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Enterprise software giant SAP extended the capabilities of its talent management solution, SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, with the introduction of continuous performance management.
The new capabilities facilitate ongoing one-on-one check-ins between employees and managers to help ensure that activities, accomplishments and goals stay on track throughout the year, company officials said.
“An employee-driven, forward-looking and continuous performance management process can go a long way toward improving employee productivity and engagement, and ultimately business results,” David Ludlow, group vice president of SAP, told eWEEK. “High-performing employees tend to become disengaged and [are] more likely to leave an organization if their contributions aren’t being fully recognized. Effective feedback and recognition of the employees’ contributions from managers can improve performance and lead to better business results for the company.”
A well-designed performance management system can help ensure managers effectively tackle performance issues head-on and give employees the right guidance and motivation to improve, Ludlow said.
“Managers have a responsibility to help employees grow and succeed, which will help ensure that employees are inspired and motivated rather than resentful and dispirited,” he said.
Traditional performance management processes can be highly time-consuming and backward-looking; that’s where traditional processes and annual reviews fall short, Ludlow said.
“We needed to make the process of keeping track of activities and achievements, and offering feedback and coaching, as easy as the consumer apps people are accustomed to using every day,” Ludlow said. “Continuous Performance Management can be accessed both from the SuccessFactors Web application as well as from the SuccessFactors Mobile app. Both provide the same ease of use and simplicity, but the mobile version adds immediacy and accessibility for best results when check-ins happen more frequently. Mobile is where we expect to see most of the adoption.”
He explained managers and employees can show up to one-on-ones with just their phones and use it to guide their conversation, which is a great example of technology supporting the high-value interaction between manager and employee.
By using continuous performance management within SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, employees can take more ownership for their performance, such as document progress, capture achievements and stay aligned to business goals, to get the feedback and coaching required to perform and improve.
In addition, managers can get a complete view into what their teams are working on and provide regular and effective guidance to employees, and HR can track the frequency of one-on-one conversations taking place within an organization, remind employees and managers to have performance conversations and provide guidance on effective coaching.