In yesterday’s Advisor we stated to take a look at the 2016 Talent and Performance Management Survey results. Today we’ll look at the rest of those results.
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Implementing Talent Management Strategies
The majority of respondents (51.3%) answered that they implement a “talent pipeline” as their management strategy. “Succession planning” was indicated by 43.4% of respondents, and “career development planning” was indicated by 40.8% of respondents. Only 3.8% of respondents answered “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- Random appointments by cronyism
- Tuition reimbursement
- Roll the dice
Leadership Training
Nearly three-quarters of participants (73.7%) answered that they train potential leaders in “leadership/management.” “Communication” was indicated by 61.2% of participants, and “company mission and values” by 57.6% of participants. Among the least common responses were “negotiation” (15.8%) and “union relations” (10.2%). Only 5.6% of respondents answered “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- Diversity and conflict resolution
- Delegating tasks
- Financial and business metrics
- Technical know-how
In which areas do you train potential leaders? (Please check all that apply.)
| Answer Options | Response Percent |
| Leadership/management | 73.7% |
| Communication | 61.2% |
| Company mission and values | 57.6% |
| Team building | 53.0% |
| Dealing/coping with problem employees | 50.7% |
| Compliance | 49.7% |
| Ethics/integrity | 48.0% |
| Time management | 38.5% |
| Presentation skills | 33.6% |
| Negotiation | 15.8% |
| Union relations | 10.2% |
| Other (please specify) | 5.6% |
Talent Management Challenges
When asked what challenges they encounter when trying to offer talent management programs, the majority of respondents (63.1%) answered “limited budget.” The second most common answer was “not enough time for training,” at 58.0%. Other common responses were “lack of measurements/metrics for training” (36.6%), “scheduling training” (34.8%), and “lack of management support” (32.4%). Less than 5% of respondents answered “other.” The number one “other” response involved not having enough staff.
Performance Appraisals
The overwhelming majority of survey takers (91.0%) said their organization conducts performance appraisals. Only 9.0% of respondents said their organization does not.
Rating Performance Evaluations
The leading response (47.0%) for participants asked about how they would rate their company’s performance evaluation system was “average.” Only 2.7% of respondents indicated “excellent.” Just over one-fifth of respondents (21.8%) answered “above average.” The total percentage of respondents answering “below average,” “needs improvement,” or “terrible” was 28.5%.
Performance Appraisal Coverage
Most of the respondents (87.5%) answered that their performance appraisals measure “overall performance.” About the same number of respondents answered “specific attributes” (60.8%) and “completion of specific goals” (62.5%). Just over 6% of participants answered “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- Developmental needs, possibility for promotion
- Workforce competencies
- Teamwork
- Achievement of the company’s core values
- “BS.”
Who Is Not Evaluated?
When participants were asked which employee groups do not receive evaluations, 48.9% answered “temporary.” The next most common responses were “none” (28.7%) and “senior management” (24.6%). Of those polled, 8.2% answered “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- Union employees.
- “Two of our four owners.”
- Only the president does not receive a formalized evaluation.
The Value of Performance Evaluations
Participants were asked what they thought about performance evaluations. The number one response was, “They accomplish the intended goal most of the time” (46.9%). One-quarter of survey takers answered, “Great in theory, nearly impossible to implement.” Only 9.2% of participants indicated “Not a good idea—abolish them altogether.” The smallest portion of respondents (2.7%) had no opinion at all, and 15.8% answered “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- “Good, but we need to update our process.”
- “Poorly designed at my organization, and poorly implemented.”
- “Great, if people are properly trained and the format used is geared appropriately toward the organization’s culture/mission and toward the group receiving it (managers vs. nonexempt staff, etc.).”
- “A poor way to increase employee-supervisor communication.”
Evaluation Forms
Participants were asked what kinds of evaluation forms were best for supervisors. The majority (75.8%) said “ratings/scales.” Many fewer respondents answered “essay questions” (28.7%) and “multiple-choice questions” (24.9%). A scant 2.7% answered “We don’t use evaluation forms.” Just under 9% of respondents indicated “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- “Nothing works well, currently.”
- “We use an essay format—not sure if that’s the best.”
- “Combination of checklist and short essay.”
- “Ratings supported by qualitative summary of performance and behaviors.”
Performance Review Software
Just under three-quarters of survey takers (73.5%) answered that they do not use performance review software. That leaves 26.5% who answered that they do.
What Software Do You Use?
Types of software are so varied that the number one answer for the question, “If you use performance management software, what kind do you use?” was “other.” The next highest response (13.3%) was “SuccessFactors.” Here are the most common “other” responses:
- In-house
- ADP®
- None
3 Worst Unintentional Supervisor Errors
Participants were asked to select the three worst unintentional supervisor errors. The three top errors were:
- “Recency effect (Rater focuses on most recent performance rather than entire review period.)” (63.8%)
- “Central tendency (Rater doesn’t want to hurt feelings or overrate so places all employees in the middle of the scale.)” (54.3%)
- “Leniency effect (Rater overrates to avoid making enemies.)” (47.5%)
3 Worst Procedural Supervisor Errors
Participants were asked to select the three worst procedural supervisor errors. The top three errors were:
- “Rater does not follow up with employee after evaluation to check on progress.” (78.1%)
- “Rater does not include details on why employee was rated a certain way.” (72.8%)
- “Rater is late completing evaluations.” (55.8%)
Disciplining Supervisors
When asked about whether their supervisors are disciplined for poorly conducting performance evaluations, respondents were most likely to say “rarely” (35.8%) and “never” (35.1%). Only 10.2% answered “Yes, usually,” and 15.8% answered “sometimes.” Only 3.2% of respondents answered “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- “They are not allowed to deliver poor evaluations.”
- “It depends on who they report to, some do and some don’t.”
- “Unknown.”
Performance Evaluation Training
Approximately the same percentage of respondents answered that their organizations conduct training for performance evaluators “annually” (26.0%), “never” (25.3%), and “only for new supervisors/managers” (23.9%). Only 10.2% of respondents answered “more often than once a year.” A small few (4.9%) answered “every other year.” Just under 10% of respondents answered “other.” Here are some of those “other” responses:
- Once in a while.
- As needed.
- “We are working to eliminate performance reviews, so we meet regularly to begin this transition.”
Who Responded?
A total of 441 participants responded to the 2016 Talent and Performance Management Survey, representing a diverse array of industries, business types, organizational sizes, and locations. Respondents came from all across the United States and also from around the world. Most of the respondents (22.8%) were from the U.S. East Central region with nearly as many (21.5%) from the U.S. South. Just under one-fifth (19.3%) of respondents were from the U.S. Northeast/Mid-Atlantic. The International community (15.4%) and the U.S. Far West (14.5%) were almost equally represented. The smallest pool of respondents (6.4%) were from the U.S. Central/Rocky Mountain/Southwest region.
Make sure to check out the full results here.