Performance Scoring Reviews: Andrew Ly’s Article on Common Challenges Resolved by a Talent Management System
In a recent HR Morning article, “5 ways talent management software can eliminate performance review mistakes,” Andrew Ly looks at some common performance challenges and how technology can alleviate those challenges. A bad performance review system “can have serious consequences for morale and turnover,” with a recent Adobe survey citing that after a review “one in three [employees] immediately start looking for a new job.” Ly bluntly reiterates that in the current labor market, if employees are “not getting adequate feedback and the right development, they’ll leave.” Organizations, like those partnering with Performance Scoring, are continuing to prioritize the engagement and development of their people. The challenges listed in this article, that a performance management system can help resolve, are the challenges that business leaders will continue to face for the foreseeable future.
“What is a talent management system?”
A talent management system “streamlines end-to-end employee development from recruiting to exit interviews,” begins Ly. The User Profiles in Performance Scoring only require a handful of key details, including the hiring date and last date of employment. A talent management system “can revolutionize the way businesses handle performance management and jump-start productivity.” Therein lies the win-win between supervisor and employee to effective performance management; employee development is forefront, and this brings an increase to productivity across the board. These are two primary benefits of a tool like Performance Scoring, but there is a cascade of other benefits that will follow. Below “are five common performance review mistakes and how a talent management system can help eliminate them.”
“1. Not enough feedback”
Performance reviews done only once a year “can lead to a lot of issues,” and “put pressure on both the manager and employee,” observes Ly. These reviews are subject to recency bias that “can feel like a lack of recognition or opportunity to improve for employees.” The continuous feedback system that Performance Scoring offers leads to accountability, transparency and open communication – all critical to a healthy company culture. Ly echoes this thought, stating that “talent management systems have communication and collaboration tools for managers to organize and provide real-time feedback.” Scheduled email notifications of performance data are one of the many features that Performance Scoring brings to the fight against infrequent performance feedback.
“2. Setting the wrong goals”
When the wrong goals are set, “employees can feel like they’re being measured against the wrong yardstick,” warns Ly. Talent management systems “can also help organize goals into easy-to-manage steps, so that employees have a clear path to success.” Performance Scoring measures performance in ScoreCard Categories, which mirror the intertwined operating procedures at a company and illustrate that clear path to success from start to finish. Ly ads that “managers and employees can also use the talent management system to compare goals to company objectives.” This is another benefit experienced with Performance Scoring, employee development is directly aligned with company goals and values. Continuous feedback about progress being made towards goals and action items is vital to achieving those respective goals. “The opportunity to pivot goals can not only help employees succeed, but can also make the business more agile and competitive,” acknowledges Ly. The Company ScoreBoard of Performance Scoring clearly displays areas of high, intermediate and low performance throughout an organization in real-time.
“3. Lack of objectivity”
From the employee perspective this challenge is commonplace, we’ve all experienced it in some form or fashion. Ly upholds that “to be effective, performance should be well-documented. Managers can’t rely solely on their memory when giving feedback.” The Performance Scoring talent management tool achieves objectivity through its Factor System. The data input is done through Factors, which are the objective performance metrics that drive success in each company role. Open communication of Factors to employees ensures that everyone understands how their performance will be viewed in the eyes of management. “Talent management systems offer a transparent way to set employee goals and benchmarks, track performance and record previous reviews,” maintains Ly. Many existing systems still rely on subjective, open-ended comments for feedback, but this is purposefully not a part of scoring employees with Performance Scoring.
“4. Only one reviewer”
The current workforce “now uses networks of employee teams to complete a variety of projects.” There is a lot of interdependence between different teams that is often unaccounted for when only one reviewer is involved. Ly mentions that “feedback from multiple stakeholders – peers, subordinates and other managers – is becoming more commonplace.” We have seen that peer-to-peer feedback is the preferred method of feedback by employees, and as such this should be reflected in businesses that they work for. Adding entries with Performance Scoring relies on peer-to-peer feedback to give a continuous and 360-degree assessment of performance that employees seek for their development. Additionally, to couple with the previous challenge, “companies will have more sources of reference when in comes to employee performance, which means a more objective, thorough review process.”
“5. No coaching and training”
Coaching is the managerial style that yields the most employee development with the millennial workforce. “Employees feel frustrated when they’re expected to perform at a certain level but not given the tools to reach it,” Ly notes. This is a generic statement that does not see much rebuttal, but many will argue that it is not executed effectively by leadership. Ly assesses that, “managers can use a talent management system to identify employee skill gaps and recommend specific training that’s needed.” Performance Scoring specifically reports where engagement and coaching are needed at each level of an organization. This managerial style leads to another win-win situation between supervisor and employee, with development and increased performance being the results.
“Bottom Line”
“With a talent management system, companies can:
- Offer continuous feedback
- Set proper goals for employees
- Provide objective reviews
- Receive feedback from multiple stakeholders, and
- Deliver better coaching and training between reviews.”
We are often asked; will Performance Scoring replace our annual performance review process? Certainly, with a management team that is diligent and aware it can, but that is often not the case. The best response to this question is that a talent management system, like Performance Scoring, will inform the performance review process with objective and continuous data. This informing goes beyond performance reviews to meetings in general – weekly, monthly, quarterly team meetings – all being driven by the objective performance data provided by Performance Scoring. Features, such as fully exportable data, usher a proactive atmosphere to organizations literally overnight (given that Performance Scoring has next-day availability). The challenges that Ly discusses in this article are here to stay with the modern workforce, and Performance Scoring offers a solution to them that starts today.