Evolving from

Evolving From
Performance
Performance
Management
Management
To Talent
to Talent
Development
Development

Link Learning to Performance for

Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development |
Better Business Outcomes 1
Table of Contents

The Current State of Performance Management | 3

Shifting to Ongoing Performance Discussions | 5

The Catalyst for Change | 7

How Technology Enables the Evolution of

Performance Management | 9

Best Practices for Creating a Hyper-Connected

Talent Experience | 11

Align Goals to Strategic Business Objectives | 13

Facilitate Ongoing Coaching and Feedback | 15

Link Learning to Performance | 17

Tie Performance to Rewards and Recognition | 19

Connect Career Development to Performance Management | 21

Measure the Business Impact of Talent Development | 23

Takeaways | 25

About Saba | 27

References | 27
 The Current
State of
Performance
Management
 Recent data from Brandon Hall Group’s 2018 Performance
Management Study1 shows that most high-performing organizations
now embrace ongoing, in-the-moment performance management
over annual or fixed-period performance review cycles.

It’s a significant shift: Instead of viewing

performance management as a once-a-year
process to grudgingly endure, organizations
are seeing it as a dynamic, real-time event that
can be tied to development to actually drive
improved performance. And people, processes
and technology all play vital roles in this
continuing evolution.

From improving coaching and mentoring

to leveraging technology to create a hyper-
connected talent experience, this eBook
offers research-backed best practices for how
organizations can successfully transition to this
new era of performance management to align,
engage and inspire their people to achieve the
results that matter to their business.

4 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 Shifting to
Ongoing
Performance
Discussions
 It wasn’t that long ago that the annual performance discussion was
the gold standard for most organizations. But now, less than half
(49 percent) of organizations report that performance discussions
most commonly occur annually.

While it was once only the most As needed,

12%
cutting-edge organizations that
embraced in-the-moment performance
Less than
conversations or eliminated annual once per
reviews in favor of more frequent, year, 4%
informal feedback, today the majority of
companies are moving toward a more Daily, 1%
Weekly, 3%
ongoing approach to performance
management.
What is the
And while most companies (54 percent) Frequency of your
Monthly, 11%
still aren’t ready to axe the annual organization’s
performance review outright, they
performance
are planning to supplement the
discussions?1
annual review cycle with frequent,
continuous coaching and performance
conversations throughout the year.1

The tide is clearly shifting. Why now?

Quarterly, 24% Annually, 45%

45%
28%
What Changes are 54%
Planned for Your 13%
Organization’s 13%
Approach to
Performance
Eliminate the use of a rating scale (numerical and/or descriptive)
Management in The Eliminate formal performance appraisals
Next 12-18 Months?1 Supplement annual performance appraisals with frequent
performance conversations and coaching
We do not plan on making any changes to performance
management in that time frame
Focus performance appraisals more on the future goals of the
employee and your expectations

6 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

The Catalyst
for Change
 One of the key reasons organizations are moving to this new, ongoing
approach to performance management–where coaching for growth
is prioritized over “managing” performance–is due to the modern
workforce’s growing demand for real-time feedback.

In Brandon Hall Group’s recent survey, The world of work is also changing.
70 percent of respondents reported they Dispersed workforces and matrix-style
are making changes to their performance reporting structures are changing how we
management process specifically because work, the rapid explosion of information
employees and managers need more available at our fingertips has altered
frequent feedback.1 decision-making processes, and even newly
developed job skills are rapidly declining
in value–often in as little as five years.2 In
order to stay competitive and profitable,
organizations must help employees navigate
70% 48% this fast-paced, disruptive and ever-changing
work environment. And organizations are
More frequent feedback More alignment
increasingly relying on technology to help
was needed1 was needed1
them create the people-centric, collaborative
work environments needed to address
these challenges.

