Performance Management

The new functions of SuccessFactors are intended to eliminate some of the frequently criticized shortcomings of performance management programs. The newly created possibility of a regular 1:1 exchange between employees and managers is intended to ensure that activities, performance and targets remain on track throughout the year.

"Companies are changing their performance management processes at a rapid pace and forcing HR solution providers to follow suit"

explains Josh Bersin, Principal of Bersin by Deloitte.

"Additions such as SAP SuccessFactors' continuous performance management are a new type of tool that companies can use to improve agility, alignment and employee motivation in the modern working world."

According to Deloitte, 48 percent of the HR managers surveyed rated performance management processes as "weak" in terms of their contribution to increasing added value and improving feedback and personnel development.

As the focus is more on evaluating past performance than influencing future performance, traditional performance management activities are often too reactive and rigid to drive the workforce to high performance.

As part of the SAP SuccessFactors release in the first quarter of 2016, SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals will now be supplemented with functions for continuous performance management that enable employees and managers to easily ensure alignment, feedback and coaching.

"Like some HR functions, performance management has become cumbersome and overcomplicated over time - a dreaded annual deadline for many"

says Mike Ettling, President of SuccessFactors.

"Today, IT enables us to shape this situation in a completely different way and to better adapt it to the expectations of most employees in the company, who want more regular, more meaningful performance reviews.

We are used to exchanging opinions and thoughts in our personal networks. Why shouldn't we also be able to exchange ideas more effectively in the workplace?

I believe that if we put people at the center and support them - with the help of today's technology - to be successful, the whole company will be more successful in the end."

Continuous performance management in SuccessFactors Performance & Goals opens up the following possibilities, among others: Employees can take more responsibility for their performance - documenting progress, tracking performance and better aligning with business goals - to get the feedback and coaching they need to achieve and improve their performance.

Managers can get an overview of what their teams are working on and provide regular and effective guidance to employees. The HR department can track how often one-on-ones take place in an organization, remind employees and managers to conduct performance reviews, and provide guidance on effective coaching.

"All generations in our workforce, not just millennials, want regular feedback that both recognizes special achievements and identifies areas for improvement, and respond positively to this"

explains Megan Masoner Detz, Senior Vice President of Human Capital at NTT Data.