Re-Imagining Performance Management

3 credits

For the managers who write them, and the employees who receive them, performance reviews have long served as a source of anxiety and frustration. At best, they are a necessary evil in the annual review process. At worst, theyre a devastating tornado in the organizations performance management storm system, especially for a companys HR and leadership teams. When done poorly, performance reviews can demotivate employees, increase insecurity in new and developing managers, and have minimal impact on employee development and company performance. These reviews may or may not have some link to compensation decision-making; either way, there tends to be limited follow-up and connection between employee and manager on the key items discussed during the annual review.Hence, HR teams tweak the process with a better evaluation form, change in rating scale, or attempt to get the leadership team to lead by example and actually conduct reviews with their direct reports. In most cases, these changes have minimal success. In fact, employees and managers become more frustrated because of HRs changes, just when they finally become comfortable with the current form.What is needed is a total re-imagination of performance management. Performance and development processes should be a positive and connected process within organizations that ensure employees and managers are aligned on the work ahead. That crucial connection promotes the desire and ability to give and receive constructive feedback, provide recognition for a job well done, and develop a working development plan that is engaging to the employee and exciting for the manager.In this course, students will learn about a different path regarding performance and development, one that prepares HR professionals to design, implement, and facilitate a performance management process as a core business/talent process within the organization.