Organisations need the right tools to support performance management, shows Kallidus study
Annual performance reviews are becoming a thing of the past with organisations embracing a more continuous approach to performance management, however they need the right tools to support them, shows a new study by Kallidus, an award-winning provider of learning and talent management solutions.
A survey of 329 directors, managers and employees found that nearly three quarters (74%) of respondents have conversations about performance with their line manager at least quarterly, with 43% of these having monthly discussions. Just 13% of respondents have only a once-a-year appraisal review and worryingly, a further 13% rarely or never have conversations about performance with their line manger.
While the data clearly shows that organisations are trying to adapt performance management processes to meet the needs of today’s dynamic and rapidly changing workplace, 78% of respondents said performance management could be improved within their organisation and 69% think it needs a more modern approach.
Organisations are yet to realise the full potential of online performance management tools.58% of respondents said their organisations are not using online tools for performance reviews. And for those that do, only around half find them useful.
Despite managers and directors spending a lot of time on each individual team member’s appraisal, with 52% spending more than two hours and 22% spending three hours or more per review, 42% of all respondents feel more time is spent on process than on meaningful appraisal conversations.
Said Rob Caul, CEO of Kallidus: “Completing performance reviews is a cumbersome process for many managers and directors. Our survey shows that a manager of a team of 12 could easily take a whole week every three months to do performance reviews for the whole team and that time spent on process and administration could be better spent on having meaningful appraisal and career conversations.”
“The good news is that the next generation of online performance management tools are making performance management easy and pain free, enabling regular check-ins, anytime, anywhere via any device, reflecting today’s increasingly global and virtual teams,” he added.
Despite some of the negative press that performance appraisals receive, encouragingly, 77% of those surveyed see the value of performance reviews; 65% find them motivating and engaging; 81% helpful for identifying areas of improvement and getting valuable feedback on their progress; and 60% agree they help them as an individual to see how they are contributing to business performance.
Said Philip Pyle, Sales and Marketing Director at Kallidus: “It’s great to see performance management is valued and organisations are embracing a more continuous approach with regular conversations that wouldn’t have been the norm just a few years ago.”
“While technology has the power to streamline and modernise performance management, culture is king. Ongoing, forward looking conversations can transform the performance management process from a tick-box exercise where employees feel forced to justify their performance over the past year, into something far more engaging, focused on helping people to reach their full potential and impactful for the business.”
Key highlights of the survey:
- 78% of respondents said performance management could be improved within their organisation.
- 69% think that performance management needs a more modern approach.
- 58% don’t use an online tool for performance reviews. And for those that do, only around half find them useful.
- Only 13% of respondents have a once-a-year appraisal review. Nearly three quarters (74%) of respondents have conversations about performance with their line manager at least quarterly.
- 52% of managers/directors are spending more than two hours on each employee’s review. 22% are spending three hours or more per review.
- 42% of all respondents feel more time is spent on process than on meaningful appraisal conversations.
- 77% of respondents see the value of performance reviews
- 65% of respondents find performance reviews motivating and engaging.
- 81% of respondents find them helpful for identifying areas of improvement and getting valuable feedback on their progress
- 60% of respondents agree performance reviews help them as an individual to see how they are contributing to business performance.
The full report, “Performance Management: Time to Refresh?” is available to download at http://www2.kallidus.com/perform-survey-2016 and includes a five point action plan for modernising performance management.
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Note to editors about survey data
Kallidus conducted an online survey of 329 directors, managers and employees across a broad range of company sizes during May/June 2016. Respondents were relatively evenly represented across all sizes of companies and business sectors.