Performance management is one of those things that can seem like a future goal – something you’ll get to when things quiet down a little and you have some room to think. Maybe you even tried to implement a performance management system and felt overwhelmed and dropped it.

Plenty of research out there shows that successful employee performance management system best Practices processes helps to bring out the best from employees at work.

To be effective, these processes need to align your workforce, improve employee performance, support employee development and drive better business results, and not just once a year during the annual appraisal. It has to be an activity that is done all year round. And of course, it needs to be easy for managers and employees to take part in. While many HR professionals know the above to be true, it’s not always easy to put it into practice.

For measuring the employee performance, organizations need to have an effective performance management System

What are the Approaches to Performance management systems? Let’s take a look!

New Approaches to Performance Management for 2018

Here are a few of the key changes that are driving transformation in performance management:

Better Conversations- Shifting away from the annual review requires managers to have more disciplined approaches to how they speak with employees about performance reviews. Frequently asking for feedback works best when managers can help employees see their roles clearly.

Technology Role- Companies today are using powerful technologies to integrate performance management with other core HR programs. This enterprise approach allows for quantification, analysis, and impact to be determined more quickly in the organization. Platforms allow companies and their employees to interact, learn from each other, leave feedback, find mentors and solve problems.

Focus on Culture in the organization- Performance management is evolving beyond meeting basic business goals. Today’s complex workforces require focusing portions of performance management on employee impact on workplace culture and climate.

Here are some trending performance management best practices you need to implement today:

1. Be “SMART” about setting goals for your employees-Not every goal is appropriate for a performance management setting. Goals that aren’t clearly defined can become bogs to get stuck in rather than opportunities for success. Following the guidelines to SMART goals can be incredibly helpful

2. Offer instant feedback-Millennia’s in particular value frequent check-ins and guidance on their performance. Managers should plan to meet formally with their reporters on a quarterly basis at the very least, but should still find time to offer feedback to their Employees on a regular basis between formal meetings, especially when an employee is working on a big project.

3. Training for employees and Managers-Performance management is an amazing tool to target employee weaknesses, but an organization needs to be willing to offer training for employees to improve their performance and move forward. The same goes for managers – organizations should offer managers training in the skills that are critical to good leadership – communication skills, listening techniques, how to offer feedback, and how to avoid the pitfalls of reviewing an employee.

4. Get outside input-In this blog post, I am talking about the difference between 360, 180, and 90degree feedback, but consider getting some input on your employees from other people than just you. Others will have a different view of the employee’s strengths and weaknesses that you might not be able to see as a manager and not a peer. So need to check outside input.

5. Leverage technology-The annual review used to be dreaded, in part, because of the sheer amount of paper it would generate. But nowadays we have technology that can streamline the process. If you’re hesitant to implement a performance management system because of the admin side of things, rest assured now. With the amount of technology and tools available now, it is certainly a lot more easy to implement and manage. Technology can really help in the next level performance management best practices.

6. Rewards for Employees-Once your employee has met a goal, offer a reward. It is important for you, as a manager, to take a moment to recognize an employee’s success and celebrate with him/her. It will make employees feel special, like you’re on their side, cheering for them, and encouraging them to pursue even greater goals in the future. The reward doesn’t need to be elaborate, but even just taking a moment out of your day to say, “Good work on that project” can go really far to boost an employee’s morale.

7. Don’t make it personal-Part of the reason performance reviews aren’t always as effective as they could be is that speaking the truth about an employee’s performance puts managers in a pretty uncomfortable position. Discussions about poor performance are tough on both parties. To limit the discomfort—and ensure employees are getting actionable feedback—train managers to deliver feedback in terms of employee behaviors, not characteristics.