Winning in the talent game is not just an important part of organizational strategy, in my opinion, it is the most important part. Sadly, most organizations are not really playing in the game and those that do are only playing for half the game. Those playing half the game simply believe that recruiting top talent is where the game ends. Sadly recruiting “Eagles” as I often hear them called; is not enough to ensure organizational success. To win in the talent game you must go beyond recruiting and realize that developing those individuals once they are onboard is just as important as great recruiting.

This article is part four of the series 6 Reasons Your Performance Management System is Failing You, and You Don’t Even Know it. Please see the other articles at the following links.

Part one:6 Reasons Your Performance Management System is Failing You, and You Don’t Even Know it

Part two:The Secret to Improving Performance Management is Not Rocket Science

Part three:Why Keeping Secrets is Slowly Killing Your Company

Today we will take a look at mistakes four and five and a few solutions to help you improve the issues.

Lack of training on the performance management system

This issue seems like a no-brainer, but I commonly see organizations simply not engaging in quality instruction or training when it comes to their performance management system. Quite often the organization sends a one pager out or some short instructions in an email that ends with, “call me if you have any questions.” Has anyone ever received a call back from that person?

The lack of training on your PMS leads to several issues. When individuals are frustrated with a process they are less likely to be motivated to engage in it.  Also, the lack of training on the system can lead to a large variation in ratings from one rater to another. Any system or assessment that doesn’t give consistent results (reliability) is not an assessment that I want to rely on for my development. Do you? Not to mention the potential for lawsuits when using such an instrument. Here a couple easy solutions to fix it.

1. Invest some time into the roll out of the training of the system

Don’t just send an email out. Make sure you have a variety of processes to train the team on the system. Use a mixture of learning methods as learning styles vary. This will increase your chances that people will engage in the training and that content transfer will occur.

2. Don’t just look at the process from your perspective

A big mistake a lot of PMS designers make is forgetting that not everyone has the same background and experience that they do. You might have a large portion of your team that has never completed or participated in a PMS. Those individuals will not be familiar with the terminology or constructs in the system. Look at the entire process as if you had no clue or experience with it. Have someone new to the team give you honest feedback and ask questions about the system. The questions they ask and feedback they give will be similar to others in the organization. Make adjusts, don’t ignore, from whatever feedback they give you.

3. It is so simple anyone can do it

If you or anyone on your team says this, and if it is true most importantly. Scrap your entire PMS. If it is so simple that anyone can do it, it is more than likely your system will not be making much impact anyway. Now, I am not saying it needs to be overly complex. Indeed, most great performance management systems are simplistic. However, it should be deep and wide enough that it requires some instruction and not so simple that just anyone can understand it.

Lack of developmental programs after the feedback is delivered

The lack of developmental programs is another huge miss that organizations often make when attempting to engage in talent development. Little Johnny was ranked as needs improvement in the construct “approaches problems innovatively”. Last year little Johnny was ranked, needs improvement in the construct “approaches problems innovatively”. How does that happen two years in a row (and don’t act like you haven’t seen it)? The issue is the lack of developmental programs after feedback is delivered. Here are a few solutions.

1. Take a serious look at your developmental and training programs

By taking a serious look I don’t mean say, “we have a training department I am sure we are good to go”. Ask yourself the following questions. Do I have a program for each competency that is measured on the PMS? What is that program called? When is it implemented? How do I get little Johnny in this program? You will be surprised to find that you won’t know the answer (hence why little Johnny is not in the program). If you don’t know the answer try your training director; again, be specific and ask which programs will help specific competencies for those that are ranked as needs improvement.

2. Have a follow-up process

If you are one of the lucky few that actually does have these programs in place, create a follow-up process. Where development usually stalls, in addition to not having the programs in place, is the lack of follow-up. Make a schedule of when you and little Johnny can follow up and gauge his progress on the needs improvement competency. Don’t just say I’ll do it, write it down in your calendar and send an invite to little Johnny.

Improving and developing talent is not an easy task. Many organizations utilize a performance management system of some sort to improve talent, but fall victim to the common mistakes discussed here. Implement and follow the above suggestions and you will be a little bit closer to winning the talent game.

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