on the Table
One of the main reasons employees engage in learning and performance reviews is career growth. But not everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder. Some want to specialize, while others may be interested in lateral moves. Keep those options open and encourage employees to discuss their career goals regularly.
Final Thoughts
If you want to take the next steps, talk to us about our work with Totara Perform. This is an agile performance management system with adaptability and productivity at its core. You can create evidence-based performance reviews, get an objective view of employee performance and quickly identify and close skills gaps to ensure your organization remains competitive. With Totara Perform, you harness the power of continuous performance management to boost in-office or remote workplace productivity anytime, anywhere.