Annual performance reviews are becoming a thing of the past with organisations embracing a more continuous approach to performance management, according to a new study.
Kallidus, an award-winning provider of learning and talent management solutions conducted a survey of 329 directors, managers and employees. It found that nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of respondents have conversations about performance with their line manager at least quarterly, with 43 pr cent of these having monthly discussions.
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Rob Caul, CEO of Kallidus: “Completing performance reviews is a cumbersome process for many managers and directors. Our survey shows that a manager of a team of 12 could easily take a whole week every three months to do performance reviews for the whole team and that time spent on process and administration could be better spent on having meaningful appraisal and career conversations.”
“The good news is that the next generation of online performance management tools are making performance management easy and pain free, enabling regular check-ins, anytime, anywhere via any device, reflecting today’s increasingly global and virtual teams,” he added.
Just 13 per cent of respondents have only a once-a-year appraisal review and worryingly, a further 13 per cent rarely or never have conversations about performance with their line manger.
While the data clearly shows that organisations are trying to adapt performance management processes to meet the needs of today’s dynamic and rapidly changing workplace, 78 per cent of respondents said performance management could be improved within their organisation and 69 per cent think it needs a more modern approach.
Organisations are yet to realise the full potential of online performance management tools. 58 per cent of respondents said their organisations are not using online tools for performance reviews. And for those that do, only around half find them useful.
Despite managers and directors spending a lot of time on each individual team member’s appraisal, with 52 per cent spending more than two hours and 22 per cent spending three hours or more per review, 42 per cent of all respondents feel more time is spent on process than on meaningful appraisal conversations.
Despite some of the negative press that performance appraisals receive, encouragingly, 77 per cent of those surveyed see the value of performance reviews; 65 per cent find them motivating and engaging; 81 per cent helpful for identifying areas of improvement and getting valuable feedback on their progress; and 60 per cent agree they help them as an individual to see how they are contributing to business performance.
Philip Pyle, Sales and Marketing Director at Kallidus: “It’s great to see performance management is valued and organisations are embracing a more continuous approach with regular conversations that wouldn’t have been the norm just a few years ago.”
“While technology has the power to streamline and modernise performance management, culture is king. Ongoing, forward looking conversations can transform the performance management process from a tick-box exercise where employees feel forced to justify their performance over the past year, into something far more engaging, focused on helping people to reach their full potential and impactful for the business.”
