The way we work has changed and how! After all, the year 2021 is at its end — the future has arrived. No, we are not talking about Xmen, flying cars, or robots. We’re referring to employee performance management trends.
Whether you’re leading a large team in a well-known company or a small start-up, you’re forced to move at the speed of life. Let’s take a quick look at what performance management trends to expect post-2021.
Top 6 performance management trends that are about to take over
1. Goodbye, annual performance reviews
According to Dori Meinert, 95% of employees are not satisfied with their company’s appraisal system. In fact, 65% of employees expect more feedback. If these stats aren’t alarming, then what can be?
Therefore, instead of annual performance reviews, managers will seek ways to give effective continuous feedback. Studies have shown that ongoing feedback and training are effective and easily achievable through technology. We say continuous performance management practice is here to stay!
2. Outcome-oriented goals
In a remote environment with so many responsibilities, employees are likely to manage work differently. Therefore, outcome-focused goals are better measures of performance than output-focused goals.
Soon, this observation will be considered a baseline for setting realistic goals for companies and employees.
3. Flexibility
“Agile” (changing or flexible) has been a keyword this year – from businesses to employees, performance measurement and management, to learning and development goals as well.
Why? Because businesses that were able to survive and now thrive after covid have done so only because they were flexible enough to change work methodologies and adapt to technology.
Today, an increasing number of organizations have concluded that their performance management processes and approach are both ineffective and outdated. We will see them adapting to improved performance management practices, such as 360-degree feedback, upward reviews, and continuous feedback.
4. Transparency
Considering 52% of Gen Z’s and Gen Y’s state that an essential quality of being a good leader is honesty and transparency, these two will be the most valued leadership traits.
The open and transparent communication culture will be critical in maintaining employee performance because only time tracking and screen monitoring will not be adequate performance measures.
5. Working with freelancers
Working with freelancers is something that will be normalized in the coming years. In the U.S. alone, 53 million people are freelancing. That’s 34% of the entire workforce, and millions more will probably follow.
Lots of freelancers work remotely, which means a hybrid workforce is here to stay. Working with freelancers is being encouraged by companies nowadays as hiring temporary workers is cheaper, provides flexibility and access to specific skills. All this is thanks to technology.
6. Employee happiness – wellness and mental health
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A study revealed that 52% of American employees are not engaged in their work. This disengagement costs U.S. businesses a productivity loss of around $450 to $550 billion per year. Therefore, we can expect organizations to take the lead in regularly measuring their employees’ job satisfaction.
A World Health Organization report showed that anxiety and depression have led to $1 trillion per year in lost productivity. Hence, employers may leverage technology to encourage conversations around mental health and make it a part of their performance management process.
On a wrapping note
Uncertain times require long-term strategies that put an employee’s performance at the center of all planning. If a company is built on principles that encourage open communication, listening, trust, and building relationships, managers will learn to incorporate those behaviors into their management style.