4 performance management trends we spotted going into 2025

Nobody works more closely with our clients than our Customer Success team. So, for this edition of Performance Matters, we hear from Richard, Emily and Ros about the changes they’ve seen over the last 12 months. What new developments in performance management strategy are taking us into 2025??The team identified four major trends from across our customer base.?

You can watch the whole conversation with the Appraisd team here: https://www.appraisd.com/podcast/navigating-performance-management-season-2-performance-management-trends-in-2024-episode-6?

Taking a holistic approach to talent management and succession planning is on the up, says the team. At the simpler end of the scale, companies are asking employees about their aspirations, and asking questions of managers about whether a role is critical and who a likely successor might be. At the more complex end of performance management, companies are using a set of questions to evaluate potential and combining this with a performance rating to generate a score which maps employees onto a 9-box grid, providing visibility of talent across the business.?

New and creative ways to share feedback and recognition?

Instant feedback and employee recognition are trending, says Emily. More and more clients are enabling Appraisd’s feedback and recognition features and asking us to help them align them to their company values. Examples of employee recognition programmes include collating positive feedback into company newsletters, dedicating time at town hall meetings, and even creating a Slack channel for colleague shout-outs.

Stronger alignment of personal to company objectives?

More customers are working to align individual performance management objectives to company or departmental goals, says Ros. Their rationale for this is to create more connection between employee goals and company goals - and more visibility of that connection. When companies set new goals annually or quarterly, they’re revisiting individual objectives to check there is alignment. This process also helps employees and line managers to think about objective-setting in a more structured way.

Including values in every step of performance management?

It’s not just ‘what’ people work on, it’s the ‘how’ work is getting done, says Richard, with more companies becoming focused on how work aligns to their culture and values. The use of values is widespread in employee recognition programmes but more are now incorporating them in every step of the performance management process.?Examples include embedding values in review forms, objective-setting templates, performance review templates, annual reviews and PDP tracking.?

What changes will you be making this year?

Looking to make some changes to performance management this year? ??Hear more about these trends from the Appraisd team on our podcast: Navigating Performance Management | Trends in 2024. And, to learn more about Appraisd, talk to us ??