人力资源领袖月刊：推动可持续绩效+HR+Leaders+Monthly：Drive+Sustainable+Performance

P

e

r

f

o

r

m

a

n

c

e

Driving

HRLeaders

Monthly

June2023

e

Sustainabl

Contents

ExecutiveSponsorPeterAykens

HRLeaders

Monthly

Editor'sNote

GuideEmployeeAgencyto

DriveOptimalPerformance

AddressEmployees’SenseofFutilitytoSustainOptimalPerformance

2WaysHRLeadersCan

BuildWellnessintoWork

EmpowerCo-CreationofWorkDesign:AnInterviewWithLaurentianBankof

Canada’sSébastienBélair

QuantCorner

HowHRCanProtectEmployeesfromInformationOverload

TheThree-C’sFrameworkofEmployeeProductivityMonitoring

PerformanceManagement

WithoutaRatingSystem

SustainEmployeeEngagementAfterLayoffs

GreatWorkStemsFromGreatJobs:AnInterviewWithJoeMull

MetricoftheMonth

3

4

10

19

26

31

33

37

44

52

62

66

EditorinChiefJonahShepp

ManagingEditorCarolinaValencia

AssociateEditorTessLawrence

ContributingEditorCharlieBeekman

Authors

KaylaVelnoskey

IgaPilewska

KateMcLaren-Poole

AnushriSubramaniam

SatyanshuSapra

JenPriem

RupeeshaGalhotra

GurbaniSingh

DionLove

JonahShepp

LKKlein

EmilyEarl

ShabditaTiwari

CalumFolks

SimratKaur

BenjaminAshley

CarolineOgawa

TessLawrence

Design

WalterBaumannZanaBrunerSuejungKimCamilleTagami

Editor

IanWhiteley

ProjectManagers

LaurenAbelLindsayKumpf

AccesstoGartnerContentCaveat

SomecontentmaynotbeavailableaspartofyourcurrentGartnersubscription.

LegalCaveat

©2023Gartner,Inc.and/oritsaffiliates.Allrightsreserved.Gartnerisaregisteredtrademark

ofGartner,Inc.anditsaffiliates.Thispublicationmaynotbereproducedordistributedin

anyformwithoutGartner’spriorwrittenpermission.ItconsistsoftheopinionsofGartner’s

researchorganization,whichshouldnotbeconstruedasstatementsoffact.Whilethe

informationcontainedinthispublicationhasbeenobtainedfromsourcesbelievedtobe

reliable,Gartnerdisclaimsallwarrantiesastotheaccuracy,completenessoradequacyof

suchinformation.AlthoughGartnerresearchmayaddresslegalandfinancialissues,Gartner

doesnotprovidelegalorinvestmentadviceanditsresearchshouldnotbeconstruedor

usedassuch.YouraccessanduseofthispublicationaregovernedbyGartner’sUsage

Policy.Gartnerpridesitselfonitsreputationforindependenceandobjectivity.Itsresearchis

producedindependentlybyitsresearchorganizationwithoutinputorinfluencefromanythird

party.Forfurtherinformation,see“GuidingPrinciplesonIndependenceandObjectivity.”

Anythird-partylinkhereinisprovidedforyourconvenienceandisnotanendorsement

byGartner.Wehavenocontroloverthird-partycontentandarenotresponsibleforthese

websites,theircontentortheiravailablility.Byclickingonanythird-partylinkherein,you

acknowledgethatyouhavereadandunderstandthisdisclaimer.

794194

HRLeadersMonthly|June20233

whichinvestigatedhoworganizationsaremanagingperformanceeffectivelyintoday’sevolvingworkenvironment.Inthisissue,youwilllearnwhatitmeanstoguideemployeeagencyandwhythisisthekeytooptimizingperformancewhilemaintainingflexibility.Otherarticleselaborateonthecorecomponentsofthisstrategy,lookingathowHRleaderscanaddressemployees’feelingsoffutilityabouttheirperformanceandmitigatefatiguebybuildingwellnessintowork.Wealsoheardirectlyfromoneoftheorganizationsweprofiledinthisstudy.SébastienBélair,CHROandExecutive

VPatLaurentianBankofCanada,tellsushowhisorganizationmaintainedconnection,collaborationandcultureinthetransitiontohybridwork.

