Employee Performance Management Best Practices

PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
GUIDEBOOK
BUILD A PROGRAM
PEOPLE WON’T HATE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
What will I get out of this guide?
What is employee performance

management and why should
my organization care? GET SUPPORT
Build a case for performance
management: 4 steps
DESIGN IMPLEMENT TOOLS

Layout your performance Rolling out your new Support effective
management process performance management performance management
process and strategy with cloud-based software
Helping your company deliver outcomes

that matter to your business and people.
WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

INTRODUCTION
What is performance
management and why should
my organization care?
INTRODUCTION
What will I get out of this guide?
We’ll walk you through the steps that will help Throughout the guide you’ll find
you implement a best practice employee links to worksheets and resources
performance management process or improve designed to help you implement a best practice
your current practices. performance management process. Some are
found at the end of this guide, others are available
This guide will help you: on Halogen’s website. We have resources for HR,
executives, managers and employees.
1. Learn what employee performance management
is and how it can benefit your organization.
2. Discover best practices for designing and
implementing a formal employee performance
management process in your organization.
3. See the value of implementing cloud-based
performance management software to support
your process.
INTRODUCTION
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Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION
What is performance management and why

should my organization care?
Performance management Engages and empowers employees – invite

is the set of ongoing each employee to take responsibility for
management practices their own performance, development and
that help ensure career progression, while contributing to the
organization’s success.
employees get the direction,
feedback and development they Facilitates a dialog about performance –
need to succeed in their roles. encourage regular dialog between employees
and managers about expectations, progress,
accomplishments, performance and
development needs.
A successful employee performance
management process: Ensures employees get feedback and
recognition – provide mechanisms for
Aligns goals – ensure employees clearly
employees to get the feedback and
know what is expected of them and how
recognition they need to continually improve
their work contributes to the achievement of
and succeed.
organizational goals.
Culminates in a formal review (at least
Builds competencies – help cultivate the
once per year) – provide an opportunity to
organizational and job-specific competencies
gather up, review and document the results
each employee and the organization need for
of the ongoing dialog about expectations,
high performance and success.
performance and development.
Focuses on employee development – help
Improves your bottom line – help increase
employees develop and improve so they
productivity, efficiency and skill, lower costs,
can be successful, continually improve their
eliminate duplication of effort and waste, and
performance, increase their knowledge, skills,
facilitate the execution of your strategy.
experience and capabilities, and progress in
their careers.
INTRODUCTION
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GET SUPPORT
management
GET SUPPORT

management: 4 steps
Even though most HR practitioners These four steps will help you build the case for
are familiar with the benefits that performance management at your organization:
performance management can provide, Identify and prioritize the challenges your
many business leaders, managers and organization is currently facing
employees are not. Identify your objectives for implementing
performance management best practices

Estimate the ROI you expect to receive
To be truly successful introducing performance
management best practices in your organization, you
Communicate the benefits of employee
need everyone’s support. performance management
If you currently have no process in place you may
find it helpful to communicate the importance of
implementing a formal performance management
process and tools, such as cloud-based performance
management software. This can help your C-level
“ TALENT IS ONE OF THE LAST FRONTIERS
executives understand the urgency and strategic FOR DIFFERENTIATION. ANY COMPANY
value of the investment. CAN HAVE A PATENT OR PRODUCE A
Already have a manual, paper-based process you PRODUCT. THE DIFFERENCE IS THE
want to improve? Reiterate the importance and
value of formal performance management. Then QUALITY OF THAT PRODUCT COMES
calculate some of the savings and benefits your WITH THE VALUE OF THE TALENT
organization can get by automating and improving YOU HAVE.”
your current practices.
– Elaine Orler, President and Founder

of the Talent Function Group
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Implementing a
performance management
process can be a significant
initiative that requires LEARN MORE
thoughtful change management.
Make sure you’ve clearly identified Learn how to make the business case for
talent management.
your business objectives and the
benefits you expect to achieve, and
communicate these to your workforce.
STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR CHALLENGES STEP 2: SET PROCESS

IMPLEMENTATION OBJECTIVES
Start by clearly identifying the impacts of NOT
having a formal performance management process Now that you’ve outlined your organization’s
or of having only a basic, paper-based process. performance management challenges, it’s time
Rank or prioritize these challenges in terms of their to identify your objectives for the new process.
impact on the organization, and its ability to achieve Objectives should relate directly to the challenges
its objectives. Consult senior leaders, managers, you’ve identified to your organization’s high-level
employees and your HR team. goals and strategy.
Your objectives, which can range from tactical to
Worksheet: Identify your business
strategic, will help you to measure your success
challenges on page 36.
as you implement your new performance
management practices.
Worksheet: Set performance management

process implementation objectives on page 37.
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STEP 3: ESTIMATE YOUR

