8 ways performance management undermines performance at your credit union

Many of our biggest companies are doing it: Adobe, Gap, Netflix, and GE. Microsoft has played with it. Yahoo is being challenged in court for not doing it. And the world of human resources is buzzing about it.

What’s “it”? I’m talking about taking steps to rework traditional performance management and its attendant performance reviews, an increasingly hot topic now that the tide has shifted to understanding that old-school performance management simply doesn’t work.

The intent of traditional performance management – to drive organizational performance and support individual development – is solid. But I firmly believe that review programs destroy trust between management and employees. They also do little to advance either the development of employees or of the organization as a whole.

I’m not alone: A 2014 study by Deloitte showed that only 8 percent of companies felt their performance management processes drive a high level of value. And a recent Corporate Executive Board survey showed that 95 percent of managers aren’t satisfied with their organizations’ performance management processes. The same survey showed that 90 percent of HR professionals don’t believe their companies’ performance reviews provide accurate information. It also reported that 66 percent of employees say the performance review process interferes with their productivity. I could keep going, but I think you probably get my point.

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