Performance Management
People are the pillars of a workplace – and it’s imperative they are treated as such. We never recommend a one-size-fits-all approach, because every organisational structure is unique. A supportive performance management framework should continuously support the individual and organisation. It helps to foster positive relationships, trust and build positive working environments.
Performance management that prioritises people
The word ‘performance’ - particularly when it’s followed by ‘review’ or ‘plan’ has traditionally struck fear amongst employees. But this shouldn’t be code for something sinister!
The traditional performance review is used to support decisions in the realm of training, career development, compensation, promotion and terminations. It usually involves a conventional process that outlines expectations and goals, and it often leaves employees feeling unheard and disposable. But gone are the days of clinical, out-of-touch approaches to employee performance that totally lack understanding.
A supportive performance management framework should continuously support the individual and organisation. It helps to foster positive relationships, trust and build positive working environments.
There’s a revolution in play, and here at HumanX HR, we’re leading the way.
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Performance management frameworks for modern workplaces
By making changes in the way you communicate with your employees, you’ll find your workplace and business as a whole begin to shift. By nurturing two-way conversations in your workplace, your employees will know exactly where they stand – and they’ll also be a force to reckon with when it comes to helping your organisation achieve goals.
By switching from the generic frame of performance appraisal to performance management, you’re proving the innate value of a human-centric workplace, bolstering your employee relations. Where an appraisal simply evaluates an employee’s past performance, performance management proactively manages an employee’s performance holistically. They view the employee as an integral player in the organisation and discuss their goals, visions, missions and core values within the context of the organisation as a whole.
Here at HumanX HR, we’ll help you re-establish communication in your workplace. Supporting you to rewire your organisation from the ground up, you’ll find everything just flows with us.
The continuous performance management process
Finding your fit
When you make a move with us, understanding your organisation inside out is our first port of call. We never recommend a one-size-fits-all approach, because every organisational structure is unique. It’s imperative at the earliest stages for us to understand your HR maturity, where your policies and procedures currently stand and how effectively they are being adhered to. Sometimes this manifests as an HR audit, which is always a recommended starting point.
Designing your performance framework
Next, we will meet with you and your team and focus on shared goals and development opportunities. Running through your current performance management process, we’ll get an idea of how your team works and wade through a range of different approaches. Our role is to partner with you to design and either partially or fully implement an intentional, bespoke performance management framework.
Ongoing support
We do operate as outsourced HR teams for so many of our partnerships, essentially operating as an extension of your own team. This means, once a framework has been constructed, we can continue to support your team - through education, leadership coaching and ongoing reviews of the HR and performance management processes. It’s important to remember, HR will constantly be evolving, because people are. Needs and expectations change - a performance management framework can help to futureproof your business and set you up for success.
What is performance management?
Performance management describes the process of managing employees in relation to the shared goals, visions and structures of an organisation. It involves engaging with each employee to review their ongoing workplace performance and development. Tied together with feedback and mutual discussion, performance management evokes evolution in the workplace by analysing successes and strengths, learning from mistakes and analysing opportunities for growth - always at the individual and organisational level.
This may have always been actioned with a time-consuming paper trail and a ‘sign on the dotted lines’ approach, new trends are valuing human-centric processes that are steered more towards feedback and coaching. At HumanX, our experts are here to tell you that these aren’t just trends.
Modern approaches to performance management will boost team morale - not demoralise your workplace. When a performance review is a two-way street, each employee knows exactly where they stand in relation to the company as a whole. And when employees have insight into this, they gain unparalleled motivation and dedication. Motivation leads to employee retention, and the ripple effects are often clear as day within no time at all.
Whether your team is up for regular check-ins, or semi-regular check-ins, the benefits of forming a close-knit workplace culture will be evident. When the connection isn’t prioritised, it’s easy to let the little details go. Professionalism and gusto can slide, and sometimes problems arise between the cracks.
That’s why bringing in an external HR consultant can make a world of difference. Injecting more honesty, vigour, and big-picture-thinking into your organisation, joining forces with an external team can boost employee motivation, productivity and communication. We’ll help you frame things in the best light, making sure your questions and feedback hit the nail on the head every time.
Our Clients say it best
"I was impressed with HumanX's outsourced HR services. Their team was knowledgeable and tailored their approach to our needs, significantly improving our HR processes. Highly recommend for any business seeking expert HR support."
