The primary purpose of most performance management tools is to help HR departments track the performance of teams and employees. A good tool can help managers identify areas for improvement and create accountability. It can also help with goal setting, increase employee engagement and improve awareness of individual roles and expectations.
Aside from evaluating an employee’s work, there are other ways you can use HR performance management software to benefit your company. You can also use the tool to generate valuable data and feedback from employees during periods of crisis. No time is a better time than now as we are all experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this post, we will examine how your HR department can use its existing tools to assess the current climate and improve working conditions and productivity.
What is Employee Performance Management Software?
A performance management tool is used for tracking and streaming performance appraisals. An effective performance management system helps HR departments understand and better manage the performance of their employees. Managers can use data to document and analyze performance and create individual and team objectives that align with the company’s goals and mission. Additional features include reporting, goal setting, and rewards for improved performance.
Let’s start by looking at some of the general uses and benefits of using an effective online performance management system:
- It helps human resources managers track and evaluate employee performance against established KPIs and company goals.
- Managers can track and streamline the performance management process and provide feedback in real-time.
- Improves communication between managers and employees, helping teams to bond, and fostering a supportive corporate environment.
- HR managers can analyze data and feedback obtained from performance management tools and design tailored personal development plans for individual employees. An efficient system should identify any lacking skills and competencies which would help employees improve performance in their given roles and advance within the company. A proactive focus on training can also increase productivity, engagement, and morale.
- Data can also be used to identify weak business areas requiring attention so that follow-up strategies can be designed to address needs.
So, those are the general benefits of using performance review tools, but what other uses could the software have?
Adapting to the New Business Climate
2020 has been a difficult year so far. The effects of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 has had a massive effect on small business. Many countries are now enforcing social distancing, and this has resulted in a large part of the global workforce being sent home to work remotely. For many, this is a novel experience and one that takes time to adjust to. Aside from the personal challenges, it is also, understandably, having far-reaching effects on workforce planning, productivity, and employee engagement.
Whilst technology and the internet has afforded us the luxury of, for the most part, being able to continue to perform our duties from the comfort of our homes, it can lead to loneliness and isolation. And employees that experience feelings of loneliness are far less likely to be engaged and productive. It can also have a big impact on communication within your company. The quality of interactions between staff members is also affected.
In these new, uncertain times, how do you keep your employees engaged and motivated? How do you, as a company, adapt to a “remote corporate community”, maintain open communication, and reassure your employees. And what changes must be made to ensure levels of performance don’t go down?
What is a Conflict Plan of Action?
Implementing a conflict or crisis plan of action is a great way to help your employees adapt to their new corporate environment and maintain performance levels. A well-designed conflict management plan should address the needs and concerns of your employees and implement changes that help improve their working conditions, morale, and productivity.
In order to design an effective plan, you need reliable and relevant data and HR Reports. This is where your employees step in. Before creating your conflict plan of action, you must first do one very important thing. That is, communicate with your employees and find out how they are really feeling. The best way to do this is to create an employee survey with questions about how they are coping, how they view their productivity at this time, what support they need, and what changes would improve their performance and overall working conditions. This valuable feedback will guide your plan of action.
Using Performance Management Tools to Collect Feedback
The best way to collect employee feedback is to design a survey for each team member. Whether you are looking to assess engagement and morale or identify potential changes that could improve processes from a remote setting, you need to understand the health of your company culture and how your employees are feeling. The right questions can help you evaluate the interest, motivation and overall happiness of your employees and make any necessary changes. This, in turn, can help improve the corporate culture and increase employee retention.
Performance management tools are a great solution to this. You can use them to design and conduct employee surveys, gather and evaluate feedback, and organize your data better. By including questions that ask employees how they are coping with the changing situation and how they think their performance levels have been affected, you can obtain valuable feedback which can then be applied to creating a plan of action during a crisis or major conflict.
Final Considerations
Whilst employee feedback is your most important asset, there are a few other things to consider when designing your surveys. Questions should be personalized for each department in line with the duties and priorities of each business area. They should identify key areas that could cause conflict or process issues, and address effects on an individual level.
Take time to formulate the right questions that will provide you with valuable insight and recommendations. Most importantly, make sure your employees feel involved in the process. When they raise issues, ask them for solutions so they know that their opinions matter. Data of this type is priceless, and it will help you take quick, targeted action.
Finally, use your performance management tools to follow up on surveys and communicate changes to your staff. Your employees will feel more valued as their feedback and opinions have been taken into consideration when deciding which direction the company should take during this difficult time.
Written by Cat Symonds; Edited by Tanya Lesiuk
