Disruption 101: Reinventing performance management

The challenge is real for businesses battling to acquire, retain, develop and engage the industry’s best and brightest. How do we face this whilst also dodging the effects of a global skills crisis?

At Sage, we find that the answer to this lies in putting the customer at the heart of everything, focusing on colleague experience and driving innovation – and by that I mean thinking differently and challenging the status quo. For us that includes gathering as much insight on our people as possible and using it to challenge, simplify or replace outdated processes. It is about making at Sage an easy place to work so we can focus on solving the challenges of our customers.

As the battle for talent rages, keeping hold of great people – and keeping them engaged and committed – is critical. Enabling and encouraging existing employees’ professional development is the key to this, and I’d recommend it should be a priority for any business.

Searching for the best candidates is hard work; many of us spend weeks searching for the right person to fill a role. When you find them, it’s important to remember you are arriving at the beginning of the road, not the end. First impressions count, and the onboarding process and the culture of the business the new starter lands in will set the tone for their journey – and success – with your business.

Don’t (always) use cash as a carrot

So once they’re in, how do you keep them?

We encourage our colleagues to ‘use their voice’ by running regular pulse surveys, so they have a regular feedback opportunity to share what matters most to them, what they like and where they’d like to see change. And we share the actions we’re taking with them so they know they’re being listened to. We also encourage regular candid conversation between line managers and their direct reports. For most of us, the quality of the relationship with our boss makes or breaks a work assignment.

Our colleagues tell us that they value: culture; benefits; flexibility; and career opportunities. In 2019, it seems money is not the #1 motivator it once was. People don’t just want a payslip; they want a purpose. A recent Harvard study found that companies which offered employees benefits like flexible work schedules, skill training and family friendly policies also received more applications – and I find that to be true.

While many of us are engaged in people management, are we really setting ourselves, and our colleagues, up for success? We know what’s important to our colleagues, are we focusing enough on the right things?

Listening to colleagues – and empowering people managers

In our recent culture Hackathon – a 72-hour online conversation held globally with our 13,000 colleagues to discuss the culture we need to deliver on our strategy - it became clear that the best managers are those that care. Those managers who support and coach colleagues to problem solve, thrive and develop.

Leaders have many choices to make when searching for a system that works for them. At Sage we believe in acting on the valuable feedback we get from our teams, whilst harnessing the power of data when it comes to helping leaders getting into the science of performance management.

The implementation of our L.E.A.D. personal development program is a result of feedback from colleagues who were asking for clearer – and better - feedback and development, supported by regular action and information-focused communications.

Ultimately, empowering and guiding our people managers to better support their teams with more regular, forward-looking conversations, reinforced with clear guidance and easy to use, robust processes is helping to ensure our teams are moving forward.

Recognition is also incredibly important and showing your people that you are invested in them is the #1 thing you can do to keep them engaged and prevent the loss of valuable employees. But where best to start?

Five steps to getting it right

For us, it starts with culture. Moving towards the collaborative, winning culture that we want, by clarifying our current culture; envisioning our future culture; and understanding the actions and behaviours needed to bridge the gap. And as part of this:

Know what you’re measuring

What does success look like at your business? Have a discussion with your team to decide which metrics matter to your team and your business. Remember not to focus entirely on performance, but also listen to what they have learned, what they are bringing to the table in meetings and how they contribute to the overall culture. The outcome is key but so is the performance that got you there.

Keep lines of communication open

We are told time and time again that communication is essential. Ever been in a job where you’ve been unsure when you are going to be appraised and/or more importantly up for promotion? Many of us have. Bottom line? It can be demoralising. Make sure you are clear and honest when it comes to setting targets and managing expectations from both sides when it comes to results and reward. That is why at Sage we have moved to continuous conversations with our L.E.A.D. personal development program, which encourages ‘in the moment’ feedback as well as regular review touchpoints.

Improve the workforce experience

Effective performance management only works if you make things seamless for colleagues. People tend to be resistant to change - and no one is going to be enthusiastic about something which gives them more work to do. If you are implementing new tools or processes, ensure they are intuitive and easy to use. Make data accessible, giving employees access to view and manage their details across any device at any time. And make conversations collaborative, forward-looking and productive – not onerous!

Set an example

While professional transformation can happen at a local level, it only occurs when the tone is set throughout an organisation. To help employees achieve transformation, you’ll need to incorporate effective performance management and regular feedback into your company’s culture. That is why we expect our executives to lead by example – it is not what they say but what they do what really sets the tone.

Know your people as well as you know your customers

Building a collaborative, winning culture with colleagues, will ultimately set customers up for success too.

Managing your people well relies on understanding who they are. At the macro level, using analytics to help HR teams answer questions like “What is the profile of the people in high performing teams?” and “What is the gender mix across the organisation?” will help you to make better decisions when it comes to the development of talent strategy. Seeing the information spelled out plainly in black and white allows management to examine key areas like diversity, equality and performance.

In fact, we use one of our own products Sage People, a global cloud HR and people system, that provides us instant visibility of our workforce. Smart analytics and actionable insights give HR teams the opportunity to attract and leverage the best talent. More importantly, with automated reports and customisable dashboards it helps to save time and money, delivering effective performance management at scale whilst creating great employee and candidate experiences.

Smart technology, of course, is best used by the caring managers we’ve already referred to. We’re humans dealing with humans after all. By all means use technology to connect with your teams – we’re a global organisation so it’s not always possible to discuss plans with my team over a coffee. But we can connect online with video, making it more personal too when we’re discussing developing their performance or seize new opportunities in a way that feels meaningful to them.

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I’d be interested to hear what you’re doing to switch up performance management in your organisation. Don’t forget to share your posts with the #TalentVoices hashtag!