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Talent Management icon

Redefine Performance Management

Create a customized approach to performance management that drives organizational success and enhances the employee experience.

  • Leaders know effective performance management (PM) is essential to the business but continue to struggle to find what works for their organization’s context. This leads to organizations regularly changing and adding PM processes and practices without a defined plan or purpose. When PM doesn’t have a clear purpose, it aims to serve every possible goal and ends up serving none.
  • Many organizations emphasize the process of PM, focusing primarily on formal evaluations and documented goals, and fail to adequately recognize the human experiences that make PM effective – psychological safety, trust, and ongoing coaching and feedback (and many more).

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst.


  • Get on-demand project support
  • Get advice, coaching, and insight at key project milestones
  • Go through a Guided Implementation to help you get through your project

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Strategic performance management goes beyond a well-defined process – it looks below the surface at the human experience of PM. Balancing a process-driven and human-centric approach drives success and employee engagement through healthy performance conversations centered on growth and development.

Impact and Result

  • This research will help HR craft a PM philosophy statement that clearly outlines the organization’s approach to PM in alignment with strategic objectives.
  • It will guide HR in designing a human-centric PM framework to enhance coaching and feedback conversations and build relationships between leaders and employees centered on psychological safety and trust.
  • It will support HR in equipping leaders and employees with the skills and resources to engage in meaningful coaching and feedback conversations to drive employee and organizational performance.

Redefine Performance Management Research & Tools

1. Define the performance management philosophy

Engage with key players, collect strategic insights, establish performance management objectives, and craft a philosophy statement that reinforces strategic objectives and aligns with the organization’s culture.

2. Design the performance management framework

Define and plan the foundation of the performance management framework, establish the organization’s approach to performance evaluations, and determine how the organization will develop and monitor employee performance through effective coaching and feedback.

3. Launch the performance management framework

Build performance management capabilities through L&D initiatives, adapt talent management programs, confirm responsibilities, create an action and communication plan, and gather and monitor data to verify the impact of the performance management framework.


Performance Management

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This program has been approved for continuing professional development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).

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McLean & Company is recognized by SHRM and can award Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®.

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HR Certification Institute's® (HRCI®) official seal confirms that McLean & Company meets the criteria for pre-approved recertification credit(s) for any of HRCI’s eight credentials, including SPHR® and PHR®.

How to complete this course:

Use these videos, along with the Project Blueprint deck above, to gain an understanding of the subject. Start with the Introduction, then move through each of the Course Modules. At the end of each Module, you will be required to complete a short test to demonstrate your understanding. You will complete this course when you have completed all of the course tests.

  • Number of Course Modules: 6
  • Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 hrs

Learning Outcome

Learners will develop the potential structures and building blocks for modern performance management.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

  • Evaluate the current state of their organization’s performance management framework.
  • Identify the building blocks of performance management and tailor them to organizational culture and strategy.
  • Align HR processes with modern performance management best practices.
  • Develop communication, change management strategies, and training to successfully transition to a modern performance management framework.

Course Modules

Now playing

Performance Management - Introduction: Shift to a performance management approach tailored to your organization

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Performance Management Module 1: Prepare to change the PM framework

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Performance Management Module 2: Design the mandatory elements of a PM framework

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Performance Management Module 3: Design the optional elements of a PM framework

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Performance Management Module 4: Align related HR programs

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Performance Management Module 5: Communicate and train to manage change


Workshop: Redefine Performance Management

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Prepare to Customize the PM Framework

The Purpose

  • Assess the current state of the PM framework and identify challenges, goals, and metrics.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Current-state assessment across PM building blocks
  • PM goals and metrics identified
  • Changes identified to PM process

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Assess the existing PM framework and identify challenges.

  • Current-state assessment
1.2

Define the organization’s PM goals and metrics.

  • Goals and metrics
1.3

Tailor the PM process.

  • Tailored PM process

Module 2: Customize the PM Framework

The Purpose

  • Clarify the approach to goal management competencies and feedback and coaching.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Approach to goal management defined
  • Role of competencies in PM identified
  • Feedback and coaching activities selected

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Clarify the approach to goal management.

  • Goal setting, competency, and feedback and coaching building blocks customized
2.2

Define the role that competencies will play in PM.

2.3

Assess current feedback and coaching activities.

Module 3: Customize the PM Framework

The Purpose

  • Determine the role of crowdsourced feedback and ratings and calibration meetings.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Role of crowdsourced feedback determined
  • Rating scales are developed
  • Plan for calibration meetings established

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Determine whether crowdsourced feedback will be used.

  • Crowdsourced feedback and ratings building blocks customized
3.2

Determine if ratings will be used and develop a rating scale.

3.3

Plan for calibration meetings.

  • Approach to calibration defined

Module 4: Align New PM Framework

The Purpose

  • Evaluate the alignment of HR practices with PM and confirm accountabilities for key stakeholders.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Plan for alignment with HR practices established
  • Stakeholder accountabilities confirmed

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Evaluate the alignment of other HR practices with PM.

  • Action items to align HR practices with new PM framework identified
4.2

Confirm key accountabilities for key stakeholders.

  • Stakeholder accountabilities confirmed

Module 5: Next Steps and Wrap-Up

The Purpose

  • Plan to respond to pushback and customize performance review and PIP template, and develop a communication plan.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Plan to respond to pushback established
  • Performance review and PIP template customized
  • Action and communication plan drafted

Activities

Outputs

5.1

Prepare to respond to pushback.

5.2

Customize performance review and PIP templates.

  • Customized performance review and PIP templates
5.3

Develop an action and communication plan.

  • Action and communication plan created
Redefine Performance Management preview picture

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company is an HR research and advisory firm providing practical solutions to human resources challenges via executable research, tools, diagnostics, and advisory services that have a clear and measurable impact on your business.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your HR problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst

Get the help you need in this 3-phase advisory process. You'll receive 7 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Define the performance management philosophy
  • Call 1: Discuss strategic insights and identify performance management needs.
  • Call 2: Identify performance management objectives and craft the philosophy statement.

Guided Implementation 2: Design the performance management framework
  • Call 1: Determine performance criteria and map out the performance cycle.
  • Call 2: Select methods for evaluating performance and determine the use of ratings.
  • Call 3: Define the organization’s approach to coaching and feedback.

Guided Implementation 3: Launch the performance management framework
  • Call 1: Decide how to roll out the new framework.
  • Call 2: Confirm and communicate performance management responsibilities for HR, managers, and employees.

Contributors

  • Jennifer Baar, Sr. Human Resources Business Partner, SMART Technologies
  • Anne Feeley, VP of Talent Management, Revvity
  • Ashley Goodall, Author & Leadership Expert, Nine Lies About Work, The Problem with Change and the Essential Nature of Human Performance
  • Melony Johnson, Senior Manager, Learning & Development, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions
  • Jennifer McMillan, Senior Manager, Talent & Learning Development, Article
  • Kerry Pletch, HR Manager, Talent & Organizational Development, The City of Guelph
  • Karey Reilly, Director of Talent Management, Calgary Board of Education
  • Teresa Roche, CHRO, City of Fort Collins
  • Tara Thibodeau, Human Resources Manager, Town of Cochrane
  • Dr. Tim Wigham, Head of Performance Improvement, EXCEED

Search Code: 74692
Last Revised: March 13, 2025