Our survey says…
Delving into data to unlock the full potential of talent and teams is a big part of what we do day to day here. We recently had a big data ‘deep dive’ exercise, to explore both individual client employee survey scores and aggregated benchmark data sets. This revealed some remarkable truths.
Spotlight on performance management
In the landscape of performance management, the traditional appraisal process continues to be a common frustration (reportedly, 95% of managers are unhappy with it). Moreover, research tells us that a poorly structured conversation can hinder, rather than enhance employee engagement and performance.
But the answer isn’t to stop having such interactions, rather it’s to have better performance conversations. You see, it is the quality of these interactions that holds the key to unlocking peoples’ potential.
Through our work in measuring the employee experience across diverse organisations, we have unearthed a simple, consistent truth:
Impactful conversations between employees and their line managers drive higher engagement.
Body of evidence
Regular performance check-ins significantly impact a host of key drivers of the employee experience, and outcome measures. For instance, data from several clients in the construction industry shows that employees having these quality conversations score up to 18% higher across key index measures.
Furthermore, for one client in the healthcare sector, the impact of having better performance conversations ranged from 14% to an impressive 29% on key employee experience index scores (see graph below).
But improving employee engagement is not just about focussing on the outcome measures. We need to understand the underlying factors that drive engagement.
Regular check-ins with employees are indicative to those individuals of recognition for their work, communicating ideas, and feeling supported by their leaders. Remarkably, our data has shown that in some cases, regular conversations with line managers can boost these scores by up to 38%!
It is our job to shine a spotlight on these key drivers. They are not just numbers to celebrate and put up in lights. They are powerful insights which leaders can use to influence their workplace environments, practices and policies – to foster higher engagement within their teams.
But, as mentioned earlier, we need to raise the bar on quality. Having conversations isn’t enough – it is about having high quality conversations to achieve these outcomes. So, what’s the blueprint for improving conversations in your organisation?
Well, research points to the importance of fairness and trust between the employee and their manager (Albrecht et al., 2015), the frequency and richness of the interactions (Jian & Dalisay, 2018), and the precision of the feedback being offered (Drouvelis & Paiardini, 2022).
3 tips for having better performance conversations
1. Have frequent, informal check-ins: Regular discussions provide opportunities to focus on current challenges, allowing for coaching and course-correction (rather than reflecting on past work). Such regular dialogue with line managers also typically helps establish trust.
2. Give specific, challenging and outcome-focussed feedback: Goal-setting frameworks such as SMART have been proven to enhance performance and behaviour within organisations (Epton et al., 2017).
3. Foster a culture of fairness: Feedback conversations are most impactful when employees perceive there to be fairness in feedback processes and in their treatment relative to peers. Ensuring employees are given a voice and encouraged to speak up in their feedback sessions can help to enrich performance conversations (Albrecht et al., 2015).
References:
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), 7–35. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-08-2014-0042
Drouvelis, M., & Paiardini, P. (2022). Feedback quality and performance in organisations. The Leadership Quarterly, 33(6), 101534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2021.101534
Epton, T., Currie, S., & Armitage, C. J. (2017). Unique effects of setting goals on behavior change: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(12), 1182–1198. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000260
Jian, G., & Dalisay, F. (2018). Talk Matters at Work: The Effects of Leader-Member Conversational Quality and Communication Frequency on Work Role Stressors. International Journal of Business Communication, 55(4), 483–500. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488415594157
Kleingeld, A., van Mierlo, H., & Arends, L. (2011). The effect of goal setting on group performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1289–1304. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024315
Lemon, L. L. (2019). The employee experience: How employees make meaning of employee engagement. Journal of Public Relations Research, 31(5–6), 176–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2019.1704288