ANTICIPATED ROI
CASE STUDY Your leadership team will want to quantify the
Oaklawn Hospital embraces a culture of anticipated benefits and ROI to justify the allocation
continuous coaching and feedback of budget, time and resources for implementing
employee performance management best practices.
People at Oaklawn Hospital now understand
If you have a process in place and need to justify
better how their day-to-day work is tied to the
automating and improving it, you can calculate the
what the hospital is trying to achieve.
time and material savings you expect to see.
• Managers feel empowered and more
If you don’t currently have a process in place, it can be
effective in their jobs.
hard to calculate anticipated ROI since you don’t have
• Employees are making decisions at all baseline costs to compare.
levels in real-time that are aligned with the
hospital’s priorities. You can leverage some of these findings by leading
consultants and analysts. Research shows that the
• Standardized performance management
investment of time and effort in your employees
process that engages employees in their own
development. pays off:
• Bersin by Deloitte: Organizations that have
employees revise or review their goals quarterly or
more frequently are 45% more likely to have
above-average financial performance and 64%
more likely to be effective at holding costs at or
below level of competitors.
• McKinsey: Companies with strong talent practices
outperformed their peer group, earning 22% higher
shareholder returns.
• Watson Wyatt: Good people practices can increase
a company’s value by as much as 30%.
• Russell Investments: Firms on the Fortune “100
Best Companies to Work For” list outperform the
S&P 500 and the Russell 3000 by as much as 10%.
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• Stanford professors O’Reilly and Pfeffer: Investment of time and effort into your
A change of one standard deviation in an index of employees pays off.
human resource management practices produced
22%
increases of $20,000 to $40,000 in stock market
value per employee. in shareholder ruturns
• IBM Institute for Business Value: Companies of all
sizes that invest in talent management practices
outperform their industry peers. 20-40K in stockmarket value
• Jackson Leadership Systems: Organizations that
have strategically aligned talent management,
succession planning and executive development
30% in company value
systems have significantly higher financial
performance than firms that do not.
• Ulrich and Smallwood: Top performers are 2 to 4
times more productive than competent employees.
LEARN MORE
“ HR NEEDS TO ASK: HOW CAN WE To learn more about how to calculate your
anticipated ROI, read Estimating the return on
IMPROVE THE BUSINESS IMPACT your talent management investment
OF OUR INVESTMENTS IN PEOPLE?”
Or have us help you calculate it with our
customizable ROI tool.
– Dr. Laurie Bassi, CEO of McBassi & Company and
internationally-renowned HR analytics expert
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STEP 4: COMMUNICATE THE BENEFITS

Now it’s time to communicate your goals and the
benefits of performance management to all levels in CASE STUDY
the organization. Start with your senior leadership
Sun-Rype’s performance management
team to get sponsorship at the highest level. Once
solution yields fruitful results - $85,000
they’ve approved your initiative, communicate
estimated savings in year one.
your intentions and the benefits of performance
management to your HR counterparts, to the Learn how Sun-Rype tapped into the
management team and to employees. efforts of the organization’s nearly 400
Though you’ll need to communicate the benefits employees to help increase productivity. By
again when you’re rolling out your new process, improving the way they manage employee
sharing them now will help set the stage for a performance, Sun-Rype has seen:
successful implementation. This will help engage • A complete turnaround in on-time
everyone in the change from the beginning. It also appraisal completion, from 35% in 2007
opens the door for input and ideas. to 93% in 2009 to 100% in 2010
In all communications about the new or changed • Better employee accountability and a
process, make sure you address each group’s specific higher sense of urgency
concerns and priorities. • An overall improvement in corporate
culture and employee engagement
Worksheet: Benefits of employee performance • Decreased turnover, from 20% to 4%
management on page 38.
• 64% of leadership positions now filled by
promotions from within
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Consider using a variety of communication tools

and processes appropriate to each audience to get
your message across. Here are five ways you can send
your message. LEARN MORE
1. Post one or more articles about the benefits
of performance management on your Watch the webinar: How ongoing
organization’s intranet. performance management connects to all
2. Create a presentation for managers talent management
and employees.
This webinar provides an overview of
3. Have your executives and managers the impact of ongoing performance
communicate the benefits in staff or
management on hiring, development,
all-hands meetings.
training, recognition and
4. Send an email to all employees explaining compensation activities.
the benefits.
5. Include an overview of performance
management best practices and benefits in
your manager and new hire training.
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DESIGN
Layout your
performance
management
process
DESIGN
Layout your performance

management process
As you work on how your process is • how to incorporate organizational goals and align
going to look and how you want to roll your workforce
it out, these are the activities you’ll want • your communication/change management strategy
to complete. There’s no set sequence, so • how you will train everyone
take on each one in the order that makes • approvals you need at each stage and from whom
sense for you.
You’ll want a core team of people who are responsible
for the tactical implementation, along with a steering
committee who guide the process, provide input and
approve decisions.
Ideally, your project team should include key
ESTABLISH YOUR PROJECT TEAM members of your HR team, a representative selection
Once you have buy-in from all your key of executives, directors, managers, employees, and
stakeholders, you’re ready to begin the design outside consultants.
and implementation phase. Consider including at least one representative from
To do this effectively, you need to assemble a project each stakeholder group and part of the organization.
team and have a number of strategic discussions This will help ensure that your new process considers
about things like: everyone’s needs and that you start to build broad
support for the new process.
• the objectives of the program and criteria
for success
Worksheet: Performance management
• the design of your process and forms implementation team on page 40.
• when to launch and the timing for key activities
• integrating the skills and competencies critical to
your organization
DESIGN
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DESIGN
DOCUMENT YOUR OBJECTIVES Step 1: Planning
AND SUCCESS CRITERIA At the beginning of the performance management