37% 37% Hierarchy

Connected
workplace

Wanted to recognize/reward Employees found the

employees more often1 process unfair1 Process- People-
centric centric

Top down Bottom up

control collaboration

37% 31%
Homogeneous Diverse
PM was found to not Needed to help managers
have a good ROI1 create action plans1
Managed Organic
change innovation

Empowered
Permission

13 13
enablement
% %

Incremental Agile
Our voluntary turnover Relying too much on Improvement transformation
rates are too high1 hiring to meet needs1

8 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

How Technology
Enables the
Evolution of
Performance
Management
 With the help of technology, organizations can facilitate a
proactive feedback and coaching culture to make ongoing
performance management a reality.

Performance management technology enables

organizations to put continuous coaching
and feedback at the heart of their talent 64% of organizations
have dedicated PM
technology, and another1
management processes, helping managers
and employees have impactful discussions that
actually move the needle on performance–
without it becoming a burdensome task. It’s
19% plan to add in the
foreseeable future1

why 91 percent of highly-aligned organizations

today either currently or plan to utilize
technology to support their performance
management processes.1
77% of highly-aligned
organizations
make use of PM technology1

Performance management is also not a

standalone process. To be most effective it
14% plan to add it in the
foreseeable future1

has to be approached holistically and closely

integrated with other key talent development
activities–such as learning, rewards and
recognition, and career
development. And technology Annual Ongoing
is the great enabler of this

Fixed Agile
The evolution
of performance
management Centralized Local

approach. By leveraging a fully Assumption based Data driven

integrated talent development
platform, organizations can
create a hyper-connected talent Backward looking Forward looking
experience that motivates their
people, improves performance,
Rating focused Development
and connects to business goals. focused

Continuous
Remediation
improvement

10 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

Best Practices for
Creating a
Hyper-Connected
Talent Experience
So, how can organizations make learning and development, recognition, coaching and feedback
a part of employees’ everyday experience so they can deliver their best?

Here are six best practices for integrating performance management

into key talent development activities to drive better individual, team
and organizational performance.

1. Align Goals to Strategic 2. Facilitate Ongoing Coaching

Business Objectives and Feedback

3. Link Learning to Performance 4. Tie Performance to Rewards

and Recognition

5. Connect Career Development 6. Measure the Business Impact

to Performance Management of Talent Development

12 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 1

Align Goals to Strategic

Business Objectives
Having meaningful work and a sense of purpose are vital
to engaging the modern workforce, so it’s important that
organizations help employees connect the dots between
performance processes and business goals.
 Nearly two-thirds of companies don’t feel their current performance
management process is aligned to business objectives.1

And that’s a significant problem: Without this
alignment, employees can’t see the “why” of
the performance review process. This leads to
lower engagement and morale, as employees
either don’t know what they’re being
evaluated on or don’t feel they are being
evaluated objectively.
Having meaningful work and a sense of
purpose are vital to engaging the modern
workforce, so it’s important that organizations
help employees connect the dots between
performance processes and business goals.
Organizations that do have this alignment
are also much more likely to find their
performance management processes are
effective at driving better performance
outcomes. 1
How aligned are your
Interestingly, very few organizations (26
percent) have a formal performance process
in place for teams1 – even though it’s actually
easier to align a team with organizational
objectives than it is to align individuals.
With the help of talent development
technology, organizations can align
performance goals to strategic business
objectives, connecting employee
performance goals to broader team or
company goals to create relevance and
ensure everyone is working to achieve key
organizational outcomes. And by giving
managers the goal-setting techniques and
tools they need to ensure their teams have
clear, measurable and meaningful objectives
that align to the needs of the organization,
performance management technology gives
employees the visibility they crave into how

business objectives their work matters to the business.

with your performance

management process?1
How the shift to team-based
work is changing PM:1
Aligned or
Not aligned Organizations have a
highly aligned
35 65 % % or somewhat
aligned
formal PM process
in place for teams
26%
Highly aligned

Training and 35% organizations have

a formal PM process
communication for teams

are 1.5x more likely to be rated

1.5x effective or highly effective
in organizations where PM is
aligned to business objectives1

