Pay-for-Performance: Good Idea or Failed Concept?

Developing High Potential Employees

Are You Retaining the Right People?

Employee retention is a hot topic these days, and many companies now have some idea of how to track and improve their employees’ satisfaction and loyalty. Unfortunately, despite its plethora of benefits, improved retention isn’t necessarily a cure-all for all of a business’ productivity and profitability issues. To truly see results, you have to make sure you’re retaining the right people.

A strategic approach at performance management ensures just that by going beyond the typical annual review and offering feedback to everyone involved on a regular basis. A well-designed performance management system generally involves three levels of interaction between the individual and the company (employee-supervisor, employee-team, and employee-organization) and involves regular manager-employee appraisals and team briefings, both based around mutually agreed upon goals.

Such a system offers managers and upper-level officers constant insight into which employees are a good fit for their position and the company overall, which need some help to get there, and which are likely to be better off elsewhere. This enables supervisors and department heads to allocate educational and mentoring resources efficiently and to reduce unnecessary training costs. It also provides valuable insight into which employees should be let go.

Companies with such systems also have more engaged employees – the key to retention – because they offer a more active management style. As humans, one of our core needs is to know whether or not we’re doing well in the eyes of those around us. Waiting six or 12 months for such feedback can lead to dramatic self-esteem and performance issues. A well-designed and implemented performance management system gives employees the feedback they need on a continual basis, thus ensuring that a) they are motivated to excel and b) they have the tools to get where they want to be.

In short, a strategically designed performance management system offers valuable benefits to all levels of an organization, from individual employees and supervisors to teams, departments, and the organization overall. When conducted correctly, the system ensures a positive workplace environment where employees, teams, and even the company culture thrive.

To learn more about how a strategically designed performance management system can benefit your organization, request a demo today.

Employer watering a group of high potential employees stacked into a pyramid, with the employee on top of the pyramid cheering
Developing High Potential Employees

What makes an employee high potential? Educational background? Technical expertise? Top productivity? The answer is one that continues to elude many managers and organizations, leading to constant turnover, high training costs, and poor performance. Defining “high potential” then, may well be the first step toward developing the employees most likely to succeed within your organization. […]

Employee looking through a magnifying glass at a bar graph held by a large hand
Retaining Talented Employees via an Integrated Competency Framework

Employee retention is one of the largest problems facing companies today. Every organization has its own way of handling the issue, from competitive compensation packages and flexible schedules to interior promotions and regular evaluations. Goals like improved retention, however, are always easiest to meet once they are clearly stated. What does “improved” employee retention look […]

Employee trying to pump up a crumbling bar to a bar graph
Addressing Skill Shortages

We have all heard the old adage, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” This is particularly true in business. If we want a strong, efficient, and productive company, we must ensure we have strong, efficient, and productive people, but how do we do that? An integrated competency framework can help. Competency models enable […]