“Recognition is powerful, as long as it’s authentic and specific. Whatever their level on the inverted pyramid, employees want to feel needed and valued.” – Robert Spector, The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence. Recognition, authentic and timely feedback have one singular result at the end of it – a motivated workforce. The impact of employee motivation on the bottom line of a business can never be overstated. A motivated workforce brings in the right mixture of enthusiasm and engagement, uplifting the atmosphere and preventing complacency at the workplace.
A recent survey by Willis Towers Watson reported that 56% of the companies say that their managers lacked the skills and time to manage employee performance, while Deloitte reported that over 58% of HR executives viewed them as inefficient use of their time. These figures clearly indicate that it’s time to move on from traditional end-of-the year performance reviews to modern day performance management software, that not only helps ensure a productive workforce but also helps provide great insights into employee performance.
Some of the benefits of Performance Management Software’s
Dynamic Goal Setting: Gone are the days of annual goal-setting, which made no sense or relevance to the executives or employees for most parts of the year. With the right performance management software in place, the goal setting process can help keep track of the individual and organizational goals. The software can help determine whether or not the both of them are in sync. A simplified goal-setting process can help align different departments of an organization and keep them on the same page.
Feedback and Learning: One of the major shortcoming of the traditional performance review has been its inability to provide continuous feedback. Performance management software on the other hand promotes a culture of continuous feedback. Annual or semi-annual feedback fare very low on the transparency front, while they also provide very little direction to the employees. Continuous feedback on the other hand helps address issues at the earliest and helps keep the attrition level low.
Management Control: As much of a boon to employees, the software also helps the management better understand department goals as well as individual employee goals. Managers will find it much easier than before to rate individual employee performance against their pre-determined goals. It will not only save them precious time in performing their duties but also help eliminate subconscious bias from their judgements. Decisions taken will be transparent and fair, helping promote improved employee-management relationships.
Financial Prudence: Not only is collective wisdom smarter and better, it also is cheaper. Goals outlined in an individual manner are not only time intensive but also capital intensive. Time equates to money. When tasks such as goal-setting, observing checklists, providing feedback and conducting reviews are done via structured processes and systems – they turn out to be much more cost efficient than traditional methods of doing the same. The software also helps the management determine the overall ROI of individual employees of the organization, helping them make smarter decisions for the future.
However old or traditional the process of performance reviews are, it can and should be given a necessary facelift by incorporating relevant systems and processes within. The resultant product would be transparent, productive and positively impactful on the bottom line.
Author’s Bio: Maggie Kensington is a Senior Human Resource Manager and Content writer. She has over 6+ years of experience in the Human Resource & Services Industry. She is Skilled in Research, Media Management & Communication, Talent Management, Web Content Writing, and Customer Service.
