Dive Brief:
- Many U.S. employees said their companies’ performance management programs weren’t very useful and gave them a mediocre rating in a Willis Towers Watson survey. The 2016 Global Workforce Study gathered responses from 2004 companies worldwide, 441 of which were in the U.S.
- Employers weren’t satisfied with their performance management programs either, the study showed. Only 37% felt their programs clarified employees’ responsibilities and barely half, 54%, felt their programs drove performance company-wide.
- The study also showed that fewer than half of workers, 45%, said performance reviews improved how they did their jobs. A little more than half, 54%, thought their review accurately reflected their performance. And just 44% saw a link between their performance and their pay.
Dive Insight:
Based on the Global Workforce Study results, employers must make performance management programs meaningful to employees and more accurate in their assessments. Employers must explain the programs more clearly to staff and hold them accountable for their performance.
Both employees and employers cited managers as barriers to the effectiveness of performance management programs. Middle managers are some of the most key members of a workforce, as they are often directly responsible for the happiness and engagement of their direct reports. Engaging them in a more effective performance review system matters.