10 Performance Management Trends of 2022

Performance Management Trends

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Let these 10 performance management trends guide you towards the new way of working that is coming. The ultimate connectivity has changed the way we work, the way we manage our teams, and communicate within our organizations. The new world of work is not in the future, it’s already here and it’s shaping the workforce in various angles.

There are two paths to follow. One is to hold on to the old, which might lead to stagnation. The other path is to adjust and make changes. Our performance management trends cannot guarantee a road to success. But whenever tackling with difficult choices, a fresh change in perspective will help you move forward.

To help you move forward in 2022, we have gathered some performance management trends we see emerging in the modern workplace. Whether you’re leading a large team in a huge corporation or a small start-up, you’re forced to move quickly to keep up with the rest. It’ll pay off to anticipate the future in order to change quickly and successfully.

Millennials will take the lead

This might not be a new topic as a performance management trend, as it has been discussed for some time now, but 2022 is no different. Companies need to be adapting to generational differences. Millennials will become the largest percentage of the workforce in the U.S. This means more millennials will be taking leadership roles. According to a study commissioned by Mark Emmons & Millennial Branding, 27% of millennials are already managers, 5% are in senior management, 2% are executives. In 10 years 47% want to be managers, 7% want to be executives and 15% want to be business owners.

In a situation, where a great number of jobs remain unfilled, many millennials struggle to find their fit. Businesses are having a hard time hiring and integrating these young professionals in their everyday functions. Yet organizations need to adapt to these tech-savvy people in order to keep innovating and stay competitive. Offer millennials more autonomy and flexibility whenever possible. At companies where managers show sincere interest in Millennials as people, the organization sees an 8x improvement in agility, and a 7x increase in innovation.

Expect job-hopping

With the increasing number of millennials entering the workforce, prepare yourself for job-hopping. On average, millennials are staying 2 years at a company before leaving. Employees are more likely to stay if they’re surrounded by like-minded people. Invest time to create an amazing company culture to improve the situation.

Read our article about questions to ask to improve employee morale.

Work with freelancers

In 2022 prepare to work more with freelancers. In the U.S. alone 53 million people are freelancing. That’s 34% of the entire workforce and millions more will likely follow. For companies, it might be great news. Hiring temporary workers is cheaper, provides flexibility and access to specific skills. All this thanks to technology. 69% of freelancers say that technology has made it easy to find freelance work. It would be in your best interest to offer some sort of online workspace for your remote freelancers to get on board seamlessly with your team.

Mobile takes over

Within the next few years, the productivity industry will take up speed. Team management will be done more via mobile. For quite some time, the mobile industry has revolutionized how people live, now even more how they work. 62% of employees claim that mobile access to team information is essential for productivity. 46% say the use of mobile devices reduces the time it takes to do the job by an average of 30 minutes.

Partly because of the hectic lifestyle of constantly moving around and partly due to the need to be connected with the world, mobile apps are a great way to keep an eye on your workforce wherever you are. Moving team management into mobile gives you the opportunity to consume information when it’s suitable for you. Whether standing in a long line at the local coffee shop or flying from one meeting to another.

Annual performance reviews will lose its importance

Make continuous feedback the focus of your performance management efforts. Perhaps it’s time to ditch annual performance reviews all altogether. Do you know what your employees really think of your managerial style? Do you offer enough praise throughout the year, or do you just cram in all your efforts when your review is approaching? 95% of employees are dissatisfied with their companies appraisal system. Yet it’s often the only channel of feedback. Nonetheless, 65% of employees state they need and want more feedback.

With a clear positive correlation between higher level of motivation and timely accurate feedback, more managers will seek ways to give effective continuous feedback.

More emphasize on goal alignment

In 2022 we’ll see a growth in companies experimenting with the OKR, Objectives and Key Results methodology. As people are putting more emphasis on linking personal plans and the growth of company goals, the OKR is a great technique for goal alignment.

The new generation of tools helps managers set goals, connect these with personal, team and company objectives and track their progress. The technique is already used all across Google. It has also helped LinkedIn propel to a $20 billion company.

Welcome visual dashboards

As the tidal wave of information grows above our heads, as a performance management trend in 2022, it’s time to say bye to lengthy word files and hello to dashboards. TV Dashboards turn big data into smart data. So, it’s time to put more emphasis on information visualizations. Turn your team data into a landscape that you can explore with your eyes and get a quick overview. In Weekdone, we have developed team dashboards that show company-wide trends, but also team-members’ personal performance with a blink of an eye.

Transparency in leadership

Transparency has been growing as a performance management trend over a couple of years now. So polish your skills of honesty and transparency, which will be the most valued leadership traits in 2022 and onward. 52% of Gen Z’s and Gen Y’s state that the most important quality for being a good leader is honesty and transparency. Therefore, companies need to start embracing these qualities more. Take for example the Whole Foods and Buffer. These are great examples of transparent company culture. Among other modifications, they’ve implemented an open salary system. While this might be a bit extreme for many companies, you can start by making your own weekly progress, plans, and problems public. It gives a great opportunity for the whole team to see what you’ve been working on and what you have planned next.

Employee happiness

To tackle the U.S. employees’ stagnating engagement, it’s time to measure employee satisfaction and set employee happiness KPIs. According to Gallup, 52% of American workers are not engaged in their work, while another 18% are “actively disengaged.” This disengagement costs U.S. businesses $450 to $550 billion in lost productivity per year. To conquer the tipping point in employee engagement, it’s about time to have happiness KPI next to your sales KPIs. In 2022 measure your team-members job satisfaction regularly. Take immediate action whenever you see the indicator drop suddenly. If you’re using Weekdone progress reports, encourage your team to use the happiness ratings to evaluate their weekly happiness and job satisfaction on a scale of 1-5 stars.

Remote working

It’s quite likely that during the next year you’ll have at least 1 remote employee in your team. Flexible workplaces will become pervasive. In a short period of time, the proportion of people working from out of office has already grown by 80%. In the U.S. 34 million people work in remote teams. This number will swell to 63 million by 2016. This means your company needs to expand the digital footprint and harness new social technology. With remote teams, technology must become your best friend. Here’s how AgoraPulse was able to go remote.

What changes are you expecting to happen in performance management in 2022?

Based on the trends above and how your company has been running over the course of the year – what do you expect for your company in the new year?

Now is a good time for you to create an action plan for the new year. Think big picture goals and how you can support your team in achieving them. Team management software like Team Compass helps you maintain a healthy organizational environment – a trend we all hope grows in the new year! Try it for free.