Inthepastthreeyears,organizationshavehadtocontinuallyrethinkhowtheyassessandmanageemployeeperformance.Pandemic-drivenshiftsinworkeliminatedmanyoftheday-to-dayconstraintsonwhere,whenandhowworkgetsdone.Consequently,manyemployeesdemonstratedtheycouldperformjustaswell,ifnotbetter,inamoreflexibleworkplacewheretheyhavegreateragency,orownership,over

Editor’s

Note

byJonahShepp

theirownperformance.

However,threeyearsaftertheinitialdisruption

ofCOVID-19,HRleadersarehavingmoredoubts

aboutwhethertheselevelsofperformanceare

sustainable.Whilesomeemployeesthrivein

anunboundedworkenvironment,mostarenot

performingoptimally—thatis,doingtheirbest

workinawaytheycansustain.Theyneedsome

Thisjournalcoversseveraloftheotherchallengesaffectingemployeeperformanceandhowbesttomanageit.Wediscusshowtoprotectemployeesfrominformationoverload,monitorproductivitywithoutdamagingemployeetrust,andmeasureperformancefairlyandeffectivelyintheabsenceofaratingsystem.Wealsooffersometimelyadviceonhowtomaintainemployeeengagementinthewakeoflayoffs:anunfortunatecircumstancemanyHRleadersmayfindthemselvesinthisyear.Finally,authorJoeMulltellsushoworganizationscanbuildemployeecommitmentbyprovidingtheessentialelementsofanidealjob.

Takentogether,theseinsightsofferHRleadersatoolkitfordrivingsustainableworkforceperformancethroughtheuncertaintyofthecomingmonthsandyears.

boundariestoguidethem.

Inresponse,someorganizationshaveturned

awayfromgivinggreateragencyoverwork.They

aretakingmeasuressuchasforcingemployees

backintotheofficeforallormostoftheirtime

nowthatpandemic-erarestrictionsandpublic

healthconcernshavesubsided.Yetemployees

greatlyvaluethefreedomandflexibility

thatcomeswithhavingagencyovertheir

performance,andtheharmtoengagementand

moralefromabandoningitmayoutweighany

productivitygains.Insteadofturningtheclock

backto2019,thebestorganizationsarefinding

newwaystopreservethebenefitsofemployee

agencywhileintroducingnewperformancecues

tohelpemployeesstayontrack.

ThisissueofHRLeadersMonthlyshowcases

thefirstofourthreesignaturestudiesfor2023,

performancecuestoguideit.

shouldgobeyondsimplysupporting

employeeagencyandbeginusing

toDriveOptimal

GuideEmployeeAgency

Performance

ByJonahShepp

Unboundedworkhasenabledextraordinary

achievementsbutalsocreatednewthreats

tooptimalemployeeperformance.

Toensureemployeesperformattheir

bestinasustainableway,CHROs

HRLeadersMonthly|June20235

Formanyemployeestoday,especiallythosewhoseworkcanbedoneremotely,workhasbecomeunbounded,withfewerconstraintsonwhen,whereandhowitmustbedone.Releasingworkfromtheseconstraintshashadmanybenefits.Forexample,employeesworkinginahybrid-flexibleenvironmentare1.3xaslikelytoachievehighperformanceand1.6xaslikelytohavehighintenttostayasthoseworkinginalocation-centricenvironment(seeNote1).1

However,therearealsodownsidestounboundedwork,suchasreducedvisibilityandincreasedcomplexity.Theaverageemployeein2022saidtheyhadexperiencednineday-to-daychanges,suchasreportingtoanewmanagerorhavingasignificantchangeinjobresponsibilities,intheprevious12months.2Amongemployeeswhohaveexperiencedatleastonesuchchange,64%saytheyhadtoworkharderthanusualasaresult.2

HRleadersareconcernedthatsomeemployeescan’tdotheirbestworkinthisenvironment,whileothersmaybeoverworkingandunabletosustain

theircurrentlevelsofcontribution.Ourresearch

showsonly41%ofemployeesareperforming

optimally—thatis,consistentlygivingtheirbest

workinawaytheycansustain(seeFigure1).3

Employeeswhoarenotperformingoptimally

displaylowerlevelsofperformanceindicators

suchasenterprisecontribution,intenttostayand

NetPromoterScorethanthosewhoare.3

CHROsmaybetemptedtoaddressthese

challengesbygoingbacktotheoldwaysof

working.Theymayconsiderenforcingstrict

schedules,moretightlylimitingthescopeof

employees’rolesandscalingbackremoteor

hybridworkoptions.Buttheywouldalsobelosing

outonthebenefitsofhybridflexibilityandtaking

awaysomethingemployeesvalue:havingagency,

orownership,overtheirownperformance.To

helpmoreemployeesperformoptimally,CHROs

shouldprovidetheclarityandguidancethese

constraintsusedtoprovidewhilestillmaintaining

theautonomyandflexibilitytheiremployeeshave

cometoexpect.Thismeansmovingfromsimply

supportingemployeeagencytoactivelyguidingit.

