APM Guidelines
“Adapt what is useful,
reject what is useless,
and add what is specifically your own”
– Bruce Lee
What are guidelines?
Guidelines. The term seems to indicate they are something to take advice from when desired but ignore when it suits you better. That is not how we intended them. We actually think they are immutable and applicable to all organizations and situations.
But guidelines are not specific enough to directly implement. For that you need practices, which are to be adapted to your local context. And of course we will provide practices too.
“The impression that ‘our problems are different’ is a common disease that afflicts management the world over. They are different, to be sure, but the principles (or guidelines) that will help to improve the quality of product and service are universal in nature. “
-W. Edwards Deming, Out of the Crisis
Explore the guidelines
Our guidelines provide generic advice, applicable to all organizations, how to implement a better employee performance management system.
1. Use leading indicators
Conventional performance methods often focus extensively on historical data, which may not provide valuable insights into future performance. Goals are commonly defined in a way that you can only determine if they’re achieved after the fact. This is what is called lagging indicators.
Our proposal involves the adoption of leading indicators that can effectively forecast real-time performance. The approach involves using a proxy measure to predict performance rather than directly measuring it. Numerous studies have established a strong correlation between employee engagement and the overall performance of a company. Therefore, it serves as a strong leading indicator of performance.
2. Use short learning cycles
It is remarkable how organizations strive for agility and responsiveness these days, yet their performance management reviews are slow and infrequent. Traditional performance management is very batch oriented. We conduct all performance reviews in one period with huge delays between them.
Performance management needs to be almost real-time, with short cycles of learning and plenty of chances for quick response.
The utilization of leading indicators is one enabler for shorter learning cycles as we can draw conclusions and take action without waiting for goals to be met or not.
3. Optimize for the individual's needs
In general, performance management practices tend to be centralized and implemented in a one-size-fits-all manner. However, every person is a unique individual, possessing their own strengths and needs. Our approach involves managers acting as coaches, offering support to individuals in order to help them optimize their strengths.
At the same time work nowadays is highly collaborative in nature. Assessing individual performance may not be practical as employees must work together to accomplish objectives. The manager also plays a coaching role in helping employees grasp the impact of their work on others.
4. Keep it actionable & supportive
Performance management efforts should lead to immediate returns on time invested. Therefore, it should be supportive and actionable.
Our advice? Spend less time on performance reviews and feedback sessions, and more time on actionable support. Support employees to use their strengths daily. Support them to assess their own progress. Support them in figuring out how their job matters to others. Support them to meet their own goals. Support them in figuring out how to contribute to the organization’s purpose and strategic intent. Support them… you get the picture…
5. Focus on strengths. Not deficiencies
Most performance management practices are remedial in nature: they focus on fixing a problem. They focus on deficiencies. It’s nearly impossible for someone to become a top-performer in areas that are not their strengths, no matter how much they are pushed.
In APM we focus on strengths, rather than on weaknesses. We firmly believe that people who are able to work within their strengths are happier, more engaged, and achieve higher levels of performance. Conversely, directing attention towards weaknesses is not empowering, does not foster engagement, and yields average performance. Your job is to support employees in identifying their strengths and adapting their roles accordingly.
6. Balance performance & values
The problem with core values in many organizations is they are not immutable. It’s okay, and sometimes even encouraged, to sacrifice values for performance. Take core values seriously and you’ll notice them in everything the organization does. In every single thing we do, including managing performance.
It is strongly recommended to maintain a balance between performance and values. One cannot be sacrificed for the other. We’re not just looking for high performance, but also for behavior that aligns with our values.
7. Take a coaching stance
Leadership traditionally creates followers. The way we see it, leadership creates leaders. Those who take initiative, put themselves out there, keep going, and own up to their actions. This involves a fundamental change in management style.
We advise managers to take a coaching stance. The trick is to understand it’s not about you. The most important thing is not your opinion, your evaluation of the situation, or your advice. The objective is to encourage individuals to discover the solutions on their own rather than you giving them the answers. Two useful techniques for the coach are intentional listening and powerful questions.
8. Build a reciprocal meritocracy
Typically, one’s influence is a direct result of their position in the hierarchy. Even in organizations that try to empower their employees, they still have to ask for permission all the time. This doesn’t contribute to the desired agility, flexibility, and responsiveness organizations are seeking.
Our suggestion is to foster a meritocracy within your organization, where influence is earned through merit and contributions. Through contribution, you acquire influence to act and make decisions autonomously.
But a meritocratic system should be reciprocal. It should benefit all. If merit is determined by management, we’ve essentially replaced one judgmental remedial system with another. The employee is essentially stating, “Explain the purpose and I’ll prove my value in achieving it.”
9. Take a Systems Thinking approach
The world isn’t getting any simpler. Complexity rises as well as the pace of change. Systems Thinking is an approach that aims to address complex systems in a more comprehensive manner, recognizing that understanding the system can only be achieved by examining the interactions among its parts. In Systems Thinking, everything is connected and a small change in one part can have big consequences elsewhere.
This is also true for Performance Management. You cannot optimize it in isolation of all other processes and practices in the organization. If you want to effectively revamp your performance management practices for better business results, it is essential to embrace a Systems Thinking approach.
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Other relevant information
Why APM?
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