There's no question that the world of performance management is changing forever. 

There is, however, much debate about what works best. As a result there is mass confusion over what a change to performance management should entail.

Some advocates like Georgia Murch in her book Fixing Feedback suggest that it's all about the quality of the conversation, whilst studies from CEB suggest that some large organisations have thrown the baby out with the bath water in moving from traditional performance management processes to informal conversations alone. David Rock of the Neuroleadership Institute recommends removing ratings, whilst CEB say that less than 5% of managers are able to effectively manage without ratings.

Each expert makes valid points, so it is easy to side with their point of view. There are no signs that the debate will lead to a universal blueprint for modern performance management any time soon.

Given a one size fits all approach is unlikely, we expect every organisation will embark on a journey to find the mix of approaches that work best for them. We are already seeing evidence of this with companies like SAP and Coca-Cola using pilots to learn what works and what doesn't work in their specific circumstances.

To navigate your journey there are 4 A's that underpin the core purpose of performance management and act as the waypoints for successful redesign of your approach; Alignment, Assessment, Assistance and Appreciation.

ALIGNMENT - "Are we doing the right things?"

ASSESSMENT - "Are we doing our best work?"

ASSISTANCE - "What would make us stronger?"

APPRECIATION - "Are we valued?"

Considering the 4A’s as the pillars of any performance management approach will help you navigate the changes needed to modernise performance management in your organisation.

This framework also helps you measure and categorise what is working well and not so well – for example, if your people are well aligned, but not achieving the necessary levels of assistance.

Evidence to-date has been that most organisations support the change to performance management with purpose-built technology.

As a result, a new generation of performance management software such as Pay Compliment has been developed to support the performance management revolution or the evolution of performance management practices over time. 

If you enjoyed this overview of the 4A framework for high performance, take a look at this post which explains how to apply the approach throughout the employee lifecycle.

The traditional and redesigned alternatives are supported in the Pay Compliment platform, giving you the opportunity to tailor and ease into your new performance management approach in the unique form that is required to suit your culture and objectives.