The most business-oriented of HR practices: performance management.

Performance management creates added value for the organisation, the teams and the employees.

When we talk about performance management, we still too often think of it as an HR process, a tool, a form or an annual review. This is a real missed opportunity!

Performance management is not an HR tool. It's a strategic lever for organizational alignment and performance.

Without performance management, the strategy remains a PowerPoint presentation. It's well-formulated, well-presented… but poorly implemented in day-to-day work.

A direct link between strategy and execution

Organizational performance isn't solely driven by financial indicators or strategic dashboards; it's built through the daily work of teams and individuals.

Organizations that master performance management are up to four times more likely to achieve their critical objectives.

Why? Because performance management enables you to:

• Translate strategy into concrete priorities

• Align efforts where value is truly created

• Reduce dispersion, overactivity, and misunderstandings

In other words, organizational KPIs are outputs, while performance management is an input.

Who should take the lead in this practice?

This is where the problem arises in many organizations. Performance management is often entrusted to HR, but it cannot be their sole responsibility. The primary responsibility lies with the leadership team. Why? Because talking about performance management means talking about:

• Strategic priorities and trade-offs

• Business expected results

• Value creation

The leaders have to:

• Define objectives

• Clarify success criteria

• Ensure alignment and cascading within the organization

• Empower managers with it

HR plays a crucial, but different role:

• Structure and professionalize the approach

• Equip and support the managers

• Ensure consistency with other HR practices

I want to emphasize that HR should not be the sole advocate for this practice.

Creating value on three levels

When well-conceived and implemented, performance management creates value on several levels:

For the organization:

• Clear alignment between strategy, objectives and execution

• Better allocation of talent, effort and energy

• Increased ability to prioritize and make decisions

Performance management is a significant business lever.

For managers and teams:

• A true leadership tool, not an administrative ritual

• A clear framework for providing feedback and adjusting expectations

• A way to reduce ambiguity, misunderstandings and unnecessary tension

Performance management facilitates team management.

For individuals:

• A clear understanding of what is expected

• A sense of fairness and recognition

• A lever for professional and personal development

  
  

Performance management is no longer perceived as vague pressure, but as a structuring framework.

In conclusion

Performance management is, in my opinion, the most business-oriented HR practice there is. Precisely because it goes far beyond HR. It's about organizational alignment and performance.

Are you still not convinced of the importance of investing in this practice now? Or does your current performance management still resemble an administrative exercise?

Contact me, I would be happy to discuss it with you.