Here's how you can utilize performance evaluations to foster and strengthen culture change.

Algunas estrategias para fomentar y fortalecer el cambio cultural a partir de las evaluaciones de desempe?o: -Alinea las evaluaciones con los valores y objetivos culturales que deseas promover. - Asegúrate que los criterios de evaluación reflejen comportamientos y actitudes que respalden la nueva cultura, y usa el feedback para reconocer y recompensar a quienes los ejemplifiquen. -Facilita conversaciones abiertas sobre cómo las prácticas actuales se alinean con el cambio cultural deseado y brinda recursos para ayudar a los empleados a adaptarse. -Implementa planes de desarrollo personalizados que refuercen las competencias culturales y crea un ciclo continuo de retroalimentación que los mantenga comprometidos con la evolución cultural.

In a company, people look at others to decide what behaviors they should adopt. The fastest way to get a cultural shift is to recognize and reward Cultural Champions. Aligning goals is a great start, but recognizing and rewarding good behavior is key. Celebrate those who show the desired culture traits, like teamwork or innovation. This can be a shoutout in a meeting or a small reward. When employees see their peers being praised, they are more likely to follow those examples. We all want to be praised for what we do (and who we display we are). This helps the culture change grow stronger and faster.

Before aligning goals, you need to align on the behaviours that you would expect for the new culture. You should have a behaviour dictionary that defines what you would expect at each level. Once this is in place, you can have tangible discussions about how the person is doing against these behaviours that you would expect. This then allows you to align on goals and why these are important.

The feedback loop works when there is a consistent 360-view of feedback (i.e. Manager to team member --> Team member to Manager --> stakeholders to team member. The last one only works with stakeholders you consistently work with. I've experienced AVPs giving poor feedback re: my performance but I haven't worked with them (so they are unable to provide specific examples when asked). This is not helpful and damaging to culture. Using the SBI method for feedback is spot on (i.e. state the SITUATION, explain the BEHAVIOUR, identify the IMPACT of that behaviour). This provides clarity on WHY feedback is being given. It's also important (and responsible) to be a support system following the feedback, to build up your fellow colleague.

I have found that a Matrix of WHAT and HOW helps with this. Many people tend to focus on what people have done and ignore how it happened. The how is where behaviours can be focused on. Half of the overall rating should come from the show, so unless someone is outstanding in what they have done and how they did it, then they should not be seen as a top performer.

In performance evaluations, focus on behaviors, not just outcomes. Highlight actions that support the desired culture change to make expectations clear. For example, if fostering a culture of innovation is your goal, recognize and reward employees who share new ideas or improve processes. This recognition shows the importance of the cultural shift and motivates others to follow. Embedding these behaviors helps the new culture grow stronger within the organization.

Want to drive culture change? Start with personalized development plans in your performance evaluations. That might be something new to you, and can be co-created with your employees, individually. How do you do that? - Pinpoint the skills or behaviors each employee needs to thrive in the new culture. - Then, offer resources or training to help them grow. (This shows you’re invested in their success and makes them feel valued.) When employees see you’re committed to their development, they’re more likely to engage with and commit to the cultural transformation. Personalized growth plans create a strong connection to the new culture, making the shift smoother and more impactful.

Something I like to ask for pretty much anything as a starting point is --> "What's your definition of _______[insert topic]?" In this conversation of performance evaluations and culture change, ensure that you are clear with what your DEFINITION of culture is vs. your team member's definition vs. the definition of the organization. "Culture" means different things to different people and it's important before you start any conversation - to get clear on the definition so we can ensure we have a baseline understanding that we're all talking about the same thing. We need to step away from assuming that our definition is the same as the person sitting across from me.

Consider what the person wants from their job. Is it just paying the bills? It is development. Do they want more money? These also allow you to set the goals at the right level and enable the person to meet their own needs, not just the company's, which will lead to much better outcomes.