New Ways to Conduct Performance Management During the Pandemic

The new normal has been a period of adjustment for everyone. For employees that have to adjust and still produce the same output despite the new normal, this can be a challenging time for them as many of the things they used to do may no longer work. 

Because of this, performance management techniques have to change as well. Traditional methods are no longer enough as a company focus shifts to a different way of doing business. Here are 3 ideas on how your performance management strategies can adapt to the new normal:

1.Shift from closed-door conversations to remote, technology-based discussions

Having technology-based discussions will allow managers and top management to get reports more directly and create better connections with their employees. Instead of coursing the reports through layers of supervisors, managers can get a better on-the-ground feel of the situations that are experienced by different employees.

This can give managers a better view of the reported KPIs as well as how they can improve those points by getting more information from the people who actually do the legwork. This will help managers make better decisions as they adjust and manage performance metrics.

One such way is to do them over phone conversations where there is lower risk of recording and other data breaches. Another is through video conferences where the HR managers conduct interviews with the staff they are assessing.

According to a study from Mercer, while technology will prove very useful to companies, 8 in 10 managers lack the skill in making this happen. It is then important to have managers trained to this new way of management.

2.Increase support for employees working at home

One of the biggest barriers to being productive for remote workers is the presence of chores and family members that could take their attention any time and distract them from work. It is important for management to remember that employees who work well in an office setting should, over time, be able to be as effectively independent at home.

OperationsInc understands this and has used a support strategy to keep their employees motivated and productive.

According to CEO David Lewis, managers should help their employees create a work environment at home through regular check-ins. However, this should be done with great care because employees might take it as managers monitoring their employees, which could demoralize your most productive independent employees.

Instead, managers should be able to convey to their employees that their regular check-ins are to help them establish a stable work environment where there is structure and available support when they need it. 

3.Performance metrics adjustments

Traditional metrics that have been useful in tangible work environments are mostly obsolete in an era where intangible digital assets are considered more valuable. This means that companies have to redefine and manage their KPIs differently. 

According to research by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), some KPIs that many companies are now focusing on include data quality, return on capital investment, employee productivity, customer experience and satisfaction, employee engagement and retention, competitor activity, customer pipeline, and retention, and brand awareness and equity.

While these may be the most used, your company needs to be more accurate about what standards your company really needs to measure to get the most out of the data that you’re getting.

Changing KPIs however is not enough. These KPIs need to be supported by value drivers to see which part of the business these KPIs influence. These, then, need to be measured using digital tools such as HR analytics that can come up with more granular assessments such as quality of performance, the impact of remote work on productivity, level of focus during a time of disruption, and consistency in creativity and solution creation. 

Change is common in anything, including business. Performance management in the time of coronavirus and with all the changes, weak companies will perish while those that change and adapt will be able to survive the storm and even grow to bigger companies.

Agility should no longer be the realm of startups and small companies. Even large companies need to become more agile if they want to quickly change to suit the new normal. Innovation should be in the blood of companies, whatever the size, in these trying times.

Shifting the manner of conversation, increasing support for your employees, and making adjustments to your performance metrics all lend to helping your whole organization ease into the sudden shift that you have to make to survive.