PS Reviews: Mark Feffer’s Article About Managers Wanting More Support in Performance Management

In the recent HCM Technology Report Article, “Line Managers Want More Support on Performance Management,” Mark Feffer discusses a critical managerial concern of performance management. Managers are not receiving the support and tools they need to develop and improve their employees, yet executive and senior management teams “claim to understand” this but often their action, or lack thereof, prove otherwise. “Middle and front-line managers say their leaders aren’t backing up those words with real action, and are generally out of touch with what’s going on in their employees’ real world,” Feffer observes. The root-cause of this is primarily communication challenges that businesses face, but also a lack of priority in performance management. The features of a performance management tool, like Performance Scoring, bridge these communication gaps and keep performance improvement and employee development of high priority. There are many reasons why performance management systems are a win-win for the company and its employees, but implementing one is likely to be most effective move for a company in 2019 and well into the future.
“Much Performance Management Talk, Less Support”
When it comes to employees and performance management most organizations are quick to speak about their importance, but slow to act. “While organizations expect them to take the lead in improving workforce performance, the majority of managers say talent management efforts need significant improvement, according to Betterworks,” Feffer explains. What causes this, is it hesitation to take on another major project? Performance management isn’t a major project, though, to the point where Performance Scoring is even able to offer next-day availability of our system. Regardless of the reasoning, it seems for most companies that the entire performance management process needs to be revamped. “For example, nearly two-thirds—63 percent—of managers don’t have regular development conversations with their workers,” Feffer adds. It is understandable, though, everyone is busy with their own job responsibilities and it’s difficult for managers to balance everything and set aside the time. This is one of the main reasons that Performance Scoring’s Company ScoreBoard features a Drill Down of ScoreCard Categories. The talent management system directs managers where and who to engage and coach based on objective data. Performance Scoring reports actionable data to management teams so they can focus their resources on the areas that need support and but performance management into action.
“Seeing What They Want to See”
Feffer suggests that senior leadership teams only see what they want to see, but with ineffective communication and infrequent feedback they are only focused on the things most important to their jobs, as we all are. Regardless, there is a divide that exists between perception and reality. “Perhaps most troubling is the report’s finding that senior leaders consistently believe communications, performance management and workforce development efforts are effective when the managers closest to the workforce do not,” writes Feffer. A troubling finding, and a reason why companies that invest in employee engagement see such increases in productivity. Front-line managers know the importance of effective performance management because they live it every day, and the lack of support from senior leaders affects them and their employees. “We have to agree with the report’s authors when they write, ‘This persistent, significant discrepancy in perception between senior and front-line management suggests that businesses have neither communicated nor delivered their talent management programs effectively down through the organization,’” Feffer observes. A continuous employee feedback system, like Performance Scoring, is the ultimate tool for front-line and middle managers to manage their employees’ performance and engage them when coaching is needed. Performance Scoring’s intuitive user interface, with views relative to every user, empowers senior leaders, middle managers and individual employees to improve their performance. Implementation is a win-win for all parties involved, and a long-term business solution for forward-thinking companies.