Figure1:PrevalenceofEmployeePerformanceZones

PercentageofEmployees

Yes

IConsistentlyGiveMyBestWork

No

24%

AtRisk

Performance

41%

Optimal

Performance

21%

Damaged

Performance

14%

MissedPerformanceOpportunity

No

Yes

ICanSustainIt

n=2,280remote-capableemployees

Source:2023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey

Note:Questionsusedinclude“Iconsistentlyputforthmybesteffortatwork”and“Howeasyordifficultwoulditbetosustainyourcurrentlevelofperformanceoverthenextyear?”

ThreeBurdens

onPerformance

Toharnessthepotentialofunboundedwork,mostorganizationscentertheirperformancestrategiesonsupportingemployeeagency:thatis,helpingindividualsandteamstakeownershipovertheirperformance.Todoso,theseorganizations:

•Enableautonomyforemployeestofindtheirownbestpathtohighperformance.

•Encouragewellness,soemployeescansetapacethatletsthemworkandcarefortheirwellness.

•Inspireperformerstodetermineiftheyaremakingtherightamountofprogressontheirgoals.

However,evenwiththissupport,disconcertingnumbersofemployeesarestrugglingtofindanefficientpath,chooseasustainablepaceanddriveforexceptionalprogress.Theyexperiencethreeburdensthatdragdowntheirabilitytoachieveandsustainhighperformance:

1.Excessive“WorktoDoWork”—Morethanhalfofemployees(53%)reportspendingsignificanttimeon“worktodowork.”Thisisworkthatisnotformallyassignedorconsideredapartoftheworkloadoremployeegoals,suchassettingupvirtualwhiteboardingsoftwaretorunahybridbrainstormingsession.3Whilethisworkmaybenecessary,ittakesuptoomuchofemployees’time.

2.Fatigue—Morethanathirdofemployees(34%)areactivelyfatigued(feelingdrained,overworkedandoutofenergy)despiteeffortstoencouragewellness.3Employeesstruggletosetasustainablepace,leavingthemfatiguedevenasHRtriestocreatespacetopersonalizerestandcarewhenemployeesneedit.

3.Futility—Morethanathirdofemployees(34%)areexperiencingfutility—feelingsofanxietyandhopelessnessaboutwhethertheyareperformingenough.3Despiteeffortstoinspirethemtogoaboveandbeyondtomaketheirownimpact,andgetrecognizedwhentheydo,employeesstillstrugglewiththemotivationtopushforprogress.

Thesethreeburdenshavethefollowing

effectsonemployeeperformance:

•Excessive“worktodowork”reducesemployees’abilitytosustainperformanceby12%.

•Fatiguereducesbothemployees’abilitytogivetheirbestby13%andtheirabilitytosustainitby26%.

•Futilityreducesemployees’abilitytogivetheirbestby8%andtheirabilitytosustainitby6%.3

Topromoteoptimalemployeeperformance,CHROsneedtoaddressallthreeoftheseobstacles.

HRLeadersMonthly|June20236

HRLeadersMonthly|June20237

GuideEmployeeAgency

WithPerformanceCues

Thebestorganizationsguideemployeeagencybyprovidingemployeeswiththreeperformancecues,inadditiontosupportingtheiragency.Performancecuesaresignalsthatguideemployees’choicesabouttheirperformance.

Cuesdonottakeawayagency,buttheydomitigatetheburdensofexcessive“worktodowork,”fatigueandfutilitybyhelpingemployeesmakebetter-informeddecisionsabouttheirownpath,paceandprogress.Ultimately,theyequipemployeestoachievetheiroptimalperformance.

PathCue:GiveContextforDecisionstoReduceExcessive“WorktoDoWork”

Onedownsideofincreasedautonomyisthatemployeeshavetomakemoreindividualday-to-daydecisionsabouthowtheirworkgetsdoneandcoordinatewithcolleagues’differentworkstyles,schedulesandexpectations.Some“worktodowork”isinevitableinaflexibleenvironment,buttoomuchofitwastestimeandeffortthatcouldbebetterspentonjobsemployeeswereactuallyhiredtodo.

