Dive Brief:
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In the past, success was counted by years on the job. At Kimberly-Clark, a household brand for nearly 150 years, it’s determined by actual performance on the job. There is no room for slackers, says Lauren Weber, who writes for Wall Street Journal.
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According to Scott Boston, VP of human resources, the company avoided layoffs and once hired, an employee was pretty much guaranteed a job for life. “Low performers hid in the weeds," Rick Herbert, a sales director who retired from Kimberly-Clark, told the Wall Street Journal. Now, modeling itself after other large companies, Kimberly-Clark is now improving its performance management programs.
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Kimberly-Clark uses personalized goal setting and performance data to track the progress of every employee – from their first day on the job to their last. In 2015, the company retained 95% of it’s top performance employees, while 44% of it’s employees who rated poorly on performance metrics were either let go or they left voluntarily. Replacing employees at Kimberly-Clark is relatively easy, due to their above average compensation and benefits plan, which includes a family-friendly culture.
Dive Insight:
It’s important to note that Kimberly-Clark has drastically changed the way they manage their workforce. While the company still retains a strong culture of work life balance and employees treat each other like family, there is more emphasis on accountability. Candidates know that if they are lucky enough to land a job at Kimberly-Clark, it's no longer a life career unless they put full effort into it.
By using real data to track each employee’s performance, employees must step up their game. This change is being felt on the recruitment front, as candidates who are top performers are attracted to a company that rewards for performance.
