Employee Performance Management: Benefits and Tips to Improve It Effectively

Employee performance management has evolved beyond annual appraisals into a continuous, data-driven approach. Managing employee performance today focuses on real-time feedback, goal alignment, and team collaboration rather than outdated individual assessments.

A McKinsey study highlights the shift from individual-centric performance management to a team-based model, reinforcing the need for organizations to rethink their strategies. Businesses adopting this approach see improved engagement, efficiency, and overall productivity.

To truly understand how to improve employee performance, exploring its benefits, practical implementation strategies, and direct impact on business success is essential.

Let’s get started.

¿Qué es la gestión del rendimiento de los empleados?

Employee performance management is not just about measuring and improving the performance of the employees. It is also about aligning individual objectives with the organization's and vice versa.

The performance management process is continuous rather than an annual review. The goal of performance management focuses on building your employees' ability to perform their work better. Skills improvement and professional development are both essential parts of performance management.

Sin embargo, la gestión del rendimiento es también una vía de doble sentido. Hay que evaluar si un empleado se ajusta a su puesto de trabajo y si el trabajo utiliza el conjunto de habilidades del empleado al máximo. En otras palabras, se trata de alinear las tareas y habilidades de un empleado con los objetivos del equipo y de la organización.

Benefits of employee performance management

El experto en gestión Peter Drucker dijo una vez:"Lo que se mide se gestiona"."En una época en la que los empresarios consideran el rendimiento como algo más que los ingresos que sus empleados aportan a la empresa, este dicho sigue siendo pertinente.

No se puede gestionar algo que no se conoce. Medir el rendimiento de los empleados es el primer paso para gestionarlo y, eventualmente, mejorarlo.

Why should your company measure employee performance in the first place? One recent study published by Capgemini argues that employee performance, including productivity and engagement, is closely linked to the employee experience. In other words, high-performing employees and teams work in a high-performance workplace and vice-versa.

La implantación de un sistema de gestión del rendimiento de los empleados beneficiará a su organización de las siguientes maneras:

1. Ofrecer oportunidades de crecimiento y desarrollo del personal

Como directivo, puede influir en el rendimiento de su organización prestando mucha atención al rendimiento de las personas que trabajan con usted.

However, you must implement an employee performance management system to record and compare your observations to specific growth and development targets. Otherwise, you'll just be making uninformed guesses.

By using an employee performance management system, you'll have all the data you need to identify improvement opportunities and predict your employees' career trajectory.

For example, suppose an employee does poorly in numerical tasks but has excellent communication skills. In that case, you can either train them in numbers or steer them towards a career path that can maximize their strengths.

2. Alinear los objetivos con mayor precisión

Before setting your goals, you must assess your team's skills, availability, and performance. By measuring and managing employee performance, you better understand your team's ability to accomplish goals. As a result, you can either adjust your goals to account for your team's strengths and weaknesses or hire additional resources to help you reach your targets.

The first step in employee management is recruiting or assigning the right person for the job. It is, therefore, essential to have a holistic approach leveraging business acumen for an effective role assignment process.

Once that is done, you should set performance goals with your new employee with the organization's larger goals in mind. This might not seem easy if the employee works remotely. Still, with constant check-ins and alignment sessions, they will understand how you will monitor their performance for the remainder of the assessment period.

3. Comprender mejor el rendimiento de su empresa

Las personas hacen las organizaciones, y es su rendimiento colectivo el que impulsa el crecimiento. Por tanto, es fácil entender por qué hay que medir el rendimiento individual para entender mejor el rendimiento de la organización.

Esto es especialmente cierto en el caso de las pequeñas empresas, donde el rendimiento de unos pocos empleados puede suponer la diferencia entre obtener beneficios o funcionar con déficit. La evaluación de los empleados puede ayudarle a identificar a los que más rinden y a los que necesitan mejorar.

También puede ayudarle a identificar tanto las lagunas de conocimiento que hacen que su empresa funcione por debajo de las expectativas como las capacidades de los empleados que puede utilizar en el futuro.

4. Afinar las políticas de su empresa

To build a company culture that attracts and retains great employees, you must combine your employee performance appraisal data with the employee experience. You can collect this at different touchpoints in the employee lifecycle. These points include periodic employee satisfaction surveys and exit interviews.

Cuando se analizan los datos de la experiencia de los empleados en el contexto del rendimiento de los mismos, se puede tener una visión más clara del efecto de uno sobre el otro.