14 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 2

Facilitate Ongoing
Coaching and Feedback
Managers today are now being asked to go beyond
just “checking in” but rather to help employees learn,
develop professionally, advance their careers and
bring more value to the business.
 There is a disparity between the number of organizations that want
to shift to more ongoing, frequent performance conversations and
coaching–and those that actually do. The reason for this is that less
than half (47 percent) of organizations have a formal program in place
to train managers to become better coaches and mentors.1

Managers today are now being asked to
be effective coaches, which means holding
regular performance conversations with
employees that go beyond just “checking
in” to help employees learn, develop
professionally, advance their careers and
bring more value to the business. It requires
managers to acquire an entirely new set of
skills, and yet most managers aren’t being
given the resources and support they need to
succeed.
So, how can organizations help facilitate
conversations between managers and
employees throughout the year–and not just
at a single point in time during the annual
review?

Managers are being asked to A talent development platform can help

enable effective performance conversations
help employees with:
by giving managers and employees the
foundational skills and tools needed to
collaborate on goals, provide meaningful
feedback to each other, and promote

Ongoing Promoting career ongoing development and career growth.

development growth With 1:1 meeting and check-in tools, for
example, managers and employees have
a centralized, anytime, anyplace way to
track and collaborate on goals and projects,
exchange feedback, provide coaching, and
Collaborating Providing meaningful
discuss career development opportunities–
on goals feedback
on a regular, ongoing basis.

Yet...

Organizations that have Rate their coaching and

a formal program in mentoring programs
47% place to train managers
to be better coaches and
64% as ineffective or only
somewhat effective1
mentors1

16 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 3

Link Learning to
Performance
Learning and performance management do not merely
co-exist–they are dependent on one another.
Because the outcome of any learning should always be
improved performance.
 Learning and performance management do not merely co-exist–they
are dependent on one another. Because the outcome of any learning
should always be improved performance.

And technology can help organizations keep A recent LinkedIn study shows that:3
this hyper-connection between learning and

68%
performance front and center. By making of employees prefer
the link between learning, performance to learn at work,

expectations and desired outcomes clear for

58%
both managers and employees, everybody prefer to learn at their
own pace, and
can understand how development supports
the skills, competencies and organizational

49%
prefer to learn at the
priorities they are working to achieve.
point of need.

Whether learning is prescriptive or self-directed,

organizations can use Saba to place employees in the
driver’s seat of their own development experience–while
also managing and tracking all formal and informal learning
activities across the organization in a centralized location.

Learner Admin

18 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 4

Tie Performance to
Rewards and Recognition
More frequent performance conversations provide a
greater number of opportunities to reward and reinforce
desired behaviors and activities.
 The vast majority (86 percent) of organizations
already give rewards to recognize employees
86 % for good performance.1

So, shifting to ongoing performance
discussions is naturally a more effective way
to support reward and recognition processes:
More frequent performance conversations
provide a greater number of opportunities to
reward and reinforce desired behaviors and
activities. And technology can help support
new avenues for rewards and recognition,
including peer-to-peer impressions, badges
and points programs.

People who are recognized and appreciated are

naturally more motivated, committed to their work and
willing to go that extra step. Using custom badges and
impressions within Saba, organizations can enable fast
and effective peer-to-peer feedback and recognition while
reinforcing the values of the organization.

Employees Earn Points Then can choose rewards

All the while

reinforcing the
goals and values of
the organization

20 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 5

Connect Career Development

to Performance Management
An effective career development strategy helps attract top
candidates to your organization while also driving better
employee retention, performance and business results.
 Only about one-quarter of organizations today

25% currently integrate their career development and

performance management processes.1

But companies can give themselves a major Technology can break down the silo between
competitive advantage by doing so: career development and performance
management by enabling employees to
An effective career develop smart, relevant learning paths that
development strategy link their learning directly to individual
performance, competencies and career
goals. Employees can create career plans
for the short, mid and long term based on
their skills, interests and aspirations. A talent
development platform can then intelligently
identify skill gaps, recommend learning
while also driving
courses, and identify internal mentors to the
helps attract top better employee
candidates to your retention, performance employee so they can proactively reach their
organization and business results. goals and advance their career.

