Reigniting Performance Management in a Leading Professional Services Organization
The Challenge: Breaking Through Change Fatigue
In the wake of multiple attempts at performance management overhauls in the past decade, our client—a prominent professional services organization—faced a pervasive sense of change fatigue at all levels. Whilst leadership knew that their performance management framework needed overhauling, the successive failure of previous performance management consultants had left a sour taste.
But despite this weariness, they decided to commit to a partnership with us to deliver the overhaul they so desperately needed.
A Strategic Refresh Approach
Rather than embarking on a full-scale transformation, the focus here was on revitalizing the existing framework. It was clear to see the impact that successive overhauls had had on the business. The process needed simplifying and aligning with company objectives. Through intensive research, we identified the gaps, processes and tools that needed an update. Efforts were then channelled into engaging company stakeholders and getting them invested in the new framework.
The Solutions That Redefined Their Performance Management
5 key areas were focused on to deliver the most value for this organisation:
Resequencing for Optimal Impact: Activities throughout the year were strategically re-sequenced to optimize manager time and synchronize with core HR processes, fostering a more cohesive workflow.
Elevating Critical Moments: Reimagining pivotal process steps and moments of significance ensured they delivered substantive people-oriented outcomes, transcending mere checkbox exercises.
Tech-Powered Ongoing Feedback: Embracing technology, the system was revamped to streamline the capture of ongoing feedback, empowering employees with an intuitive platform for seamless input.
Informed Decision-Making with Data: Enhanced provision of management information facilitated better measurement and assessment of the change impact, offering insights into the alignment of expected behaviours.
Customized Approach through Workforce Segmentation: Tailoring tools and processes through workforce segmentation facilitated a more personalized performance management strategy, acknowledging the diverse motivations and management needs across employee populations.
The feedback following these strategic refinements was overwhelmingly positive. Stakeholders commended the organization's deliberate focus on fine-tuning existing processes, resulting in a more impactful and relevant performance management experience.
