It’s hard to navigate the swamp when there’s an alligator on your tail.
Pandemic restrictions, volatile jobs markets, unprecedented retention lows, supply chain messes, and inflation are chasing us into 2022. When stacked up against all that, performance management seems pretty trivial to most folks.
So how do you shake the alligators off?
What if I told you the trick is having RIGHT performance management?
The Alligators: Pandemic restrictions (or any other unexpected change)
When March 2020 first hit us with sudden shutdowns and quarantining, thousands of jobs experienced massive pivots to how services were provided or where employees worked. And it just kept going. Even now, Los Angeles has instituted some of the strongest Covid related restrictions in the country and people are trying to figure out how to react to the Omicron variant.
Adapting to the next big change has always been a valuable skill, but now it’s a requirement. Having a plan in place is key to maintaining some control over uncertainty, even when that plan has to be altered. When the gator is chasing you, having a map with a path you can modify is safer than just running recklessly through the swamp.
Having performance management that’s robust with mechanisms for employee input, on going two way conversations between direct reports and their managers, providing direction to workers, and empowering them to build (or adapt) a development plan from it provides stability and trust. An employee that is invested in an organization will perform at a higher level and isn’t likely to quit their job. Which brings us to the next alligator.
The Alligators: Volatile jobs markets and unprecedented retention lows
When phrases like “Turnover Tsunami” and “The Great Resignation” started getting thrown around this past summer, it was clear that retention was going to take a painful bite out of companies in just about every sector. Employees are demanding updates to their compensation, company cultures that value workers, and flexibility in their schedules or environments.
Hear Ronn talk about the rival company starting at 3:06
Companies that prove they are willing and able to rise to the occasion are attracting the best in their fields and have impressively low attrition rates. This has been true since well before the pandemic, of course. Take, for example, the satisfaction Sekisui Kydex had when they realized their workforce didn’t abandon them for a new nearby competitor, even though the other company offered a $1 per hour starting wage.
The Alligators: Supply chain messes and inflation woes
Ok, not much your performance management can directly do to get this particular alligator off your tail. However, providing the level of involvement, transparency, direction, and communication that coaching builds will strengthen your boat as you navigate the swamp. You need to know as soon as possible if someone can’t meet the needs of your customers or if they’re burning out. That steady footing will keep your employees connected with management in a way that ensures everyone is doing all they can.
Now you have to hope your suppliers have a similar standard of performance management and won’t be pulled down by their own alligators.
Next Steps:
Temp Check: It’s easy to get overwhelmed before you realize it and not know how to let anyone know. Use this free online quiz as a quick check in for your people. Conversations have to start somewhere.
Fill your boat: As you’re navigating the swamp, you need to be sure everyone on your boat is in the right seat. We go in more depth on that in our recent article Get Back on the Bus.
Give the Gift: Register for the upcoming Gift of Coaching webinar. It’ll be hosted Thursday December 9, 2021 from 2:00 - 2:45pm EST.