cycle, managers set and communicate expectations,
Write down the key objectives for the new
expressing them as competencies and goals.
performance management process in your
Managers and employees also do up-front
organization. Make sure each objective is SMART
development planning to address known learning
(specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and
needs, and ensure the employee can successfully
time-bound).
achieve their prescribed goals and demonstrate
These objectives will guide your project team’s desired competencies. Discussions between
discussions and decision-making as you move managers and employees are important at this stage
forward as well as your evaluation of your success to ensure that expectations for the coming period
once you’ve rolled out the new process. are well understood. In an annual performance
management cycle, planning (step 1) is often done
Worksheet: Project objectives and at the same time as the annual performance
success criteria on page 42. review (step 3).
Step 2: Interim reviews
DEFINE THE STEPS IN YOUR PROCESS Interim reviews are flexible. You can choose
the interval that best meets the needs of your
One of your project team’s first tasks in designing your
organization: mid-year, quarterly or monthly. The
new performance management process is to decide
important thing is to ensure employees don’t go
what steps to include.
a full year without receiving a review. If managers
Regardless of company size or industry, most hold regular one-on-one meetings with employees,
best-practice processes include the following five a formal semi-annual review may be sufficient.
high-level steps: Some companies do reviews quarterly or monthly.
Companies whose work is managed as projects or
engagements often conduct project reviews at the
conclusion of each one. These interim reviews should
be shorter and easier to complete than an annual
review. The purpose of any interim review is to review
progress and performance to date, adjust goals and
development plans as needed, capture any changes
in priority or expectations, and document the
expectations and current evaluation of performance.
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Step 3: Annual performance review Formulate an action plan to ensure you address any
key findings and use the data to inform your other
Gather feedback and ratings on performance from talent management programs as well as overall
employees, 360-degree multi-rater assessors and business decision making.
managers. This step can include several different
types of reviews, depending on how you choose Review your process and forms to look for ways to
to design your process. In the final task of this step, optimize or improve them.
usually the employee and manager sign off on the Work with your project team to define the steps you’ll
completed performance review form. Steps 3 and 1 include in your performance management process.
are often completed at the same time.
Continuous activities
Step 4: Review of your performance review results
Ongoing coaching, feedback and development are
This step includes a review by HR and/or others. Its continuous activities. Managers need to provide their
purpose is to ensure all reviews are complete, that employees with coaching and feedback, and support
ratings are fair and accurate, and that performance their development throughout the year to encourage
gaps will be addressed with development. high performance. Feedback and coaching can and
Some companies conduct manager peer group should be used to recognize and encourage desired
reviews to justify, modify and calibrate ratings, some behaviors and good performance as well as to identify
have HR or senior managers perform this task, and areas for development and improvement. The goal is
others use a combination of additional reviews to to maintain a continuous dialog about performance
ensure the fairness and integrity of their employee and expectations. This ensures employees aren’t
performance reviews. surprised by the feedback and ratings they receive
in their annual review and they get the support they
Step 5: Review of your performance review need to continuously improve and succeed.
process
Worksheet: Defining the steps in
Your HR team and executives should review the
your process on page 44.
results of your process on an annual basis to identify
things like:
• Overall performance ratings and trends
• Organizational skill gaps and trends
• Organizational, departmental or individual
development needs
• High and low performers
• Biases in ratings or variations in the use of the rating
scheme
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ONGOING COACHING, FEEDBACK AND DEVELOPMENT
Step 1: Planning
• Set and communicate performance expectations,

expressing them as competencies and goals
• Create development plans
Step 2: Interim reviews:

mid-year, quarterly or monthly
• Review progress to date, adjust goals and

development plans as needed, and capture
changes in priorities or expectations
Step 3: Annual performance review
• Gather feedback and ratings on performance from

employees, multi-rater assessors and managers
• Conduct performance review meeting
• Secure sign-off of completed form from employees
and manager
Step 4: Review of performance

review process results
• Ensure that all reviews are complete, ratings are

fair and accurate, and performance gaps will be
addressed with development
Step 5: Review of the process
• Review the organization’s performance-related

results for the year to identify trends and areas for
improvement
• Review your performance management process
and forms and make adjustments as required
• Review analytics with executives
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SELECT THE TYPES OF REVIEWS The interval or frequency of manager reviews can
vary – quarterly, semi-annually, annually. However,
TO INCLUDE AS PART OF YOUR
you should conduct them at least once per year.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Choose what works best for your organization and its
PROCESS business environment. For new employees, you might
consider having managers conduct reviews after 30,
As you design your process, you’ll need to
60, and 90 days to help onboard the employee and
determine the types of reviews to include and how
set them up for success.
often they should be completed. The goal is to ensure
that employees get the direction, feedback and
Employee self-appraisals
development they need to succeed. You also want
to encourage organizational alignment and high These occur before the manager writes their review
performance while fostering engagement in of the employee. They allow the employee to
the process. assess their own performance, draft their goals and
Some of the more common types of reviews include: identify desired learning activities, and share this
information with their manager. Self-appraisals help
Manager reviews better engage the employee in their performance
and development as well as in the performance
These are typically conducted by a manager for their management process. They also help the manager to
direct reports. In this review, the manager can: better prepare for the employee’s review.
• rate performance on goals and demonstration of
competencies 360 degree, multirater assessments
• give the employee feedback on their performance Gathering feedback from peers, direct reports, other
• establish goals for the coming period, aligned with managers, and customers(internal and external) can
the organization’s high-level goals help the employee and/or manager get a broader,
• create development plans for the coming period fairer assessment of an employee’s performance
and development needs. They reflect multiple
• discuss performance expectations
perspectives and interactions, providing a holistic
view of performance. These assessments can be
The manager could use this opportunity to discuss helpful when the manager and employee are not
the employee’s career aspirations. This kind of co-located, work different shifts or don’t have a tight
discussion can have an impact on goals and working relationship because of work logistics or
development plans to help the employee develop personality. You can keep the feedback anonymous
and progress. and determine who chooses the assessors.
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360-degree reviews are commonly used to deliver

