The realm of talent management is under real scrutiny since many questions are being raised upon the way performance management is handled and what is it that is missing in this essential area. As per the discussions of various eminent personalities of the business world, there is an acute need for manager support when it comes to tackling with employee performance.
It is a prevailing belief that managers must play a good role in mentoring their subordinates by focusing on the progress made by them from time to time, ensuring fair compensation plans and acting as a brace for their employees in the time of managing challenging situations.
What are the missing elements in the performance management process?
Let us just get to the main point that most people find this process to be distressing, especially the part where employees are to be provided with genuine feedback. So basically, core processes like assessments are being partially ignored. There is a minimal contribution from managers when it comes to evaluating performance, keeping a score and coaching the employees.
These days, most organizations rely on contemporary processes and tools like the magic form and the magic rating scale. On that account, the personal touch of a manager when giving feedback is missing. But to be fair, there is nothing that replaces direct feedback. Moreover, the direct mentoring that employees receive a day in day out is unparalleled to any tool or annual process that companies are fixated on nowadays.
So, how can this change? How can managers be more involved in performance evaluation?
It is high time that CEOs realize that performance assessment is not just the duty of talent management professionals and managers have an equal role to play in the pursuance of a better, more productive workforce. There are four main elements of performance management – orientation, training, feedback & appraisal. And, any talent management organization would include managers in each and every step of the performance evaluation process and this is how they would do it:
1. Orientation
In an ideal situation, managers provide a gist of every employee’s job description. Though they are given with a brief idea about their jobs during the selection process, managers are expected to explain it to them in a detailed manner along with conveying them how an employee’s performance will contribute in achieving the overall goals of the firm. Further, managers also offer the tools to every person that would help them perform their jobs in a more efficient manner and this activity paves the way for an ongoing process of performance evaluation.
2. Training
Another element of the performance evaluation that comes within the scope of managers is training and development. In a talent management organization, this responsibility will be shared amongst several employees with special skills. But, the initial step towards training the employees is taken by department managers.
3. Feedback
Proving feedback to employees, time and again, is another major task that managers carry out. They support the staff by giving regular feedbacks along with counseling in order to combat performance issues and enable the helping men in taking corrective actions. Vigilant managers are the first ones to notice when their team’s performance begins to go down.
4. Appraisal
The final aspect of the performance management process is performance appraisal. After the managers are done with the first three steps, they get enough time to comprehend the outcome of the projects undertaken by each employee which gives them clarity about the annual performance appraisal.
