How do your managers rate on performance management?

Perhaps it’s ironic, but findings from The State of Performance Management 2018 show that managers need improvement when it comes to performance management.

The report, conducted by HR.com and sponsored by Ceridian, in which HR professionals were surveyed, found that only 21% of organizations have managers who are skilled at performance management.

As mentioned in a previous post, many organizations don’t have an effective performance management process, and a lack of equipped managers can contribute to this.

Managers seem to have a skills deficit, particularly when it comes to having performance-focused conversations and helping employees with goal-setting.

Performance management success is largely dependent on how well managers execute on it, so manager training is a requirement for success. Supporting this, the report states that managers in effective performance management organizations are more than three times as likely as other organizations to have had sufficient training in performance management.

Further, the skills deficit on managers’ parts may exist because so few organizations provide sufficient training. Managers themselves are unhappy with their organizations’ current processes – only 25% of organizations had managers who are satisfied with performance management at their companies.

Helping managers be effective in performance management

There are some key factors that set managers in effective performance management organizations apart from the less-than-effective.

• These managers are more likely to view performance management as crucial to business performance.
• Effective performance management organizations make managers accountable, whether it’s tracking if they’re having coaching conversations, or having employees rate their managers on how well they manage performance.
• Managers have received training in the performance management process.

How technology helps

The report further found that 57% of organizations overall use technology to support performance management, and that percentage increases with company size. Of the most effective performance management organizations, two-thirds reported using technology to help manage the process.

A key takeaway? Technology plays a clear role in performance management success. It’s no wonder that, as noted previously, organizations aim to invest more in performance management tech in the next two years. Not only can tech help organizations evolve and improve their current processes, but it can also support both employee and manager training – on a continuous basis.

How does your performance management process stack up? Download The State of Performance Management 2018 to learn more