Dive Brief:​

• New research from Betterworks found that HR professionals with continuous performance management (CPM) programs reported being nearly 50% more satisfied with their performance management process and were 24% more likely to recommend CPM than companies that still rely on annual programs, according to a poll of 500 professionals in the U.S. and 250 in the UK Betterworks conducted in partnership with Market Cube.
• The survey also showed that CPM helped businesses build an aligned workforce and make managers better leaders. Two-thirds of survey respondents reported improvements in increasing company-wide productivity. The same amount said CPM programs have motivated their workforces. Fifty-eight percent said they have boosted employee performance.
• "Legacy annual performance management techniques and technologies are totally failing to meet the needs of the modern enterprise and its workforce," Doug Dennerline, Betterworks CEO, said in a news release. "This year's [survey] revealed that when companies adopt a continuous process, they see it delivering better business results."

Dive Insight:

Standard performance programs have been under scrutiny for some time for not improving performance. Various studies found that continuous followups and regularly scheduled check-ins carry more weight with employees than infrequent evaluations, which tend to focus on past performance, rather than on future improvement, data from Deloitte showed. The data also showed that technology and a human-focused approach can improve performance.

Recently released results from a VitalSmarts survey found that employees often avoid discussing critical topics — including performance. Topics that employees dread talking about may not be so difficult if they didn't think the discussions would conjure up mostly negative results. In fact, the survey showed that some employees would rather quit their jobs than engage in much-needed discussions. "Our research shows the select few who know how to speak up candidly and respectfully — no matter the scary topic — can solve problems while also preserving relationships," Joseph Grenny, who conducted the poll, said in the news release regarding the survey. "As a result, they are considered among the top performers in their organization."

Performance management programs that eliminate at least some stress from performance reviews may allow workers to candidly discuss their work with managers, thus boosting their capabilities at work.