Driving Business Growth: 7 Performance Management Strategies

As an HR manager, performance management strategies are your profession. Every day, you work to ensure that the company's employees are committed to their work... fulfilling their roles... and doing their part to move the company forward.

But sometimes this last point gets lost in the daily grind, even though it is actually the core of strategic personnel planning. That's why aligning performance management with company goals should be one of the most important goals of every HR team this year.

What is a performance management strategy?

A performance management strategy is an employer's plan to monitor, evaluate and improve the individual and collective job performance of its employees.

This generally has two goals: to support employees in improving their performance and to ensure that their performance contributes to the company's planned success.

The importance of aligning performance management with business growth

Unfortunately, according to a study, only 28% of employees feel connected to their employer's mission. This begs the question: If your employees don't know where you want to go, how can they help you get there - or even know if they're moving you in the right direction?

For this reason, experienced employers continually inform their employees about their company goals, values and progress and align performance management with company growth. In this way, corporate strategy and performance management mesh perfectly and ensure that everyone reaches the finish line together.

Key performance management strategies to drive growth

There are several performance management strategies you can use to increase business success. You probably already use many of them, e.g.these:

1.Set clear goals for your employees

Every employee should know what is expected of them, what tasks he has exactly and what good work looks like. When managers set measurable goals together with their employees, they prepare their employees for success and at the same time create objective performance indicators that serve as helpful (self-)assessment tools.

2.Understand the importance of strategic direction

Setting goals at the employee level is valuable when it comes to measuring and improving individual performance. However, it is crucial that this goal setting is also strategically aligned with team and/or department level goal setting - and that these, in turn, are carefully choreographed to help the company turn its goals into action.

3.Make employee motivation a priority

Research shows that employees who are engaged and motivated perform better. They are more productive, more creative and more self-determined (and are also more likely to stay with their employer).

So make sure your company is doing everything it can to motivate employees, from recognizing individual and group achievements to building a culture of continuous feedback.

4.Foster strong relationships between supervisors and employees

The most important factor influencing job satisfaction is undoubtedly the relationship between employee and supervisor - McKinsey calls this the "boss factor". Ideally, your managers will communicate closely and frequently with their direct reports, educate themselves, offer impromptu job coaching, and keep their employees informed. Of course, managers should also be strategically aligned with your company's goals.

5.Combine continuous feedback with performance reviews

Regular performance reviews are key to any solid performance management strategy. However, a lot of time often passes between formal reviews, which is why managers should also set up a continuous feedback loop with their employees. Employees should always know how they are performing compared to their goals and how the company is doing.

6.Strengthen your employee recognition program

A strong recognition program doesn't just reward employees for good performance, but motivates them - and their colleagues - to keep up the good work.

Additionally, tying your recognition program to company goals and showing how a specific employee or team achieved the goal will help you show employees how they are contributing to the plan.

7.Prioritize employee development

Employees love companies that offer a lot because it shows that they invest in their employees. Even better, when employers focus on developing skills that align with their business strategy, they prepare their employees to lead them into the future - a win-win for everyone.

Drive growth: Act with strategic performance management

Chances are good that your employer is committed to company growth. One of the best ways for companies to position themselves for success is through strategic HR initiatives like aligned performance management planning. Learn more about strategic workforce planning - and how IceHrm's talent management solution can help. From engaging employees to building a culture of continuous feedback, we'll help you master strategic performance management.

Strategic performance management is essential for business growth. Explore IceHrm's solutions for aligning goals and empowering your team.