Do you recognise your company in any of these scenarios?
Our HR is too Toby-from-the-office
Everyone has strengths, both as professionals and as people. There are many situations in which using an external HR consultant is a more effective option.
Ultimately, HR can be a tricky position to hold in an organisation; striking the balance between employee-support and communicating the company’s message; empathy versus becoming an agony aunt; being the champion of culture whilst also being the person managing risk.
Bringing in HumanX to support your team means that everyone can play to their strengths. Our experts can create space for critical conversations, feedback honestly, without agenda, and help leaders make decisions based on real information. We can support Toby with performance management plans and work to achieve company goals together.
Our HR department needs support
Modern HR leaders require skills in project management, business strategy, commercial awareness, coaching, talent management, compliance and workplace relations, remuneration, learning and development, and of course recruitment.
Outsourced HR experts can support the internal team without the distractions of politics, everyday requests and growing to do lists. Able to operate as an independent squad with a single focus or integrate into the team and fly alongside the existing HR managers to lead and deliver on projects, new initiatives or help cope with capacity.
Need to get more out of the experts you already have
For business leaders who are craving space – both time and brain-space - a great HR team will understand that it is their job to enable people to do their best work. Choosing the right talent (or inviting the right talent to choose your business), designing a best-in-class learning and development program, and ensuring that your remuneration strategy is on point will help.
The gamechanger: coaching your leaders. This is the space where humans will grow, engage, and find their superpowers. Coaching is a skill in itself, it’s not every leader’s natural state. Great HR professionals have been equipped with coaching skills and understand that coaching is an ego-less journey that is critical to developing exceptional leaders. Structured coaching programs are a brilliant extra, but coaching in the workflow, and in day-to-day interactions between HR and leaders is a valuable must-have.
My team tells me that communication needs improvement
If your team is feeding back to you that communication in the organisation needs improvement, they’re trying to tell you (without risking their jobs) that your communication needs improvement. Whether this is your communication directly, or as a leadership team, or simply internal systems and processes are not effective at allowing the flow of information, we can help.
Bringing external HR experts into a situation like this is efficient; we are able to zoom out and diagnose issues and challenges - from communication that may be causing frustration and high employee turnover to the root cause of disengagement. Better than that, we will also work with your organisation to develop the HR function to resolve any concerns, improve processes and mature the company’s approach to your people.
Make your company stronger. Starting with your people.
With access to the boldest expertise and best experience in the business, our sights are set on supporting you and your team.
While most other companies consider performance management a side-service, we focus on its capacity to build strong foundations for your organisation. We believe in the power of building the best workplace experience.
It’s what we do.
Explore all our services
Outsourced HR
HumanX is an award-winning Outsourced HR agency that delivers results. We design Outsourced HR solutions based on trusted frameworks and class leading industry experience. A perfect blend of strategic and tactical HR solutions that will elevate the human experience in your workplace.
HR Consulting
With our HR agency, boost your internal capability and see better results in less time. Engage a consultant or team to drive and lead HR initiatives that lead to incredible company-wide results. We can develop or pick up HR projects that you just can’t get traction with or assist with a particular isolated problem.
HR Foundations
How can you expect to build a solid team without solid foundations? Here at HumanX, we know your eyes are set to the future with plans for growth and projects on the horizon, but you can’t get there if your people aren’t with you and you aren’t protected. Work with HumanX to develop functional processes, reliable boundaries and compliances that set your company up for future success and solid HR foundations.
Learning & Development
Create a culture of progression, drive employee buy-in and enjoy all the benefits that go with it when you build an employee learning and development program that suits your business. Investing in L&D contributes to better organisational performance. Engaged employees are more productive, innovative, and adaptable, leading to improved business outcomes, increased revenue, and a competitive advantage in the market.
Workplace Investigations
We are a leading provider of independent, impartial and fair workplace investigation services to organisations dealing with allegations of inappropriate behaviour at work. Most internal teams do not have the experience, capacity or resources to properly investigate workplace complaints without any perceived bias. Outsourcing workplace investigations to an independent firm is a cost-effective and practical method that will help you ensure compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks.
Employee Relations
Your people are your power and your relationships are what connect you. Creating a strong framework for your employee relations can protect your business when you need it most – and when you least expect it. Our employee relations consultants are qualified and bring a human-centric approach to workplace investigations, mediations, disciplinary matters, terminations and other disputes.