upward performance feedback and developmental
coaching to senior executives who often don’t have a
manager providing them with a review. However, they LEARN MORE
can be helpful for employees at all levels.
For more ideas on how to design a best-
Project reviews practice performance management process,
check out the free resources in Halogen’s
Project reviews are typically used for employees
HR centers of excellence including:
who work on projects or engagements and may not
be under the direct supervision of their manager. • Performance management processes
The project review is conducted immediately after
the project/engagement is completed and provides • Employee evaluation forms
feedback on performance for that specific project
• 5 alternatives to the annual
from the project lead and team. The project review
performance review:
gives the manager insight on the employee’s
This webinar is a conversation about
performance from the project team for their regular
the tipping point we’ve reached with
performance reviews.
performance appraisals, with alternatives
you can use to improve engagement and
Performance improvement plan or corrective
productivity.
action plans
• Developing and implementing an effective
When an employee’s performance is judged to
talent management strategy plan
be below expectations, you can assign them a
performance improvement or corrective action plan,
where they get even more regular formal reviews of
their goals, development plans and performance.
This is usually managed separately from the regular
performance management process. The goal of
a performance improvement plan is to bring the
employee’s performance back up to standards. Formal
detailed documentation about expectations and
performance are critical here.
Worksheet: Type and frequency

of reviews on page 45.
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SCHEDULE THE TIMING FOR YOUR “ NO INFORMATION SHOULD BE

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT A SURPRISE WHEN YOU DO THE
PROCESS AND ACTIVITIES PERFORMANCE REVIEW. WHEN
Scheduling the timing of the various steps and SHOULD PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK
activities in your performance management process HAPPEN? AT LEAST ONCE PER MONTH.”
is important.
Your first decision is whether to conduct all employee
reviews at the same time or conduct them on the
anniversary of each employee’s employment start – Jamie Resker, Founder and Practice
date (anniversary process). Leader, Employee Performance Solutions
Read Which is best? Anniversary vs. focal (common

date) performance reviews for guidance.
If you decide to use a focal process, you need to
determine the start time. Companies typically align
themselves with the calendar year or their fiscal year
when making this decision. Then decide whether
you want your annual performance reviews to be
completed before the start of the new year or have
managers and employees start working on them at
the start of the year.
It’s important to align the timing of your
performance planning with your organizational
goal setting. Managers and employees will need
your organizational goals when they begin drafting
employee goals for the coming period to ensure
proper alignment.
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A typical annual performance management process that pairs the review with performance planning may look like this:
JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

Weekly one-on-one meetings and Weekly one-on-one meetings and Quarterly review of Q1 performance
ongoing coaching, feedback and and
ongoing coaching, feedback
Weekly one-on-one meetings and
recognition recognition
ongoing coaching, feedback and
Review and analysis of last year’s recognition
results
Recommendations for compensation
adjustments made using previous
year’s performance review data as
guidance
APRIL MAY JUNE

Weekly one-on-one meetings and Weekly one-on-one meetings and Quarterly review of Q2 performance or
ongoing coaching, feedback and ongoing coaching, feedback and mid-year review
recognition
JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER

Weekly one-on-one meetings and Weekly one-on-one meetings and Quarterly review of Q3 performance
ongoing coaching, feedback and ongoing coaching, feedback and
recognition
OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Weekly one-on-one meetings and Preparation for annual performance Annual performance review:
ongoing coaching, feedback and review:
• Managers and employees meet
recognition
• Managers and employees reflect on to discuss performance reviews,
the past year’s accomplishments ratings and feedback
• Employees complete self-appraisals • Managers and employees
and draft goals and development establish goals and development
plans for the coming year plans for the next cycle
• Managers complete employee • Initiate performance
appraisals and draft goals and improvement plan if required
development plans for the
• Managers and employees sign off
coming year
performance appraisals
• Weekly one-on-one meetings and
• Weekly one-on-one meetings and
recognition
recognition
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Note that there are a number of important scheduled DECIDE HOW YOU WILL CONDUCT,
events throughout the year to review and discuss
MANAGE AND ADMINISTER YOUR
performance. But don’t forget about those informal
opportunities to provide employees with ongoing PROCESS
coaching, feedback and recognition that contribute Now you’re ready to start considering how you’ll carry
to high employee engagement and performance. out the process. You can:
As you define your schedule, consider the amount 1. Conduct it manually using paper forms.
of time each step will take managers, employees,
2. Conduct it manually using forms or
executives and HR to complete. Factor that into
spreadsheets.
your planning.
3. Create your own in-house application.
If you plan to combine performance review with
4. Automate the whole process using cloud-based
performance planning, the very first time you run
performance management software.
your process, you’ll need to start with a performance
planning step.
There are benefits and drawbacks to every approach.
Worksheet: Performance management Carefully consider things like:
schedule on page 46. • your organization’s resources,
• the time each group can devote to performance
management activities, and
• your need to integrate employee performance data
with other talent management and/or business
processes.
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INTEGRATE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S