Topreserveemployeeautonomywhileavertingthisunintendedconsequence,CHROsshouldensureemployeeshavethepropercontextformakingthesedecisionssotheycanbetterunderstandandpredicttheirimplications.Givingcontextfordecisionshelpsemployeesselectpathsthatarelikelytosucceedinadvance,insteadofhavingtocontinuallyadjusttoalignwithothers’needsortheresourcesavailableattheorganization.Employees

whoseorganizationsgivecontextfordecisionscan

reduce“worktodowork”byupto9%andare2.4x

aslikelytoachieveoptimalperformancecompared

tothosethatdonot.3,4

PaceCue:BuildWellness

intoWorktoMitigateFatigue

InresponsetotheCOVID-19pandemic,64%of

organizationsintroducednewwell-beingofferings,

ofwhich85%offerednewmental/emotionalwell-

beingprograms.5EventhoughmostHRleaders

reportofferingprogramsfocusedonemployee

wellnessandcommunicatingtheimportance

ofwellness,83%stillsayemployeefatiguehas

remainedthesameorincreasedoverthepastyear.6

Encouragingwellnessisimportant,buthowever

robustwell-beingresourcesandcommunications

maybe,thismessagewon’tgetthroughto

employeeswhileworkprocessesaredesigned

aroundassumptionsoflonghoursandheroic

efforts.Employeesstillfeeltheyneedtochoose

betweenwellnessandhighperformance,because

thewaytheirworkisstructuredimpliesthey

can’thaveboth.

Tochangethisperception,organizationsneed

totreatwellnessasanelementofperformance,

notitsalternative.Thisentailsbuildingwellness

intoworkbysignalingtoemployeeshowto

structureworkforsustainability.Doingsohelps

employeeschooseasustainablepacebyshowing

themwheretakingtimetocarefortheirwellness

fitsintotheirday-to-daystrategytoachievehigh

performance.Thisapproachreducesfatiguebyup

to41%andincreasesthelikelihoodofemployees

achievingoptimalperformance2.8xcomparedto

organizationsthatencouragewellnessbutdonot

builditintowork.3,7

OrientingEmployeeAgencyb

18%

AtRisk

63%

Optimal

12%

Missed

7%Damaged

ProgressCue:RecognizeHigh-PerformanceActionstoCombatFutility

HRleadersandmanagersalreadyknowperformanceconversationsneedtohappenmorethanonceayear.Ninetypercentofmanagersnowhavecheck-insonceaquarter,and71%oforganizationsplantoincreasethefrequencyoffeedbackconversationsingeneral.8,4However,manyemployeesstillfeelasenseoffutilityabouttheirperformance.Theyfeelanxiousabouthowwellthey’reperforming,hopelessaboutachievinghighperformanceandconvincedsomeoftheirpeerswillalwaysoutperformthem.Employeesexperiencefutilityatalllevelsofperformance,soitcanbeafactorinlowperformanceaswellasathreattohighperformance.

Toaddressthisthreat,CHROsneedtoreimaginehowtheorganizationrecognizesemployeeperformance:notonlyrecognizinghighperformersbutalsothehigh-performanceactionsthatleadtogreatimpact.Treatingperformanceasaseriesofactionsratherthananendstate—andrecognizingthoseactionswhen

employeesdemonstratethem—helpsguide

employeeswithoutlimitingtheirperformance.

Thesein-the-momentrecognitionsserveas

progresscues,showingemployeesthespecific

actionstheorganizationwantsthemtodomore

ofandlettingthemknowinrealtimewhen

theyareontherighttrack.Recognizinghigh-

performanceactionsreducesfeelingsoffutility

byupto9%andincreasesthelikelihoodof

employeesachievingoptimalperformance5.7x.3,9

FiveStepstoReap

theBenefitsofGuiding

EmployeeAgency

Whenorganizationssuccessfullyremovethe

burdensofexcessive“worktodowork,”fatigue

andfutility,theycanseeadramaticimpacton

theiremployees’performance.Organizationsthat

onlysupportemployeeagencycanexpect25%of

theirworkforcetoachieveoptimalperformance,

butthosethatguideemployeeagencycan

see63%ofemployeesperformingoptimally

(seeFigure2).10Whenmoreoftheworkforceis

performingoptimally,thissignificantlyreduces

riskstocollaboration,retentionandattraction.

