How Talent Acquisition Factors into Performance Management Improvements
Like all business processes, performance management improvements starts at the very beginning. When business leaders or SMB owners are attempting to improve performance management, it would make sense that talent acquisition plays a role. Namely, hiring the right people from the start and instilling the right PM mentality can go a long way in allowing the organization’s performance to essentially improve itself.
To understand how talent acquisition impacts performance management and the improvement process among employees, it’s important to first understand what talent acquisition refers to and what recruitment looks like in the post-COVID world. Companies seeking improvements in performance and their performance management strategy need to look to the very first step: recruiting the right talent.
What is Talent Acquisition?
Talent acquisition refers to the process of hiring and finding the right people for the job. It’s about comparing the requirements and duties of the role to the experience and capabilities of the candidates and choosing the best fit. When it comes to recruiting for the organization, it’s about seeking out the best talent and using the best channels to cultivate leads for a role.
How are Companies Handling Recruitment Post-COVID?
Hiring and onboarding have also had to become agile, like all other business processes, in light of the COVID outbreak. Companies today are embracing new methods of recruiting, with many organizations not even verbally speaking to candidates until they show up for an interview. So much is done via email and text, and companies need to stop frowning on these methods. People who text employers aren’t “bad employees.” They’re just creatures of their time. We live in a digital world where communicating via text and messaging apps is the norm. It would make sense that some employers are fine with text communications.
Of course, several organizations do still require face-to-face communication, or they’ve replaced the standard interview with a video call. Sometimes, companies might even have candidates record answers or information as part of their application and screening process. This can help them to get a sense of the person even without meeting them in person. It’s also a helpful way to watch people think and respond on the spot.
Most importantly, in this post-COVID world, organizations are noticing the need to hire better talent at the outset. This results in fewer changes to performance management and fewer employees who need constant oversight or assistance on the job. For some time, many companies have been eager to hire anyone they can because of the limited help available, but that’s no longer necessary. Organizations are realizing that there is more than enough help out there to go around, and that having no one is better than having the wrong one.
Create Better Listings to Attract Better Candidates
Companies that invest more time and effort in finding the right candidates in the first place will find that they need less development and perhaps even less management and oversight in their roles. This can help make a more effective performance management process and ensure that people are always where they need to be in terms of skills and training. The only way to attract better talent is to have a better offer.
This means creating a new job listing that highlights all the assets and benefits of the job, as well as the duties and responsibilities. It should also welcome people who are eager for growth potential and explain a little about the company culture to give people reason to apply. Furthermore, companies need to stop ruling out candidates whose own values don’t align with the organization 100%. A little variance is fine. In fact, it might even work to the company’s benefit.
Less Need for Improvement
When talent acquisition is considered as part of the performance management strategy, organizations will notice that there is less of a need for development and improvement over time. It may take more time and effort to acquire the right talent in the first place, but it will save money and time on further monitoring and performance improvement along the way. Plus, it helps everyone be held accountable for their roles and their own development and growth within the organization.
There’s a lot of talk about taking performance management into the digital future. If you want to simplify and streamline the process, hiring the right people from the start should be at the top of the list. When the employees are given a tailored experience and understand the importance of their role from the start, organizations won’t have to worry about getting people to “measure up” or to clear certain hurdles before whatever deadline is approaching.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Too often, organizations take a reactive approach to their performance management. The yearly review is a perfect example of this. How many organizations used this model for years, not helping people to grow and develop because it focused on everything they were supposed to achieve within the past year? That’s a lot of stress in one sitting. It’s also a terrible way to expect people to respond to feedback and constructive criticism about their abilities.
Organizations will find that being proactive about performance management is far more effective. It’s also much easier to do, thanks to the myriad of tools available today. Companies should start creating a new plan for performance management that includes figuring out how to hire better people from the start. Then, the rest of the strategy will practically fall into place.
The Right People Lead to the Right Success
Businesses that have the wrong employees will see things like a lack of productivity and accountability, unmotivated workers, and poor judgment and decision-making. This can affect the stability of the business and the other employees alike, which is why it needs to be stopped immediately. No longer should organizations provide leeway and assume that “anyone can be trained” because they’re in dire need of help. Stop second-guessing and settling for less and hire the right candidates to get your performance management strategy off to a much stronger start. The eLeaP continuous performance management system provides organizations with powerful options to attract and retain high caliber team members.