COMPETENCY MODEL
You need to build a competency model that captures LEARN MORE
the behaviors and attitudes that lead to success and
cultivate them in your employees. This is a key step to How to make the shift from traditional to
support best practice performance management (and ongoing performance management
talent management).
Goals describe “what” you want employees to Expert Report: Making ongoing performance
accomplish and competencies describe “how” you management a reality
want them accomplished. They’re also known as
behaviors, skills, values, performance dimensions or A white paper about best-practices in
competency management
performance standards.
An effective competency model typically includes Selecting A Talent Management Suite:
both core and job-specific competencies. Core Experts Share The Real Story
competencies apply to the organization overall and
often relate to your organizational culture or key
strategic differentiators. Job-specific competencies
apply to a particular job or role.
“ A COMPETENCY IS ANY
CHARACTERISTIC LEADING TO
SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTIVITY.”
– William J. Rothwell, Ph.D., SPHR

President, Rothwell & Associates, Inc.
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You can communicate performance expectations

to employees by including core and job-specific
competencies on your performance review forms, CASE STUDY
evaluating how they demonstrate them and
by providing learning activities that foster CarVal Investors developed a
their development. meaningful, role-based competency
framework and increased performance
If your organization has a competency model defined,
management participation levels from
then your project team needs to make sure you
50% to 95%.
include core and job-specific competencies on the
performance review forms you create. They wanted to:
If your organization doesn’t have a competency • Ensure goal alignment so that the
model defined, this is a great time to create one. organization is focused on moving the
business forward, and
• More easily measure the effectiveness of
talent programs in delivering business
results.
LEARN MORE
For help creating your organization’s

competency model, check out the free
resources in Halogen’s Competency
management center of excellence,
including:
• The basics of competency

management
• Using weighting to prioritize

competencies and goals
• Choosing the right method to assess

and rate competencies in your
organization
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INTEGRATE ORGANIZATIONAL
GOALS TO ENCOURAGE ALIGNMENT
Goal management is about more than assigning LEARN MORE
annual goals and reviewing employee performance.
Best-practice goal management links every To learn more about best-practices for setting
employee’s individual goals directly to the and managing goals, check out the free
organization or department goals they’re designed resources in Halogen’s Goal management
to support. Then progress on all goals is monitored center of excellence, including:
and communicated at least quarterly. Goals can
• Driving organizational success with
be adjusted and realigned to adapt to changing
effective goal management
requirements and realities as required.
To support organizational goal management, you • Writing SMART goals
need to communicate established organizational/
• Improving employee accountability for
departmental goals to all employees when they’re
goals in your organization
setting their individual goals so they can align
their goals with the organization’s. You can do • Get managers to align and manage
this by including the organizational goals on your employee goals
performance review forms or making them easily
accessible in some other way.
All goals, including organizational goals, need to be
SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and
time-bound).
“ EMPLOYEES WITH GOALS ALIGNED TO

THE ORGANIZATION’S TOP PRIORITIES
HAVE 75% HIGHER ENGAGEMENT.”
– Leadership IQ, 2012
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CREATE BEST-PRACTICE EMPLOYEE Your employee evaluation form is a tool that helps:
REVIEW FORMS • employees perform better as they’ll understand

what’s expected of them, how their current
Well-designed employee review forms will support performance is perceived and what they need to
the success of your performance management improve
process. A poorly designed form can frustrate and • managers stay on top of their employees’
disengage managers and employees from the process performance because it gives them a structured
defeating the whole purpose. way to communicate expectations and perceptions
• HR and executives better understand and manage
their workforce using data that helps them
understand individual and organizational strengths
“ COMPANIES THAT REGULARLY REVISE
and weaknesses. They’ll also be able to see how
AND UPDATE GOALS QUARTERLY the organization is aligned to its strategy and
GENERATE MORE THAN 30% GREATER objectives, and identify their high-performing,
high-potential employees
IMPACT FROM THEIR PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT PROCESS.”
LEARN MORE
– Bersin by Deloitte
For help in creating best-practice

performance review forms, check out the free
resources in Halogen’s Employee evaluation
forms center of excellence, including:
• Employee evaluation form templates
• How to create best-practice employee

evaluation forms
• Tips for creating effective employee

evaluation forms
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DESIGN
“ PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IS
ABOUT FEEDBACK, ACCOUNTABILITY,
CASE STUDY AND GROWTH.”
Oryx Gas to Liquids, a Middle East
energy company, fuels business
objectives through talent management
– Dr. Christopher Lee, Ph.D., SPHR
best practices
Performance Conversations
ORYX-GTL transformed its performance
management process into an
environmentally friendly one that:
• Aligns individual goals to company
values and business objectives
• Creates a more transparent and
consistent performance management
system
• Supports its business objective to be a
“green” company
• Improves completion rates for key talent
processes, such as goal setting and
performance reviews
DESIGN

