What is Performance Enablement?

The rate of change in the macroenvironment and world of work is increasing rapidly. Leaders believe only 41% of employees are performing optimally. If change is the only constant, what is the lasting competitive advantage? Your people. You need a deliberate motion of delivering performance to continue winning in the market.

THE WORLD OF WORK HAS EVOLVED

So...why does it matter today?

As organizations have changed to deliver in the face of external realities

Early to mid 1900s

Top-Down Bureucracies

Performance management has envolved to deliver on organizational needs

Militaries devised rating systems & forced rankings
Negative remarks approach to manage productivity
Closed and confidential reports inspired by the army
Appraisals became widespread to allocate rewards
Pen & paper based

Late 1900s

Largely Predictable Change

Matrixed Organizations

Performance management has envolved to deliver on organizational needs

Accountability driven top-down approach with goals & assessments
Bell curve at GE - reward the top, manage the middle and kick-out the bottom
First signs of separate accountability and development discussions
Wider use of behavioral aspects through multi-rater 360 feedback
ERP & HRIS systems

Today

Unpredictable change

Cross-Functional Network

Performance management has envolved to deliver on organizational needs

Few champions adopted check-ins and frequent feedback
Rise of 1:1s and balancing development with accountability
Focus on team culture & performance with an open & transparent culture
Coaching called out as manager responsibility
Cloud HRIS and PMS systems

Performance management has envolved to deliver on organizational needs

Militaries devised rating systems & forced rankings
Negative remarks approach to manage productivity
Closed and confidential reports inspired by the army
Appraisals became widespread to allocate rewards
Pen & paper based

Accountability driven top-down approach with goals & assessments
Bell curve at GE - reward the top, manage the middle and kick-out the bottom
First signs of separate accountability and development discussions
Wider use of behavioral aspects through multi-rater 360 feedback
ERP & HRIS systems

Few champions adopted check-ins and frequent feedback
Rise of 1:1s and balancing development with accountability
Focus on team culture & performance with an open & transparent culture
Coaching called out as manager responsibility
Cloud HRIS and PMS systems

The Pivot of Enhancement

For years, Performance Management has been focused on backward looking assessments, enforcing rules, and ensuring compliance through periodic form-filling.

The Pivot to Enablement is focused on improving individual performance through direction and coaching while delivering on individual growth & development to maximize business results through a series of performance actions embedded in the ways of everyday working.

Here are the key factors driving the pivot from performance management to enablement.

Shift from data blackbox to real-time recommendations

Equip managers with real-time data and recommend actions rooted in people science instead of sending reports at 6/12 month intervals.

Shift from data-entry to continuous actions

Guide action & conversations in the work network than force people to fill down centrally controlled forms & questionnaires.

Shift from measuring performance to improving performance

Build more top performers faster from within through deliberate coaching and direction than relying on reviews to distribute rewards.

Shift from one-size fits all to personalization

Optimize for each individual’s unique strengths and growth journey than applying mass approaches to talent pool

Shift from fixed org structures to networked organizations

Enable cadences to drive organic and timely conversations with cross-functional peers over formulaic peer assessors.

Shift from process compliance to habit formation

Make performance a series of actions embedded in the flow of work on key work tools than insisting on archaic tools for the sake of reporting.

Your World with Performance Enablement

Performance enablement is about driving timely, quality and organic performance conversations by delivering actionable insights and nudges that drive actions & change. It equips everyone with the right recommendations to do their best work. Your people win. You win. Your business wins.

Our Performance Enablement Recipe

STEP 1

Clarify expectations for everyone

People want to know what they have to deliver and how it aligns to the organization’s goals. Clearly articulate goals for all employees in your preferred methodology and degree of cascade required. Use GenAI to help people write better goals within their work context. Everyone knows what they are aiming for.

STEP 2

Build a cadence of conversations

People want to know how they are doing and how they can improve. Drive consistent bite-sized check-ins from within work tools. Facilitate a series of manager 1:1s with embedded agendas to focus on directing progress towards goals and development plans. With automated transcribing, let people focus on conversations & actions. Encourage frequent feedback sharing in work network through nudges powered by interactions.

STEP 3

Enable managers with next-best action

Enable managers with next-best action. Managers need the right insight at the right time to take the right action. With insights delivered in their communication tools with recommendation on the next-best action, we ensure the managers have a virtual HRBP by their side guiding them. Managers elevate themselves to coaches and align themselves as enablers of core business outcomes.

STEP 4

Drive talent outcomes & business results

Drive periodic performance assessments as needed to drive accountability, albeit with much shorter forms and most data already captured from continuous check-ins and conversations. Empower HRBPs to run meaningful round tables focused on team and people growth over period of time. Link other talent programs to outcomes of performance management.