For instance, if an employee says they wish they could have worked remotely more often in their exit interview, you can determine the lack of remote working options and suboptimal performance.

You can also make your analysis as granular as possible to identify previously unknown factors that affect employee performance. For example, a study published by the University of Oxford discovered that more windows (and natural light) in the workplace had a positive effect on sales and efficiency.

A continuación, puede utilizar estos conocimientos para establecer una cultura del lugar de trabajo que anime a los empleados a rendir más y a mantener un equilibrio saludable entre el trabajo y la vida privada.

5. Establecer una cultura de reconocimiento justo

Using employee performance reviews, you can establish a culture of fair recognition in your organization. On the one hand, by identifying top performers and rewarding them, you show your workforce that you appreciate and recognize hard work. It is crucial to do this, as employee recognition is the number one factor driving employee engagement and productivity.

Por otro lado, un empleado con un rendimiento deficiente necesitará una gestión más estrecha. Es importante identificar a tiempo a los empleados con bajo rendimiento para poder establecer un plan de desarrollo que mejore sus habilidades y reduzca los errores.

Si eso no funciona, hay que decidir y comunicar las consecuencias a los trabajadores para que se pongan las pilas. El incumplimiento de cualquiera de ellas puede tener un grave impacto en su empresa.

How do you manage and improve employee performance effectively?

Good performance management entails more than just building a productive workplace. Understanding how to improve employee performance requires leadership, strong social skills, the ability to give constructive feedback, and teamwork—all essential for an effective performance management strategy.

1. Establecer metas y objetivos claros

Sin unos objetivos bien definidos, ni usted ni su equipo tendrán una idea de su progreso y del terreno que deben cubrir. La mayoría de los expertos en gestión creen en unos cuantos principios básicos para la fijación de objetivos:

Estos principios proporcionan a los líderes una buena idea de los objetivos que deben fijarse a sí mismos y a sus equipos.

También puede utilizar los criterios SMART al decidir los objetivos del equipo:

• Specific: What are you looking to accomplish, and what are the steps to it?
• Measurable: What are the key performance indicators of the goal?
• Achievable: Is this goal based upon realistic metrics? Is the employee equipped enough to achieve it?
• Relevant: Does it fit well in the employee's overall work profile and company priorities?
• Time-based: What are the deadlines for each goal?

Este es un ejemplo de un tablero de objetivos SMART de Hubspot -

El establecimiento de objetivos es esencial para gestionar el rendimiento de los empleados en cualquier equipo, pero es aún más crucial para los equipos remotos. Los equipos remotos pueden sentirse completamente perdidos si no se les da una dirección clara en cuanto a las metas y objetivos de una empresa, ya que no se comunican con su equipo principal todos los días.

The goals you set for your employees will depend on their line of work. For example, if you employ graphic designers, you can gauge their work's quality and adherence to branding guidelines. If you manage a data analysis team, you can use data quality metrics as your basis for performance management.

2. Utilizar programas informáticos para la gestión del rendimiento

You need a way to track progress efficiently, and ideally, the information you are gathering should be accessible to everyone. Using Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel is not uncommon for employee management, but dedicated performance management software will make things easier and more streamlined for you.

Real-time management: Some tools may offer the capability to monitor your team's performance in real-time, often through features like time tracking or integration with time tracking apps. It allows you to gain immediate insights into your team's productivity, project status, and individual contributions.

Estos son algunos de los factores que hay que tener en cuenta a la hora de elegir un software de gestión del rendimiento de los empleados:

💸 Cost: Enterprise-level software, such as SuccessFactors or Workday, might be out of your budget. You can use performance management software targeted towards small businesses instead.

🔗 Features and integrations: Most employee performance management software have some level of integration with other HR-related systems, including payroll and employee recognition solutions. These integrations will streamline the experience for your employees and the HR team.

🔧 Ease of use and training: Performance management software has many moving parts, and getting lost in all the features is quite easy. Aim for simplicity when you're looking for a system for your team.

La mayoría de los programas de gestión del rendimiento de los empleados tienen un enfoque flexible y pueden crear cuadros de mando según sus necesidades específicas. Puede probar las demos para elegir el producto adecuado.

3. Proporcionar información periódica sobre el rendimiento

Providing relevant and regular feedback 📝 is an essential element of performance management. It can take many forms:

• Managers give feedback to employees as part of a performance review.
• Los empleados dan su opinión a sus jefes.
• Aplicación de la retroalimentación entre pares.