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IMPLEMENT
Rolling out your new performance
management process and strategy
IMPLEMENT
Rolling out your new performance

management process and strategy
Now that you’ve designed your process and DESIGN AND DEVELOP YOUR
forms you’re ready to roll out your new process
TRAINING MATERIALS
to the organization.
As with the roll out of any new organizational process, Executives, managers, employees and even your HR
your change management initiatives are among the team will all need to be trained on how to use your
most critical parts of the project. You need to make new process, tools and forms.
sure that staff at all levels of the organization support Work with your project team to identify how to
the change and have the information and tools they address all these training needs. You may want to
need to follow your new process. offer a blend of training using different formats
As part of the roll out you’ll need to: and media to suit the needs of different users. For
example: leader-led classroom training, leader-led
• Design training materials
webinar training, web-based training, e-learning,
• Communicate the details of your new process, video, job aids, etc.
including:
Think about long-term and recurring training needs.
• The reasons why it’s being For instance, all newly hired employees will need
adopted/implemented to be trained on your performance management
• The leadership’s commitment to the process. And managers and employees may benefit
new process from annual refresher training on your process
• The benefits it will bring to the organization and forms.
and participants If you want everyone to follow performance
• The timing of the process roll out and management best practices, you need to provide
first activities employees, especially your managers, training
• Everyone’s roles and responsibilities on some of the new skills they’ll need, such as:
in the process • Writing SMART goals
• Deliver training • Giving effective feedback
• Coaching employees
• Supporting employee development
• Preparing for performance reviews
IMPLEMENT
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IMPLEMENT
COMMUNICATE THE DETAILS OF

YOUR NEW PROCESS
Next you need to clearly communicate the details of LEARN MORE
your new process to all your employees by answering
questions they’ll have, such as: You can find lots of free training resources
• Why are you implementing a new performance for managers in Halogen’s Performance
management process? management training for managers center
• What benefits will it provide individuals of excellence, including:
(employees, managers)?
• How to ensure consistency in employee
• What are the benefits for teams and the performance appraisals
organization?
• Giving effective feedback: make sure to
• What steps and activities does it include?
include the positives
• When does it start?
• What activities need to be completed and when? • Coaching or cloning? How to coach
more effectively
• Where are the forms and information needed for
the process?
• When, where and how will training and support We also have a selection of reference
be provided? articles to help HR, executives, managers
and employees make the most of your
• What are the roles and responsibilities for
performance management process,
individuals at each level?
including:
• How to prepare for your

Work with your project team to devise a solid
performance appraisal
communication plan that addresses all these
questions. Make use of all the employee • Engaging managers and employees in your
communications channels you have available to you. performance management process
And make sure you communicate repeatedly. It takes
time to affect the cultural and behavioral changes
necessary to fully adopt a new process.
IMPLEMENT

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IMPLEMENT
When senior executives, managers and employees

are fully informed and engaged in the process, it will
result in higher participation rates and better quality
performance management. LEARN MORE
Halogen’s reference article, Roles and

responsibilities in a best practice performance
DELIVER TRAINING management process, can help can help you
clearly articulate to your executives, leaders,
Before people can begin following the new
managers, employees and HR team exactly
performance management process and using the
what is expected of them in your new best
tools you’ve selected or created, you need to deliver
practice process.
the training you’ve developed.
Make sure you offer sufficient sessions of any
leader-led training to accommodate schedules and
availability. And make reference materials easily
accessible to everyone.
Don’t forget to solicit feedback on the training so you
can improve it going forward.
IMPLEMENT

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TOOLS
Support effective
performance management
with cloud-based software
TOOLS
Support effective performance management

with cloud-based software
Cloud-based performance management software • Past appraisals and ratings to guide ongoing
automates, simplifies, and streamlines all the activities discussions and help chart progress
used to manage employee performance year-round, • Notes on performance
including regular performance reviews. It also allows
• Feedback, recognition and coaching received from
you to aggregate and analyze data about employee others throughout the year
performance and development so you can better
manage your workforce and integrate with your other
The software also enables you to automate workflow
talent management programs (e.g. compensation,
and forms and provides task lists and reminders so
succession planning, employee development,
everyone knows what they are expected to do, at
recruiting, etc.)
what stage, and by what date.
Cloud-based software lets you give employees and
Though many companies still try to manage their
managers access to all the information they need at
performance management process and paperwork
every step of your process, including:
using manual, paper-based tools, they don’t see the
• Organizational goals to easily align individual goals same benefits and results from their process. Investing
and give context for their work
in cloud-based software is an investment in your
• Competencies and their definitions to build workforce and its performance and development.
organizational strengths and culture
• Predefined feedback and coaching tips they can
personalize to speed up the writing process and
improve the quality and consistency of feedback
• Your catalog of learning activities so they can better
support employee development
TOOLS
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TOOLS
A closer look at Halogen TalentSpace™

