PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FOR A HYBRID WORK CULTURE

November 10, 2021, Danielle Shepherd

The recent Covid-19 pandemic forced thousands of CEOs, managers, and employees to re-evaluate how they work, and in most cases, it had to be figured out quickly. As office spaces have reopened, many organizations have implemented hybrid working to provide employees with the benefits of both working from home and in the office. As more businesses move to a hybrid work environment, however, problems can arise that have not had to be dealt with before.

Even in the most ordinary times, performance management is a critical topic in the workplace. It is one of the few business practices that affects every employee within an organization, helping them to set goals and receive feedback to adjust their daily work practices. Performance assessments impact a variety of work-related opportunities, including promotions and pay raises. When managers aren’t fully prepared to handle a hybrid working team they are open to unconscious biases towards certain employees, leading to the emergence of unfair inequalities among staff. Hybrid teams are vastly different from those teams that are completely remote or completely in-office. Without proper performance management tools in place, communication and collaboration across hybrid teams is difficult and unpredictable, resulting in poor performance and productivity across the board.

Performance management software ensures that your managers and team leaders are well equipped to properly and effectively lead hybrid teams, allowing them to fully manage two different workforces. Employees sustain a higher level of performance, despite being in various locations.

Performance management software can support a hybrid working environment by:

• Focusing on tasks, not outcomes.
  By focusing on outcomes, managers set a clear end goal for their team by allowing them the freedom to determine how they complete a goal, instead of micromanaging every small task they need to complete.
• Developing a feedback culture.
  Employee feedback is vital for keeping employee performances improving in a hybrid work environment. Feedback propels employee performance, improvement, and results. Regular and frequent feedback for hybrid work employees helps managers increase employee confidence and engagement while reducing employee burnout.
• Optimizing onboarding and training programs for hybrid workplace dynamics.
  A hybrid work environment is likely a new concept for most managers and employees, and both require training to work in a hybrid workplace. Managers must learn how to manage employees and enable them to achieve their performance goals both in and out of the office. Employees need to learn a new way to work together without excluding one another. The entire team benefits from using performance management tools collaboratively.
• Combating proximity bias.
  When working in a hybrid workplace environment, managers are going see some employees more than others, and proximity bias is much more likely to occur. Favoritism prevents employees from performing at their best, and will eventually result in low employee productivity and a high rate of employee turnover.

It’s vital that managers create an inclusive work culture that reduces the effects of proximity bias. One way to do that is with Performance management software that allows the entire team to operate as one, even when working remotely. Regular work performance reviews and clear communication allow managers to see how each employee is performing, regardless of where they are working from.

There is no doubt that recent events have changed the way workplace environments function. The hybrid working culture is becoming the norm, and it’s vital that businesses implement performance management software suited for this new environment. With intelligent software and superb goal setting framework in place, the hybrid work environment becomes much less complicated and easier to manage.

Transitioning to a hybrid workforce will bring challenges, but with the right performance management tools you can maintain and increase employee productivity and performance by setting each and every one of your employees up for success.

At AssessTEAM, we understand that employee performance management is a critical aspect of business management. Opportunities derived from performance management software often lead to massive improvements in team efficiency. Simply knowing who your top performers are and what products are executed most effectively by your team can lead to wiser decision making. You can take a Free Trial to test drive for your self.