The Ideal Performance Management Process

If you've been reading this blog, it should be clear to you that traditional methods of managing and performing are either dead or dying. Older generations created the modern workplace and all of its policies and procedures. These standards may have helped businesses operate and grow in the past, but they are all but useless in today's hyper-connected, Gen Y-dominated world. Managing people is more crucial than ever, especially now that the Millennials are emerging, but many business leaders are simply unprepared to learn a new performance management process.

As an independent consultant, helping business leaders adapt to the new generation is probably the most important task you'll have to accomplish. That's why it's so vital to understand the ideal performance management process. If you can help leaders manage their businesses more effectively as Gen Y emerges as the dominant force in business, you'll find yourself in high demand.

The New Speed of Communication and Business

News and information travels at light speed these days, but too many businesses rely on communication methods that are more akin to the speed of snail mail. Leaders simply cannot wait months and years to evaluate people and projects anymore, which is why real-time feedback is so important.

Think about the typical member of Gen Y about to enter the workforce. He or she is probably accustomed to communicating instantaneously with friends and acquaintances around the world. This person has probably collaborated over the Internet with people thousands of miles away in order to complete projects, share ideas and more – that's simply how Gen Y operates.

Now think of the traditional workplace and the annual evaluation process. Do you think they typical Millennial is going to be interested in working for an organization that moves at the pace of a glacier?

Ultimately, companies that embrace the new speed of business are going to be much more attractive to members of Generation Y.

How to Improve the Performance Management Process

Consultants are needed by today's businesses to help implement new processes with the goal of improving overall performance. As I've mentioned, real-time feedback is a keystone of this effort, but how can organizations change from a traditional model to one that's better suited to the modern age?

As a consultant, here are some things that you can do to help them:

• Management Availability
  Some organizations have instituted open-door policies to improve real-time feedback, but these rarely work. Managers need to be available to their people, but they need to define their availability clearly so employees have the proper expectations. Managers can't – and shouldn't – act as human news and information scrolls at the bottom of a screen. Instead, they should be available to provide feedback, answer questions and listen to concerns on a regularly scheduled basis.

• Useful Feedback
  It's easy to tell someone, “good job,” but it's actually not very useful information for the recipient. Why was it a good job? What was so well done? How can it be repeated in the future? Generation Y will ask managers these questions, and managers need to be prepared to answer them if they're only going to supply broad feedback. As a consultant, you'll be needed to help managers give clear, actionable feedback that employees understand.

• Real-Time Feedback and Documentation
  Managers need to provide real-time feedback, but they can't present at all times. As a consultant, you'll be needed to help managers schedule meaningful, eyeball-to-eyeball interactions with their people on a regular basis. You should also help them structure these meetings so that feedback and correspondence is captured. This way, managers and employees can continuously build on their interactions.

These tips, while helpful, don't tell the whole story of improving the performance management process. Each organization is different, and each business will require its own unique approach. As a consultant, you'll have to assess each situation independently, then use the combination of tools, skills, knowledge and mastery that you have at your disposal to identify powerful solutions.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can improve the performance management process as an independent consultant? Ex3 Matters has a number of resources that can help. Our consulting guides are packed with great information, and Buddy Hobart's excellent eBook, “Experience Matters,” contains terrific insights that you won't find elsewhere.