Continuous performance management is no longer a novel HR trend – the popularity of this approach is evidenced by the fact that it is now a widely adopted process across industries. As HR shifts its focus to the ‘Employee Experience’, organisations are dabbling with and exploring the right and effective ways to create an engaged and motivated workforce.

The past few years have been defined by the shift from routine annual appraisals and reviews to a continuous feedback approach. But has making this change brought about the desired results for everyone?

At Dale Carnegie, coaching is about providing support and advice to help an individual recognize ways in which they can improve their effectiveness and performance.

As organisations enter the appraisal cycle, it would be useful to keep the below practices in mind:

1) Build a consistent performance management culture: Performance appraisals always run the risk of being adopted as an activity rather than a long-term strategy. To get the most meaningful results, there needs to be an emphasis on creating a performance management culture within the organisation. By setting clearly defined goals, communicating these objectives with clarity and implementing a regular “check-in” mechanism, the performance review process can prove to be immensely valuable to both the employer and employee. However, we already know that. What is important to remember is that a performance culture can only truly succeed when the above mentioned steps lead to the alignment of an employee to the larger organisational vision and mission. For this, steps need to be taken to highlight an employees long-term prospects within the company, give due recognition for their successes and provide helpful solutions to any challenges or roadblocks they may be facing.

2) Make the performance process fair, equitable and stress-free: Employees often see appraisals as a daunting prospect, where they will be judged by superiors and compared to peers. It is the Manager’s responsibility to convey that the intention of this process is not to intimidate employees. The ultimate objective of feedback is to provide people with supportive and corrective insights that relate to organizational and individual objectives. You can achieve this primarily by providing genuine and encouraging feedback.

3) Use the appraisal process to focus on future growth: Appraisals can play a crucial role in succession planning. Managers need to convey their vision for the future growth and development of the individual in order for her/him to move to the next level. By building an open and approachable rapport, Managers can use this time to better understand an employee’s aspirations and articulate the prospects they can work toward. Successful leaders always find ways to encourage, empower, and engage their employees with the performance appraisal.

Creating a performance management culture makes performance appraisal an ongoing process rather than a yearly event that is generally stressful and subjective. An effective appraisal meeting includes establishing rapport, discussing positive and negative results with objectivity, agreeing on specific improvement areas, and setting expectations for future performance. As we experience the accelerated evolution of HR tools, technologies and methods, we must not overlook the significance of the interpersonal aspect of talent management. At the end of the day, emotional intelligence, domain expertise and essential leadership skills will be the key to a thriving and productive workforce.