January is often a time where companies think about their goals for the coming year. Equally individuals may also be thinking about their own careers and how they wish to progress.
Performance management is often described as a “cycle” or process – and we always encourage managers and organisations to embed performance management as part of your day-to-day culture, not just as a one-off activity that happens when you carry out an appraisal.
How can you measure performance?
There are various ways that you can measure performance within your own teams and businesses, which may include things like –
- Reviewing stats and KPIs
- Assessing achievements against targets which have previously been set
- Feedback from colleagues (360-degree feedback)
- Customer comments / feedback
- Company growth (financial, headcount or other metrics)
In this blog, we will discuss two methods that you may find useful when setting goals and requesting feedback:
SMART goals
SMART is an acronym that is commonly referred to when setting goals, and it provides a structure to make sure that goals you set are challenging, yet achievable…..structured yet flexible. SMART goals include the following characteristics –
S – specific (is the goal specific enough that individuals understand what is expected)
M – measurable (how will you know if the goal has been achieved)
A – achievable (make it challenging, but not impossible)
R – relevant (how does the goal fit into plans, strategy etc)
T – timebound (how long will the goal take to achieve)
If any of these elements are missing, this likely to result in issues such as lost motivation, failure to achieve, wasted time or resources, or misunderstandings.
Remember – goals should be reviewed on the specified date, and be flexible or adjusted to account for unexpected changes.
Requesting feedback
Many organisations encourage individuals to see 360-degree feedback, which is sought from peers at all levels – colleagues, direct reports and managers. Many people find the process of giving feedback difficult, whether due to fear of repercussion, or lack of confidence in providing this.
One tool that can be useful when requesting feedback is “Stop, Start, Continue”. To use this, an individual would ask
Stop “name something I do currently, that you would like me to stop doing this year”
Start “name something that I do not currently do, that you would like me to start doing”
Continue “name something I do well, that you would like me to continue to do”
As this provides a structured response, and is equally balanced between positive, developmental and future plans, this can often be easier to complete and facilitate a discussion from.
Support
We run a manager’s training day which covers performance management, as well as this being a regular session in our Lunch and Learn schedule.
If you need any help implementing or embedding performance management or feedback processes within your teams, or would like to discus how we can support with any managers training, please contact us (team@hrprime.co.uk)