Tal vez se pregunte con qué frecuencia debe proporcionar retroalimentación.

Sin embargo, el tipo de feedback que los millennials consideran significativo no se ajusta a las categorías que se encuentran en las típicas sesiones de evaluación periódica. En su lugar, las discusiones deben centrarse en el reconocimiento, la dirección de la carrera y las emociones de los empleados, especialmente en tiempos de incertidumbre como una pandemia mundial.

Also, how you give feedback can change the results to a large extent. For example:

• En lugar de decir que algo no ha funcionado, explique por qué y sitúelo en el contexto más amplio de la empresa.
• En lugar de decir "buen trabajo", diga lo que ha funcionado.
• En lugar de insistir en lo que salió mal, invita al empleado a discutir lo que puede hacer mejor en el futuro.

Instead of talking like a boss, talk like a team member and avoid adverse and judgmental phrasing. Good performance management software comes in handy in managing feedback effectively.

4. Provide them with adequate work equipment

Providing the right resources boosts workplace efficiency and overall performance. Adequate work conditions also play a crucial role—office setup influences behavior, productivity, and morale.

Lack of proper equipment affects performance and compromises safety. Cutting corners on essential tools can lower morale and increase turnover. In physically demanding roles, quality equipment reduces injury risks, reinforcing ethical employer practices.

Some tools enhance efficiency, while others minimize time spent on repetitive tasks. Proper hardware and licensed software are essentials. For teams needing seamless communication, reliable tools improve workflow—meanwhile, employees handling written content benefit from supportive service providers.

5. Identify emotional vampires

Some people simply draw the life force from everyone in their vicinity. They’re not directly impacting productivity by underperforming or sabotaging the rest of your team, but they might undermine the office’s morale daily. It is necessary to provide a healthy work environment.

Los estudios sugieren incluso que estas personas tienen un impacto mucho más profundo en sus compañeros de trabajo de lo que se suponía hasta ahora.

The problem in spotting these individuals may lay in two things.

• Sus empleados pueden ser reacios a hablar mal de sus compañeros (aunque no les guste trabajar con ellos).
• They aren’t necessarily underperforming or performing poorly in your employ.

Por lo tanto, asegúrate de desarrollar un sistema de feedback eficaz y de que el nivel de confianza con tus empleados sea tan alto que se sientan cómodos contándote estas cosas.

Una vez que identifiques al vampiro emocional, puedes hacer dos cosas.

• Despídalos para que no mermen la productividad de toda su plantilla.
• Ofrézcales la posibilidad de trabajar desde casa o colóquelos en un puesto en el que tengan la menor interacción posible con el resto de su equipo.

The first option is much more reliable because an emotional vampire can still substantially damage office morale, even in the virtual environment.

6. Show your team that you care about them

Many entrepreneurs assume the customer-is-always-right principle applies universally, but that’s not always true. If a customer is rude or unreasonable, they may not be worth the effort to retain. Trying too hard to keep them can drain resources and demoralize your team—a concept known as customer bullying. Prioritizing toxic customers over employees can hurt productivity and morale.

One of the best ways to show employees they matter is by making time for them. While your team is small, regular one-on-one meetings can be invaluable. These sessions help you align on priorities, address concerns, and reinforce that their contributions are valued.

Author Elizabeth Grace Saunders highlights that personal attention from leadership fosters loyalty and engagement like nothing else. Simple actions—asking about project progress, remembering personal details, or supporting team collaboration—go a long way. Leadership is more than managing tasks; it’s about building relationships that drive success.

7. An adequate reward for an adequate effort

It is only natural that people are more interested in what they can do for them than what they can do for you, which is why you need to start considering the intrinsic motives of your team.

First, people care about their finances, which is why the promise of a raise is compelling. Second, those who are more career-oriented may focus on the ability to rise in the ranks, which is why some room for vertical movement may also work.

Aunque las dos anteriores pueden ser estupendas para la motivación a corto plazo de uno mismo, la motivación a corto plazo de su personal en un proyecto también puede ser algo que merezca la pena tener en cuenta. Para eso están las primas.

Esto es especialmente eficaz cuando su equipo está terminando un proyecto importante y usted espera que empiecen otro justo cuando terminan. Si les da una prima, les recordará por qué se esfuerzan más para ofrecerle resultados. Por otra parte, algunos estudios afirman lo contrario.

