At Adobe, after a staff consultation, the old performance management system was replaced with check-in discussions at least once a quarter with less paperwork and proper space to review contributions, reward achievements and gather feedback.

It’s a great example, and is starting to be adopted by many forward-thinking companies.

There is no magic formula, but regular and meaningful is a good rule of thumb.

• Don’t save things up for a yearly formal review
• Involve employees in decisions to reprioritise workloads in real time, and explain why it’s necessary.
• Meet monthly for a structured review and if that’s not possible, no less than every six months.

• The key to managing performance is open and transparent conversations, where the employee feels in control of their own destiny.
• Both employer and employee know what’s expected of them, what they’re great at, and where they need support. It’s not rocket science, this approach builds engagement, which is better for business.
• Research shows engaged employees generate 43% more revenue than disengaged counterparts. High engagement can also lead to a tripling in profit growth, an 87% reduction in staff turnover and a 20% improvement in performance.

Make sure both the employee and manager are clear about what their performance is being measured against.

You will need:

• A job description that’s real, not aspirational! It should outline responsibilities, and accurately reflect the job that’s being done.
• A clear understanding of what’s expected at work.

• A rock-solid connection between individual goals and the goals of the business.
• With these basics in hand, managers can agree clear objectives and work out with employees how to regularly measure performance.

A system that’s working well will increase staff moral, engagement and productivity. It will nip problems in the bud by dealing with anything that comes up quickly, and will prevent the company from spending huge chunks of time on the paperwork that traditional annual appraisals generate.

• What works for you will depend on your business, there is no one-size fits all, although as a general guide everyone could benefit from creating a process that:
• Reviews energy, engagement, wellbeing, resilience, skills, personal development and priorities.
• Creates a balanced scorecard which measures WHAT’s been achieved and progress made.
• Gathers feedback from colleagues, customers and managers on HOW the employees’ approach their work.
• Outlines goals and commitments …what’s happening next and how will the business support this.
• Moving from a yearly appraisal system to more regular check-ins may be a huge change for your organisation and managers may need lots of additional training and support.
• Managers may need training and support to give regular and meaningful feedback
  Organisational wide forms, systems, templates and guidance are a good idea, including making best use of HR self-service and HR systems. Above all, managers need to be self-aware and understand how to tailor their approach to the needs and wants of each team member.

Organisational wide forms, systems, templates and guidance are a good idea, including making best use of HR self-service and HR systems. Above all, managers need to be self-aware and understand how to tailor their approach to the needs and wants of each team member.