Why Upgrading Your Performance Management Is Critical for Enterprise Agility
Many organizations consider agility to be one of their top priorities. Studies conducted among multiple organizations have shown that enterprise agility is one of the most critical elements surrounding a corporation.
However, many people are unaware of exactly what enterprise agility is. Until recently, this wasn’t a commonly used term throughout the corporate world.
Enterprise agility describes the way an organization deals with the constant changes of the business world. This term couldn’t be any more important than it is now. Technological and economic advancements are moving faster than ever before, and agility within a corporation is a more critical dynamic than ever before.
The corporate model of old included a typical hierarchical format that included a pyramid structure. However, things have changed drastically.
The most agile organizations are made up of flexible, cross-functional teams that collectively determine how to manifest the best outcomes. Using a group effort is obviously one of the most efficient ways to be agile because of the unpredictable environment of the corporate world.
Organizations that run this way rely heavily on their human resources department to place talent in the proper areas of the company. At the end of the day, the agility of your company comes from the people doing the heavy lifting and not the CEOs. Having an agile performance management system can help you attain enterprise agility.
Agile Organizations Are Not Well-Oiled Machines
Well-oiled machines operate in the same manner all the time. They constantly engage in the same repetitive style of doing work, almost reminding us of an assembly line set up. However, when you consider the information in the previous section, a well-oiled machine may not have much of a place within an agile organization.
The current top-performing organizations should be compared to an organism. They are constantly evolving and able to adapt to the most challenging situations. It’s not incorrect to say that an agile corporation is indeed alive.
An agile organization must adapt to the following situations:
- Disruptive technology
- Constantly changing customer needs
- New competition
- The ongoing talent war
Indeed, a well-oiled machine may have a difficult time adapting to these scenarios. When it takes a situation-specific response to overcome these challenges, the same corporate structure that exists to do repetitive work will not be very effective.
It takes an organism to overcome these challenges – an organization that is a living, breathing, evolving version of itself. The ability to perceive, react, and adapt to changes in the environment is a common characteristic of an organism. Is this not a common characteristic of an agile organization as well?
What leads to an organization operating like an organism? A large portion of it is the forward-thinking of the HR department. However, another large portion falls on an efficient performance management system.
With that being said, here are some important ways to evolve your performance management system to support enterprise agility:
1. Give Team Members a Purpose
Agile organizations require team members and whole teams to function proactively and be innovative. Most importantly, they want them to engage in this behavior without being told to do so.
Giving team members freedom is important in terms of an agile organization. However, it’s also important not to allow anarchy to break out and manifest a free-for-all. To make this happen, it’s important that organizations give team members a clearly communicated purpose.
Every team member needs a personal connection to the common goal of the company. Individual and team goals need to be linked to the greater good of the organization. Having a shared sense of purpose and transparency is how the whole organization forms a bond.
Your performance management system can be effective at outlining these goals and motivations. Management should have the ability to examine and update these goals to track progress.
2. Help Managers Become Better Leaders
In an agile organization, a manager is not just a link in the chain that passes information to team leaders at the top. They should provide purpose, develop talent, and facilitate the agility of the organization.
However, one of the largest problems is that the idea of a perfect manager is stuck in the past. The right PMS platform can help groom your manager into becoming a more efficient leader.
Your PMS platform should guide managers through crucial conversations they have with team members. It’s important that a manager never feels uncomfortable having important conversations that can lead to improvement among your team.
3. Continuously Manage Performance
An agile organization is a continuously changing entity, and it becomes vital that your PMS platform continuously monitors performance. When you’re able to monitor and analyze data centered around important metrics that promote agility, you can constantly optimize your team to keep up with changes and solve problems.
Every aspect of your team and management should be constantly monitored and adjusted to ensure the best performance. Goals should always be revisited to assess the progress and the performance of team members. This is one of the most important ways to promote agility within your organization.
The HR department should always be able to receive insight that is up-to-date regarding the workforce. This gives them the best opportunity to properly place talent within your company.
Takeaways
The easiest way towards crafting agility within your organization starts with your PMS platform. The failure to neglect the importance of these platforms is a surefire way to miss out on important metrics and data that allow you to optimize your team.
The right PMS platform will allow you to completely shift your organization from a hierarchical structure to more of an organism-based company. If you want agility to be at the forefront of your organization, this is one of the most important changes to implement.
Getting everyone involved and on the same page is the second most important element. Remain transparent with your team members and allow them to communicate freely with leaders to promote a collaborative work environment. This is one of the most important elements of an agile organization, and attention to these details gives you the highest chances of success!