Feedback is not about the process. It is about the people. Performance is not a goal to be achieved. It is, yet again about the people. People determine their own performance and through that the organizations. The logic seems simple, but many organizations are so focused on making the performance management process effective, they forget that at the heart of it always lies the individual. And so the spotlight should be shifted to reviewing how the process can be made more people-centric at each stage. A performance management course helps you to get better insights into this thought process.
Let us see briefly what organizations can do at their end.
- People should be encouraged to talk about performance – Performance is not the domain of the managers or leaders. It should also not be a word to be feared during review discussions. People should be empowered to talk about it, ask for specific feedback and how to improve themselves. There should be a sense of collaboration and coaching, rather than competitive when it comes to performance.
- Managers should be trained to accept feedback – While most companies train managers on how to give feedback, it is important to help them understand how to accept feedback too. The teams should be encouraged to share their feedback with the top leaders and their own immediate managers so that there is a sense of growth that emanates from such discussions. Apart from coaching their teams, they need to learn about reverse mentoring too.
- Make it simple and easy – Instead of complex and long forms or templates, make the process of providing or getting feedback simple and easy. People should not view it as a task to undertake or a process to be completed. They should treat it as a stepping stone towards career growth and a quick but efficient way to improve their performance. Streamlining this process is what will make it people-centric since there will be a wider set of employees who will understand it better.
- Focus on the impact and end-goals – Some organizations focus on ticking the tasks off a to-do list, as part of the performance management process. Others are more focused on a specific way to do it. While both of these are important, it is most critical to realize that the overall impact created by the person and the connection to the end-goals is what is important.
Only when these elements are kept in mind can we make sure that our performance management process is aligned to the people and that it puts the people first.
