Goodbye performance ratings, hello impact!

I often get asked what we've learnt about people and leadership in the last year and how it will impact our future ways of working. The pandemic has dramatically and irreversibly changed the world we thought we knew, transforming the workplace beyond recognition. But it has also affirmed and accelerated our commitment to unboss the future of working, underlining even more clearly the need for the entrepreneurial spirit that our ‘inspired, curious, unbossed’ culture asks of us.

Faced with challenges or uncertainty, our leader instinct is often to try and take control. But attempting to manage and manipulate situations that are complex, fast-moving and unpredictable, without listening to and learning from our people, is in fact counter-productive. 

By leaning into our culture, we’ve been able to take a different approach at Novartis. Instead of tightening our grip, we’ve chosen to give our people, those who are actually closest to the customer or product, the freedom to own the important decisions about their work for themselves.

I recently shared with you how the introduction of our future working model, which we call “Choice with Responsibility”, is giving our people greater flexibility to decide how, where* and when they work to be their best. But our plans go further. Now, I’d like to share how we’re empowering our people to take ownership of their growth and impact by reimagining our approach to performance management.

Our people are greater than numbers

Two years ago, we launched a crowdsourcing event to unleash our collective imagination and generate ideas that would help us to live our culture. Our people told us that to enable them to really grow and contribute, they wanted more ownership over their goals and expected more feedback and coaching. But above all, we needed to ditch performance ratings. The fruit of their work could not be summarized in a number!

After a series of rigorous, data-driven experiments involving over 16,000 employees across the business, this January, we waved goodbye to numbers, and said hello to impact.

Our new approach is people focused rather than system focused, where performance ratings are a thing of the past. It is built around four elements that will encourage learning and growth, and enable us to reach our full potential individually, as teams and as a company. It provides not only a roadmap for our collective success, but also a complete revolution in how we think about performance, anchored in our values and behaviors.

1)    Objectives: We’re not looking for task lists, tick boxes and scores. We want big, bold objectives that span multiple years, are self-created and team-aligned, and that inspire us all to have impact and drive transformative innovation.

2)    Feedback: Throughout the year, we’re encouraging our people to seek, give and receive feedback frequently and promptly, empowering them to take ownership for driving the business forward, and supporting them with coaching and frequent, forward-looking conversations instead of ratings-driven annual reviews.

3)    Recognition: The joy of giving goes a long way. Instead of only looking to managers for recognition, we’re unbossing our people to recognize peers and colleagues throughout the year - for their contribution, collaboration and behaviors that spark success.

4)    Rewards: We’re putting impact front and center as the basis for reward, placing greater emphasis on how we collaborate and achieve together. 

At the heart, we're asking our associates: where do you want to have impact?

The leader as coach

We know that our people are our greatest strength, so we need our leaders to focus on unlocking their potential.

Our new approach to performance management helps our leaders to act as enablers. By learning and practicing the skills of being present, asking questions and listening to learn, our leaders can take responsibility for unleashing the power and potential of our people.

Just like learning to operate in a ‘pandemic world’, learning how to work together in the future – whether virtually, physically or a combination of both – depends on our ability to be agile and responsive. It doesn’t need a hierarchy, or greater control; it needs leaders who thrive in complexity and uncertainty, and who are willing and able to give their people the space and autonomy to grow.

What next?

A colleague recently shared an Albert Einstein quote that summarizes it all:

"You can't use an old map to explore a new world." - Albert Einstein

The pandemic is driving businesses to seek out new ways of working for a new kind of workforce and letting go of the old management principles. At Novartis, it’s accelerating our culture transformation - so that we can deliver transformative innovation and change the lives of patients around the world.  

By reimagining performance management, we’re enabling an environment where our people can grow, contribute and be their best. Because our people are greater than numbers. And the impact they have on the lives of our patients is far greater.

This is a journey that will take time and face some failures, and the coming months will see us put our aspirations to the test as these programs become part of our day-to-day working lives. I look forward to sharing what we learn with you as the journey continues – the highs and the lows! One thing is certain; we all need to be open and willing to change. But as we reimagine the future of working, I’m confident that we can stay curious, keep learning, and enjoy this journey of discovery together.

*within their country/state of employment