PARADIGM SHIFT IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown performance management systems into disarray. The future of work has arrived before we expected it, with implications for both business and people.

Traditional performance evaluation and management models were bound to be re-engineered for the future and now it’s time PMS experts should rethink to build high-performing workplaces.

 Leaders need a new way to track and encourage high performance but how?

 BEFORE EXPECTING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE- ENGAGE EMPLOYEE

COVID-19 spread is emotionally challenging for many people, changing day-to-day life in unprecedented ways and we continue to experience disruption in our homes and workplaces. The best thing we as leaders can do is lean in. Listen to your employees, empathize with their greatest concerns, communicate frequently and confidently, and be flexible and supportive to meet their needs.

1. Focus on employees’ health, safety and wellbeing

Organizations need to put extra effort in these things in order to build trust among employees and keep their motivation and morale levels high. Develop the culture where one should feel their job are secure and they are able to focus on their work. 

 2. Communicate more frequently & Listen actively

At this moment we should train our each business head and manager to make more frequent communication with their team. Two-way communication process with employees. Develop two-way communication, when employees are allowed to speak about their concerns, managers and peers have a better understanding of an employee’s negative emotions.

WAYS WE SHOULD MANAGE EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE DURING PANDEMIC :

1. Document all of your processes:

Each function should define their business process with accountability matrix. Every individual role and responsibility should be clearly communicated and documented. Expectations from each employee should be clearly defined by their managers.

2. Focus on short term objectives rather chasing the Long term goal:

 During this unpredictable time of pandemic, chop your long term goals into short term objectives. Rather than making Annual Plan, strategies need to be designed and implemented to achieve quarterly and monthly goal. We need to be geared up fast to match the pace with fast moving market

3. Create milestones for each task you assign to an employee:

The managers co-creating agile goals along with the individual employees in short sprints of a month to a maximum of a quarter and taking accountability for the same with complete focus on results that impact business. Support your team members in creating milestones to each task, milestone should be defined with a time bound of weekly, fortnightly and monthly target. Organization can develop in house tool and work on any simple tool available in market to track the daily, weekly and monthly task and assignment. Metrics and trackers which can directly relate to actions will help in improving the performance and understand gaps immediately.

 4. Shift to Weekly and Monthly Review:

Once you have set the goals for your remote employees, it does not mean the process of goal setting ends there. Reviewing progress on a regular basis, not only keeps things on track, it also allows you to understand whether you are going in the right direction. It may happen that after a weeks of working towards a goal, you realize that this goal won’t really take your team where you want to go. There is no harm in changing tracks. But in order to understand that, you need to review the goals often.

 5. Providing and asking for feedback:

During and after this pandemic, managers should make more space for feedback. Don’t assume that your team will bring concerns to you or feel comfortable sharing how they are feeling. Instead, ask questions and find out what they need from you. What roadblocks are individuals facing? Are they clear about the desired outcomes and know how to get there? How are they coping with the current situation? Additionally, managers should actively offer feedback. They should provide frequent and on-the-spot feedback to keep their teams happy and productive. 

6. Recognize your employees’ efforts

 Recognition doesn't have to be monetary. Sometimes, non- monetary recognition may even have a bigger impact. Regular and simple recognition on official WhatsApp group and mailers, we can celebrate team achievement and appreciate of achieving even short tasks. A simple thank-you message will also do wonders.

Divya Tyagi, Certified PMS Expert