8. Invest in employee development

More competent employees equal a more productive workforce. To ensure your team is always ready to tackle any challenge and keep up with the innovations in the industry, investing in employee learning and development is the best course of action.

Aunque parezca una solución costosa para algunos empresarios, es una práctica que sin duda ayudará a su empresa a avanzar.

Courses, seminars, workshops, and mentoring programs will help your employees grow professionally, making them more skilled, efficient, and productive in the workplace.

9. Motivate using incentives

Incentives are a great way to reward the most productive employees for well-done jobs, and they show the whole team you value their hard work and contributions.

Incentives can include various benefits, from paid time off, bonuses, and raises to organizing team-building activities where your staff can relax and get to know each other better.

10. Organize regular performance reviews

La programación de evaluaciones periódicas de los empleados brinda a la dirección valiosas oportunidades para proporcionar comentarios individuales a cada miembro del equipo.

However, these meetings are also helpful in finding out what troubles your employees, what they might miss in the workplace, and what would make them more motivated and driven to fully commit to their everyday tasks

11. Stay in the loop and communicate openly with your team

Boosting employee engagement and performance is a process that requires long-term dedication and attentiveness.

To make sure your employees understand their assignments and do their best to accomplish them in the most effective and timely manner, stay in the loop and openly communicate with your team.

12. Creación de equipos y comunidades

Otra cosa que debe tener en cuenta es que la lealtad es un motivador eficaz, incluso si no es sólo a usted a quien los miembros de su equipo son leales.

Remember that working on a project with people they hold in high esteem might place your employees in a position where they feel the pressure to work extra hard not to let their team members down.

In this particular case, validation of their peers means more than any kind of positive feedback on your side. This is a benefit of being in a harmonious and well-composed team.

Conseguirlo, por otra parte, requiere un gran esfuerzo por tu parte.

• Para ello, debe ofrecer a su equipo algunas actividades y oportunidades de creación de equipo.
• It requires you to allow your staff to mingle outside of work. We’re talking about field trips, corporate parties, and other opportunities for them to get to know each other in a bit more relaxed environment.
• Lo más importante es que hagas de tu oficina un entorno en el que hacer amigos sea fácil y posible.

Estar constantemente bajo presión y sentirse controlado/supervisado acabará con el buen ambiente en la oficina. Asegúrate de que los miembros de tu equipo se sientan a gusto en la oficina y la unidad del equipo se disparará enseguida.

Lo último en lo que debe centrarse es en recompensar el trabajo en equipo en lugar del esfuerzo individual. Las puñaladas por la espalda y el menoscabo de los compañeros por rivalidad sólo se producirán si creas un entorno en el que estas prácticas den resultados.

Las cifras son escandalosas, ya que el 29% afirma que hay alguien en su lugar de trabajo que le hace la vida imposible, y el 14% afirma que más de una persona le hace la vida imposible.

Para empeorar las cosas, esto inicia un círculo vicioso, ya que alrededor del 31% de los sujetos de la prueba están deseosos de vengarse de alguien que les hizo daño, lo que agrava aún más las cosas.

You'll create a team-friendly environment by rewarding teamwork instead of praising only the staff members who are constantly there for others.

Remember that you can expect your employees to continuously act like this if you endorse backstabbing behavior in your office. In other words, you can’t expect to reward such behavior and then act surprised once it takes over your office.

How to improve employee performance with Empuls

Good performance management entails more than just building a productive workplace. Establishing an effective employee performance management strategy requires leadership, strong social skills, the ability to give constructive feedback, and teamwork. Empuls enhances this process by providing tools that foster meaningful reviews and continuous improvement.

✔ Gather comprehensive feedback: Use Empuls' 360° feedback surveys to collect insights from managers, peers, and subordinates, ensuring well-rounded performance evaluations.

✔ Leverage data-driven insights: Empuls' HR People Analytics offers real-time performance data, helping leaders make informed decisions and drive employee growth.

✔ Monitor engagement levels: Keep a pulse on employee sentiment with real-time surveys, allowing proactive support to maintain high performance and morale.

A structured, insightful review process improves employee performance and fosters long-term success. Empuls helps organizations build a culture of feedback, growth, and continuous development.

Cerrar

It is clear now that the benefits of measuring and managing employee performance take care of more things than one can imagine. The entire work environment is uplifted from employee development, improved relationships between managers and employees, synergy between teams, hitting targets, and beyond.

So, if you are wondering how to manage employee performance effectively, you can now start building a robust process and make it as continuous as it is supposed to be.