If you keep up with shifts in business best practices, you may be aware of an evolution happening within human resources, specifically performance management.

Many Fortune 500 companies are leading the way in developing employees for future success. Businesses are now realizing that traditional performance management systems are designed for documenting the bottom 10 percent of employees.

It’s a regressive look back that scores individuals into categories such as “needs improvement,” “meets expectations,” and “exceeds expectations.” This type of review isn’t focused on the right end of the spectrum—developing the 90 percent of employees who are performing well.

Research has shown that focusing on what matters—ongoing and meaningful conversations with an employee regarding their performance—pays off. But how does an association get there?

Develop Managers as Coaches

First, organizations must put an emphasis on developing managers into mentors and coaches. A manager can’t fill this role unless he or she can talk with an employee in an open, honest, and respectful way and understand why this interaction is so important. This communication skill, typically not stressed in management training programs, requires not just learning but practice. So, associations need to invest in education that focuses on this key step.

One resource that offers effective communication strategies is Crucial Conversations. Regardless of the type of training, it should provide opportunities to practice open and respectful conversation on a variety of topics. This can even take place in meetings.

Establish Routine Check-ins

Managers should meet with their employees, one-on-one, a minimum of once every other week. Employees must feel that these meetings are a priority. These check-ins not only serve as an opportunity to know what employees are working on, but also where they need help prioritizing. Having these regular conversations will give managers the time and venue for real and constructive dialogue.

A portion of each meeting should be spent discussing performance on work, projects, goals, etc. Also, an employee should be asked to regularly share feedback on how they are being managed: What is working for them? What could be enhanced or modified? 

Create Discussion Guides

Having more formal, documented conversations, such as quarterly check-ins on key performance items, will not only help emphasize the importance of these conversations but will create necessary documentation for HR or legal so that they can intervene or offer coaching assistance where needed.

Creating discussion guides for managers on these formal check-ins is a great starting point. Guides can be offered on topics such as establishing goals, goal progress check-in, professional development, manager just-in-time feedback (on something specific like a project or meeting), roles and responsibilities, career progression, and core behaviors such as strengths and opportunities.

Finally, discussions at the senior management level about year-end performance appraisals should be encouraged. Key questions to consider include whether ratings are even necessary, whether the appraisal process can be streamlined, and how merit increases would be determined if appraisals were eliminated.

Ratings and feedback on goals might be necessary for assessing the strength of the organization, but summaries could be provided to employees on annual achievements, as well as what the employee should keep doing, and where they could enhance their performance for the upcoming year.

In the end, associations making the shift from managing performance to developing performance will see a significant payoff. The future of our associations depends on having talented, engaged, and developed employees.