"Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of the employees, they will take care of the clients."
Sir Richard Branson once famously noted: “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of the employees, they will take care of the clients.”
Modern workplaces are increasingly prioritizing a focus on taking care of and developing talent. Why, then, are many organizations still using outdated, archaic and underwhelming tools to manage and develop their people?
HR leaders need to drive the adoption of up-to-date workforce management technology as a necessity, not a ‘nice to have’.
HRD spoke to José Dino, general manager at TELUS Employer Solutions, who revealed how older systems are holding back authentic performance management.
“Authentic performance management is based on real-time conversations between managers and employees. Old performance management systems, some of which are still done on paper, are rooted in the 20th Century idea of the annual performance conversation, where employees are often quite surprised by their managers’ assessments.
“This one-and-done approach, can negatively affect engagement, productivity and retention*. Plus, it relies on a great deal of manual work on the part of managers, so it impacts their productivity as well.
“Older systems also don’t do a good job of pulling together the data needed to do meaningful succession planning, which puts pressure on companies to recruit external talent, which further alienates high performers inside the organization.”
The research certainly seems to back this up. The notion that managers should sit down with their teams once a year seems out of touch with today’s Gen Y and Gen Z workforce – where more and more workers crave continuous feedback and timely recognition.
In fact, one report found that 24% of employees would consider leaving their jobs if their managers provide insufficient performance feedback**. Conversely, employers which implement regular feedback enjoy 14% lower turnover rates than organizations that do not.
“Continuous feedback, primarily in the form of regular communication, responds to employees’ desire for transparent, qualitative and above all, actionable information about how they’re doing,” continued Dino.
“Getting this right requires a culture of feedback where managers are encouraged to have regular performance conversations, using technology tools to document those discussions so both manager and employee are on the same page when it comes to expectations.
“By helping not just top talent, but all talent connect their work to the broader values and goals of the organization, continuous input creates an ongoing cycle of clear expectations, actionable guidance and opportunities to build new skills.
“Plus, continuous feedback is good for business: McKinsey reports that 62% of companies using this approach report better performance versus competitors.”
To quote Sir Richard again, “train people well enough that they can leave. Treat them well enough that they don’t want to.”
Learn how TELUS Employer Solutions helped a growing organization to build engagement, reduce turnover and empower managers, in this free case study
*MITSloan Management Review
** Yoh Survey: Lack of Respect, Broken Promises, and Overworking Employees Are Top Issues with Managers That Would Make Employed Americans Consider New Jobs