Promotions are given only to

top performers as identified
through our performance
management process

Performance management as a
part of career development

Promotions
are given using
a specific
How does your methodology
(e.g., 9-Box)
performance
management process
Promotions are given only link to your promotions
to those who have been in your organization?
selected by management,
and is a separate process
from our performance
management process

22 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 6

Measure the Business

Impact of Talent
Development
Talent development technology can help track a variety of
performance and talent metrics to provide insights into the
impact and effectiveness of the changes to your performance
management activities.
 Organizations are increasingly moving toward an ongoing performance
management approach–and for good reason. Not only does it improve
employee engagement and inspire better performance, but it can also
have a very real impact on the bottom line.

In fact, Brandon Hall research reveals talent development metrics delivered in

that companies that invest in ongoing
performance management improve revenue,
retention and customer satisfaction.4
But how can organizations go beyond just
tracking the completion of annual reviews
to measure the tangible business impact
of performance management? By using
technology to connect talent development
and performance management activities
to key business metrics, organizations can
demonstrate the business value of their
talent programs, linking talent development
and performance management to business
and people outcomes.
easy-to-understand reports, you can easily
track progress on goals, understand the
flow of feedback, measure the frequency
of 1:1 meetings, and stay up-to-date on
development progress. With goal reports, for
example, senior leaders can see the progress
of organizational goals, as well as drill down
into individual employee goals to see where
things are on track, and where things might
need adjustment.

Satisfaction
Customer
Revenue
Increase

Talent development technology can help

track a variety of performance and talent
70%

54%
metrics to provide insights into the impact
and effectiveness of the changes to your
performance management activities. With
72%

Companies that invest in ongoing

performance management improve revenue,
Turnover
Decrease

retention and customer satisfaction.4

24 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 Takeaways
Managers and employees have historically seen the
annual performance review process as a negative once-a-
year experience with a start and stop date, rather than a
valuable, ongoing employee feedback process that helps
them work and grow together.
Traditional performance management
processes are falling short of expectations
for both the organization and the employee.
By establishing an organizational culture
of ongoing coaching, feedback and
development–and closely integrating
performance management with other
key talent development activities–you can
create a high-performing, highly-aligned
organization that drives results.

Keep these three points in mind as you work to make ongoing

performance management a reality in your organization:

1. Start with outcomes.

This requires a new way of thinking about performance management.
Rather than thinking of all your talent development activities–such as
learning, rewards and recognition, and performance management–as
separate processes, start instead with what you’re trying to accomplish.

2. Don’t view technology as a “silver bullet.”

People, processes and technology are all key elements in the shift
from traditional performance management to talent development.
Technology alone won’t transform your talent processes, but it can be
a catalyst for change and a great enabler to transition from “managing
performance” to coaching for growth.

3. Build a connected talent experience.

By creating a continuous, connected talent development experience
you can give your people and teams the ability to drive their own
experience, while also keeping them aligned to the performance goals
of the business.

Get the Full Story

For more expert insight and analysis from Brandon Hall Group
and Saba on this topic, check out the on-demand webinar
Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development.

26 | Evolving from Performance Management to Talent Development

 Saba. The Talent Development Company.

At Saba, we know that the success of any Thousands of customers worldwide, in

business starts with its people. We also virtually every industry, count on Saba to
know that people need a different kind of engage their people, connect their teams, and
environment to bring their best to work every get the critical insight they need to prove the
day. So, we created that environment – one impact of talent on business success.
that’s built on strategy, aligned to goals and
designed for humans. An environment where
people and teams are in the driver’s seat of
their own experience. Where development is
part of their day, every day. And where deep
performance insight connects people to
business success.

Learn more at saba.com

References
1 - Brandon Hall Group 2018 Performance 3 - 2018 Workplace Learning Report. LinkedIn.
Management Study 4 - Brandon Hall Group 2014 Performance
2 - Kasriel, Stephanie. Skill, re-skill and re-skill again. Management Study
How to keep up with the future of work. World
Economic Forum. July 31, 2017.

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