Our powerful, configurable software, expert Ongoing Performance Management
professional services, targeted learning content,
Establish a culture of ongoing performance
best-in-class competencies and workflows ensure
management. It is possible. With a performance
your talent aligns to your business strategy for
management solution purpose-built to help you
winning results. align, engage and inspire your people to achieve the
results that matter to your business.
Learning & Development
Develop a highly skilled and engaged workforce

with a performance focused learning solution that
connects on-the-job learning, continuous coaching,
and formal learning activities directly to your business
strategy, for maximum results.
Compensation
Create a strong pay-for-performance culture based

on objective, transparent processes. Align pay
directly with ongoing performance, and simplify
compensation management for everyone.
Succession & Leadership
Build deep bench strength and strong leadership

skills across all critical areas of your business with
competency-based talent pools that nurture top
talent and ensure you retain a highly skilled,
engaged workforce.
Recruiting & Onboarding
Attract and engage new hires with a seamlessly

integrated recruiting and onboarding experience,
including coaching and development, to accelerate
the performance results that matter to your business.
TOOLS
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WORKSHEETS
Worksheets and resources
designed to help you implement
a best practice performance
management process
WORKSHEETS
Identify your business challenges

What are the top business challenges you face with Lack of formal performance documentation
your existing performance management process or by creating risks for litigation and wrongful dismissals
not having a formal process in place?
The organization lacks the information it needs to
Select and rank all that apply to your organization. do effective workforce planning
Employees aren’t focused on organizational
HR and managers are spending too much time on
priorities, wasting effort
the administration of performance management
No way to verify the organization has the paperwork
competencies it needs to succeed
No effective way to track process adoption or
No way to identify employee performance issues performance review completion
and verify that managers are dealing with them
No effective way to aggregate and analyze the
Managers are failing to deal with employee data gathered during the performance review
performance issues, hurting productivity and process
engagement
Performance management is treated as a one-time
No way to identify individual and organizational event (review), not a year-round activity
learning needs
Other (specify)______________________________
High employee turnover, especially among top
performers ___________________________________________
No way to identify top performers
Low employee satisfaction

Click here to access an editable version.
Low employee engagement
Return to Step 1: Identify your challenges
Lack of formal performance documentation
required for accreditation (e.g., The Joint
Commission, ISO9001)
WORKSHEETS
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WORKSHEETS
Set performance management process

implementation objectives
Choose 3-5 high-level objectives for your new To better align our workforce
process. These items are in order from tactical to more
To improve organizational performance
strategic.
To ensure employees get regular feedback To build or reinforce organizational culture
and coaching on their performance from their
To help deliver on our mission, vision and values
managers so they can be their best
Other (specify)______________________________
To identify and document sub-standard
performance so it can be addressed
___________________________________________
To identify and address employee
development needs
To ensure all employees have goals that are
aligned with the organization’s Return to
To better identify organizational learning needs,

areas of strength and key skills
Set objectives
To meet regulatory, ISO, or other requirements
Depending on your organization’s existing
To introduce a pay-for-performance model in the culture and predisposition towards
organization performance management, implementing a
To identify high performers or high-potential performance management process can be a
employees and target them for retention, significant initiative that requires thoughtful
development or progression change management. So make sure you’ve
clearly identified your business objectives
To improve employee accountability and the benefits you expect to achieve, and
communicate these to your workforce.
To improve employee engagement
WORKSHEETS

37
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WORKSHEETS
Benefits of employee performance

management
Use the checkboxes to identify the benefits you think will interest each stakeholder group.
BENEFITS FOR EXECUTIVES AND BENEFITS FOR HR

SENIOR LEADERSHIP Legally defensible documentation on employee
Access to data on employee performance to make performance
better decisions
Ability to ensure all employees are getting the
Ability to identify high and low performers direction, feedback and development they need to
succeed
Align workforce goals with the organization’s goals
Insight into the competencies, skills and
Ability to track progress on goals across the experience that lead to high-performance in
organization specific roles
Ability to provide training and development Reduced employee turnover

programs that address performance and skill gaps
for individuals and groups Ability to better manage and allocate the
compensation budget
Verify the effectiveness of training and
development programs
Ability to get a clear understanding of your

workforce’s potential, strengths and weaknesses
Ability to establish an effective pay-for-

performance culture grounded in employee
performance data
Better employee performance and productivity
Better employee retention and engagement to

help develop employees who are ambassadors of
your organization and its culture
WORKSHEETS

38
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WORKSHEETS
BENEFITS FOR MANAGERS BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES

Better employee performance and engagement Clarity of expectations and better context for
their work
Better employee accountability for work
Understanding of how they fit into the
Easier identification of employee organization and how their work is contributing
development needs to the overall success of the organization
Better ability to assign, track and evaluate the More regular, better quality feedback on their
effectiveness of employee development activities performance and specific details on how they
More informed, balanced decisions about pay can improve
and promotions Clear insight into skills they need to develop to
Greater focus on performance and development progress in their career
Improved personal performance as a manager Better, more targeted support for their
development and career progression
The ability to provide performance feedback

to managers and peers

Return to Step 4: Spread the good news. Communicate
the benefits of employee performance management.
WORKSHEETS

