Effectiveness of communication in the Performance Management

System
“[Redesigned performance management processes] shift the focus away from
forced-distribution rankings and much more toward helping managers coach
people to succeed. By changing this one HR ‘ingredient,’ it is possible to affect
many others.” – David Parent, Nathan Sloan, Akio Tsuchida, Deloitte
In its radical redesign of its performance management approach, Deloitte defined
three objectives for the new system” “to recognize, see and fuel performance.
Centered on looking at the ‘whole story’, Deloitte’s new system is based on three
interlocking features to support the ‘whole story’ ”“the annual compensation
decision, the quarterly or pre-project performance snapshot, and the weekly
check-in. Based on the aforementioned statement, one can adequately arrive at
the conclusion that Deloitte has successfully adopted an approach relying on
continuous, real-time feedback and focusing on collaboration, coaching and
development.
Moreover, Deloitte’s research found the best team leaders conducted regular
‘check-ins’ with individuals, brief conversations that set expectations for the
forthcoming week, reviews priorities, feedback on recent work and provides
“course correction, coaching, or important new information. Instead of limited
reviews to one dreaded annual event, these regular ‘catch-ups’ help provide
clarity regarding what is expected from people and why. Deloitte’s new ‘simplified’
performance management model calls for each team leaders to ‘check in’ with
each team member once a week.
Director of Leader Development at Deloitte Ashley Goodall stressed in a
Harvard Business Review article:
“If you want people to talk about how to do their best work in the near
future, they need to talk often. So far, we have found in our testing a direct
and measurable correlation between the frequency of these conversations
and the engagement of team members. Very frequent check-ins, we might
say radically frequent check-ins, are a team leader’s killer app.”
By shifting its approach from a “batched focus on the past to a continual focus on
the future” through regular evaluations, Deloitte hopes it can help fuel
performance by delivering a more transparent approach to performance
management.
In recent years several of the most famous organisations have publically
announced they are abandoning the loathed management tradition of
performance appraisals, including Microsoft and Adobe.

As Fortune writes, many companies are swapping old rating systems in favour of
ways to force “honest conversation.”
For example, Adobe, similar to Deloitte, has put a ‘check-in’ system in place,
whereby regular feedback and guidance is given by team leaders instead of
confining such an activity to one big annual event.
While it’s true that effective Performance Management must include metrics in
order to provide substance and accountability, the real key to performance
management is communication. Good communication, clarification of roles, and
clear statement of expectations - all help avoid performance problems. Everyone
including the business owner needs to have someone; a trusted advisor, board
member or manager, to help them process the data that supports performance
management.

Having performance data is just the first step. Communication is needed to

interpret the results, talk about successes, identify barriers, and determine next
steps. Because employees sometimes feel threatened when discussing their
performance, it’s especially important to pay extra attention to how the message
is being delivered and received. Performance dialogues—regular, structured, face-
to-face conversations between managers and their direct reports about
organizational performance—are one of the most powerful management tools at
a leader’s disposal. The most effective performance dialogues have four qualities
enable them to drive ongoing improvements in organizational performance. It
should be Fact based, Action oriented, Constructive and challenging and targeted.
One of the keys to success in any business is effective communication, but
establishing a culture where different departments within your organisation work
cohesively can be easier said than done. To simplify the process, the 5 Cs of
communication have been developed to offer a guideline of a good performance
evaluation dialogue:
1. Candid: everyone involved must be candid and honest throughout the process.
If there are difficult questions that need to be addressed, do not shy away from
them.

2. Conversational: This is as much a performance evaluation as it is asking for

specific support to deliver the performance. Moreover, the conversation
should be fact based. Since,

3. Clear: Make clear the specific behavior being discussed and what good
performance looks and feels like.

4. Constructive: The objective is to help employees improve their performance

without assigning blame and there is nothing better than getting constructive
feedback that helps one get better at their jobs. And

5. Continuous: It is continuous. Any lasting change in performance takes time, so

focus on a few performance attributes for a period of time and do this
consistently. This tells whether you are improving over time. The progress also
keeps the morale high and helps everyone feel good about the work that they
are doing.
The 5Cs can yield desirable results in form of effective communication of goals,
such as Setting SMART goals for employees and communicating them is vital for
good employee performance. Or, Effective communication of feedback to
employees, which is important to achieve goals, employee skill development and
improve employee performance. Also, Effective communication during appraisal
meetings leads to higher employee satisfaction levels. Furthermore, for effective
performance in a team setting, there needs to be a transparent and effective
communication within the team members. Most importantly, if organizations start
to facilitate effective communication by employees, they can see a marked
improvement on the performance.
In the new fast-paced changing environment, performance management system
needs to be continuously aligned to business to add value. The internal changes in
the nature of workforce make it essential to have an ongoing feedback supported
by a system which is continuous and consistent. Technology plays a vital role in
building robust systems for flawless tracking. By leveraging technology,
organizations can build robust performance tool and improve overall
organizational performance. Communication and training play an important role
in popularizing the performance management system and increasing adoption.
Therefore Communication process is instrumental in creating awareness and
optimism within an organization. Consequently, custom communication
approaches, consistency, clarity and collaboration are the key elements. And so
Multiple channels such as e-mails, one on-one conversation, team meetings and
presentations should be utilized.