Figure2:PrevalenceofEmployeePerformanceZonesbyHRApproach

PercentageofEmployees

SupportingEmployeeAgencya

24%

AtRisk

28%

Damaged

25%

Optimal

23%

Missed

n=2,280remote-capableemployees

Source:2023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey

Note:Questionsusedinclude“Iconsistentlyputforthmybesteffortatwork”and“Howeasyordifficultwoulditbetosustainyourcurrentlevelofperformanceoverthenextyear?”an=258remote-capableemployeesexperiencingsupportingagencywithloworientation

bn=953remote-capableemployeesexperiencingorientingagency

HRLeadersMonthly|June20238

HerearesomestepsCHROscantaketostartcreatingtheconditionsforoptimalperformanceattheirorganizations:

1.Assessemployees’perceptionsoftheirabilitytogivetheirbestworkandsustainittodiagnosetheprevalenceofoptimalperformanceatyourorganization.Leveragethisdatatomakethebusinesscaseforguidingemployeeagency.

2.Collectdataonemployees’experienceswithexcessive“worktodowork,”fatigueandfeelingsoffutility.Usetheresultstoidentifytheperformancecue(s)withthegreatestimpactonreducingperformanceburdensinyourworkforceforinitialinvestment.

3.Developaclearunderstandingofthemostcommonnewworknormsemergingthroughouttheorganizationandusethistogiveemployeesmorecontextfortheir

decisions.Partnerwiththeexecutiveteamtoinvestintheorganizationalcapabilitiesnecessarytosupportthesenewnorms.

4.Embedwellnessintostrategicplanningdiscussionsandreviewsoforganization,processandroledesign.Lookforopportunitiestobuildwellnessintoemployees’workdays,ratherthantreatingitasasecondaryactivity.

5.Defineaframeworkofhigh-performanceactionstoincorporateintotheorganization’stotalrewardsstrategy.Establishprocessesforrecognizingtheseactionsinthemomenttocontinuallyprovideprogresscuesandacknowledgeemployees’success.

Note1:Ahybrid-flexibleworkenvironmentisdefinedasamixofon-siteandremotework,whereinemployeesareofferedtheflexibilitytochoosewheretheywork.Alocation-centricworkenvironmentisoneinwhichanemployee’sworklocation(whetherfullyremote,fullyin-personorsomecombination)isdeterminedbytheiremployer.

1Gartner2022FutureofWorkReinventedImplementationtoDriveTalentandBusinessOutcomesSurvey.Thisstudywasconductedtopinpointreal-worldpostpandemichybridworkdesignand

implementationleadingpracticesthatdrivecommontalentandbusinessoutcomes.TheresearchwasconductedonlineduringJune2022among401respondentsfromNA,EMEAandAPAC.Ofthe401,250respondentsareatemployeelevel(entrylevel/midlevelnonmanagers/individualcontributors)while151areleaders(directorsandabove).Respondentswerescreenedforthenatureoftheirwork,asonlyknowledgeworkerswerescreenedforthesurvey.

22022GartnerWorkforceChangeFatigueSurvey.Thissurveywas

conductedtounderstandthelevelsofchangefatigueinemployeesandthemanager’sroleinmitigatingit.Theresearchwasconductedonlinefrom28Feb2022through16March2022among3,548respondentsfromvariousgeographies,industriesandfunctions.

32023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey;n=2,280

remote-capableemployees.Thissurveywasconductedtounderstand

employeeexperienceswithorganizations’performanceapproaches

anddriversofperformanceintoday’sworkenvironment.Theresearch

wasconductedonlinefrom1through25February2023among3,507

respondentsfromvariousgeographies,industriesandfunctions.A

subsetof2,280remote-capableemployeeswasusedforallanalyses.

42023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey;n=403

remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizationsenableautonomyand

858remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizationsenableautonomy

andclarifydecisioncontext.

52020GartnerWell-BeingBenchmarkingSurvey;n=34offered

newoffering(s);18expandedexistingoffering(s).Thissurveywas

conductedtounderstandtheprevalenceofdifferenttotalrewardsat

organizations.Theresearchwasconductedonlinefrom25September

through19November2020andcontainsresponsesfromtotalrewards

leaderswithrepresentationfrommultipleregionsandindustries.