39
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WORKSHEETS
Performance management
implementation team
Use the tables below to identify the members of your core team and your steering committee.
CORE TEAM
ROLE ON TEAM NAME DEPARTMENT
Team leader
Consulting manager
Consulting employee
Process administrator
IT consultant (if you're automating

your process)
WORKSHEETS

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WORKSHEETS
STEERING COMMITTEE
ROLE ON TEAM NAME DEPARTMENT
Team leader
Consulting manager
Consulting employee
Executive sponsor
IT consultant (if you're automating

your process)

Return to Establish your project team.
WORKSHEETS

41
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WORKSHEETS
Project objectives and success criteria

Document the objectives and success criteria for your performance management best practice process implementation.
OBJECTIVE 1
Title:
Description:
How will success be measured?
When does this objective need to

be achieved?
Dependencies: (e.g., resources,

information or training
needed, etc.)
Owner:
OBJECTIVE 2
Title:
Description:

be achieved?
Dependencies (e.g., resources,

information or training):
Owner:
WORKSHEETS

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WORKSHEETS
OBJECTIVE 3
Title:
Description:

be achieved?
Dependencies (e.g., resources,

information or training):
Owner:

Return to Document your objectives
and success criteria.
WORKSHEETS

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WORKSHEETS
Defining the steps in your process

Use this table to identify all the high-level steps you want to include in your process and the activities that will be
completed in each step.
STEP NAME ORDER ACTIVITIES INCLUDED IN THIS STEP

Return to Define the steps in your process.
WORKSHEETS

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WORKSHEETS
Type and frequency of reviews

Use this table to identify all the types of reviews you’ll be including and how often you’ll conduct each type.
REVIEW TYPE FREQUENCY
Manager reviews
Employee self-appraisals
360 degree, multirater

assessments
Project reviews
Performance improvement plans

or corrective action plans

Return to Select the types of reviews to include as part
of your performance management process.
WORKSHEETS

45
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WORKSHEETS
Performance management schedule

Use this table to outline your ideal performance management schedule by month.
JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH
APRIL MAY JUNE
JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Return to Schedule the timing for your performance
management process and activities.
WORKSHEETS

46
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ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE
Halogen’s talent management solutions help your company deliver outcomes that matter to your business and
people. Ranked number one in customer satisfaction, Halogen helps you establish a culture of ongoing performance
management with a configurable solution that aligns, engages and inspires your workforce. Build deep bench strength
with talent-pool based succession plans. Develop a skilled and engaged workforce with performance-focused learning
that connects formal and informal learning, and continuous coaching activities with your business strategy. Attract
and engage new hires with a seamless recruiting and onboarding experience. Make pay for performance fair and
transparent, and simplify compensation management.
For more information:

Visit the Halogen Software website | Subscribe to Halogen Software’s blog | Follow us on Twitter
Free Trial Live Demo
Ranked number
one in customer
satisfaction
QUESTIONS? CONTACT US!

North America Europe, Middle East, Africa APAC
Toll-free: 1 866 566 7778 UK Freephone: 0800 587 4020 AU Toll-free: 1 800 048 060
Direct: +1 613 270 2011 NA Direct: +1 613 270 1011 NA Direct: +1 613 270 1011
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
www.halogensoftware.com www.halogensoftware.co.uk www.halogensoftware.com.au
ABOUT
HALOGEN
INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT DESIGN IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS
47 SOFTWARE
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PERFORMANCE

What is employee performance

DESIGN IMPLEMENT TOOLS

Helping your company deliver outcomes

WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

What will I get out of this guide?

GET SUPPORT DESIGN IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

What is performance management and why

Performance management Engages and empowers employees – invite

GET SUPPORT DESIGN IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

Build a case for performance

– Elaine Orler, President and Founder

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR CHALLENGES STEP 2: SET PROCESS

Worksheet: Set performance management

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

STEP 3: ESTIMATE YOUR

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

STEP 4: COMMUNICATE THE BENEFITS

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

Consider using a variety of communication tools

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

Layout your performance

INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

DOCUMENT YOUR OBJECTIVES Step 1: Planning

AND SUCCESS CRITERIA At the beginning of the performance management

Step 2: Interim reviews

INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

ONGOING COACHING, FEEDBACK AND DEVELOPMENT

• Set and communicate performance expectations,

Step 2: Interim reviews:

• Review progress to date, adjust goals and

Step 3: Annual performance review

• Gather feedback and ratings on performance from

Step 4: Review of performance

• Ensure that all reviews are complete, ratings are

Step 5: Review of the process

• Review the organization’s performance-related

INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

360-degree reviews are commonly used to deliver

Worksheet: Type and frequency

INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

SCHEDULE THE TIMING FOR YOUR “ NO INFORMATION SHOULD BE

Read Which is best? Anniversary vs. focal (common

INTRODUCTION GET SUPPORT IMPLEMENT TOOLS WORKSHEETS ABOUT HALOGEN SOFTWARE

Copyright ©2017 Halogen Software Inc. All rights reserved.

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

APRIL MAY JUNE

JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER

No way to identify top performers

Low employee satisfaction

To better identify organizational learning needs,

Ability to provide training and development Reduced employee turnover

Ability to get a clear understanding of your

Ability to establish an effective pay-for-

Better employee performance and productivity

Better employee retention and engagement to