62023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceandCHROPriorities

Survey,n=139HRleaders.Thissurveywasconductedtounderstand

variousaspectsoforganizations’approachestoperformanceand

performancemanagement.Respondentswerealsoaskedaseries

ofquestionsrelatingtoapproachestoemployeeexperience.The

researchwasconductedonlinefrom9Februarythrough8March

2023among139HRleadersdistributedacross24countriesand20

industries.

72023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey,n=207

remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizationsencouragewellness

and1,083remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizationsencourage

wellnessandbuildwellnessintowork.

82023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey,n=1,492

remote-capableemployeeswhoaremanagers.

92023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey,n=466

remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizationsinspireperformers

and568remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizationsinspire

performersandrecognizehigh-performanceactions.

102023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey,n=258

remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizationssupportagencywith

loworientation;953remote-capableemployeeswhoseorganizations

alsoorientagency.

AddressEmployees’

FeelingsofFutility

toSustainOptimal

Performance

ByAnushriSubramaniam

Employeeswhofeelfutilityabouttheir

performancestruggletogivetheirbestwork

andsustainit.Talentmanagementleadersmust

transparentlydefinehowperformanceprogress

isassessedandrecognizedtocombatfutility

andgeneratebetterperformanceoutcomes.

HRLeadersMonthly|June202310

HRLeadersMonthly|June202311

25%

21%

20%

16%

13%

0%

Talentmanagementleaderswanttoencourageemployeestoinnovateanddriveimpact.Andwecanseethis,with84%ofHRleadersdefininghighperformersasthosewhogo“aboveandbeyond.”1Theambiguousupperendoftheperformancespectrumisintendedtocreatespacefornewwaysofworkingandlimitlessachievement.However,whenemployeesfeelthereisanunclearfinishline,performancecansuffer.

Insteadoffeelinginspiredby“aboveandbeyond,”employeesmayfeeltheirattemptsathighperformancearefutile.Gartner’sfutilityindexmeasuresthreesentimentsthatcontributetoemployees’senseoffutility:

•“Reachinghighperformancefeelshopeless.”

•“Ifeelanxiousaboutmycurrentperformancelevel.”

•“Someonewillalwaysdomorethanme.”2

Oneinthreeemployeesreportexperiencingfeelingsoffutility.3Employeesatallperformancelevelscanexperiencehighlevelsoffutility,includinghighperformers(seeFigure1).2

Gartnerdefinesoptimalperformanceasthestateinwhichemployeesconsistentlygivetheirbestworkandareconfident

theycansustainitoverthenextyear

(seeNote2).

Notonlycanfeelingsoffutilitycreate

negativeemployeeexperiences;theycan

alsohinderanemployee’sabilitytoreach

optimalperformance.Employeeswhoarenot

performingoptimallycontributelessvalueto

theorganization,exhibiting25%lowerlevelsof

enterprisecontributionthanoptimalperformers

(seeNote1).3

Organizationsareinvestinginincreasingthe

frequencyoffeedbackconversationstohelp

employeesperformoptimally.Seventy-one

percentoforganizationswhohavemadeorplan

tomakechangestoperformancemanagement

areincreasingfeedbackfrequency.1

Figure1:PrevalenceofHighFutilitybyRecentPerformanceRating

PercentageofEmployees

40%

33%

DoesNotMeet

Expectations

PartiallyMeets

Expectations

Meets

Expectations

Exceeds

Expectations

FarExceeds

Expectations

n=345,remote-capableemployeeswhoexperiencehighfutilityandwhoreceivedarecentperformancerating

Source:2023GartnerAchievingHighPerformanceEmployeeSurvey

HRLeadersMonthly|June202312

However,employeesmaybeunsurewhatthisfeedbackmeansfortheiroverallprogress,suchastheiryear-endrating,promotionopportunitiesorcompensation.Inthesecases,thecontinuousconversationapproachalonecanmakefutilityworse,increasingitbyupto9%.2

Employeeswanttounderstandiftheyaremakingprogress,andtalentmanagementleaderscansupportemployeesbydesigningperformanceprocessesthatprovideprogresscues.Aprogresscuesignalsreal-timeachievementandhelpsemployeesunderstandiftheyaredeliveringtherightimpact.Suchcuescanreducefutilitybyupto9%,4andemployeeswhoseorganizationsuseaprogresscuealongwithcontinuousconversationsare5.7xmorelikelytoachieveoptimalperformancethanthosewhoseorganizationsonlyusecontinuousconversations.4

Talentmanagementlea