Complex factors this year has seen businesses protecting their bottom line, putting a laser focus on performance. But this extra pressure has meant that burnout and stress is more prevalent than ever before.
As organisations and individuals continue to grapple with the strains of the cost-of-living and a challenging economic backdrop, we recognise that you will be looking to do all you can to support your business and your employees.
In our latest Performance Management Report, we surveyed HR directors, managers and employees to understand their experiences with performance management throughout 2022.
By compiling the results, we have identified some of the key challenges businesses have faced and put together some helpful tips to help you avoid the perfect storm of poor performance this coming year.
Provide the right support
From our survey, we found that the vast majority (91%) of HR directors believe burnout is a significant issue, with 42% of the workforce feeling more stressed than last year. Organisations will have to make important changes to address this, or they risk the problem getting even worse.
Managers should make it a priority in 2023 to allocate time to have valuable check-ins with their team. This provides the opportunity to be able to give guidance and address issues around burnout and stress before they have a significant impact on your employees’ performance.
Give relevant feedback
Consistent, real-time feedback is an excellent way to identify employee accomplishments, particularly when performance is a company focus. Recognising employees for their work is likely to boost motivation, engagement and of course performance.
We also understand that performance is an essential element to avoiding burnout and supporting employee wellbeing – and being able to give relevant feedback is an effective way to work on this. Employees can use continuous performance management tools to set different conversation types with their manager so they can focus on specific goals.
Ask how you can improve
92% of managers we surveyed say they feel equipped or somewhat equipped to support their employees suffering from burnout. However, only 52% of employees say their manager helps them avoid burnout at work. This shows a clear need for managers to be more self-aware – and you can do this by adjusting your approach to performance conversations.
Encourage managers to ask their team what they could do to improve, or what they can do differently to support individual needs. Having this knowledge equips them with a better understanding of how they can tailor your approach for each team member, so they can better recognise the signs of stress and burnout and nurture their individual performance more accurately.
Adapt to hybrid working
Our survey found that nearly half (48%) of managers find it hard to manage in a hybrid environment. However, we understand that this new way of working isn’t likely to change. And according to the Office for National Statistics, less than half (47%) of people felt hybrid working helped improve their wellbeing in February 2022.
Struggling with a hybrid work environment shouldn’t delay managers in tackling performance issues or concerns around burnout and stress. A continuous performance management system gives managers the ability to set clear and realistic expectations with their employee’s, regardless of whether they are working remote or face-to-face. And real-time feedback helps to identify any issues around burnout or stress that could impact performance so steps can be taken before it becomes a problem.
Have blended discussions
With hybrid working being more widely accommodated by businesses, managers should look to explore other potential causes that can impact their employees’ performance. Work and personal life can start to blend when we work from home. A mixture of circumstances could be resulting in higher levels of stress and resulting in performance issues.
Knowing the true cause of your employee’s struggles means you can work towards a solution more effectively. And having regular conversations also means that any struggles that are noted can be monitored and discussed so support can be adapted along the way.
The stay interview
Why wait for the exit interview to find out what went well and what went wrong during an employee’s time with your business? Managers should have continuous performance reviews with their staff throughout the year, not just annually, to find out exactly what empowers (or hinders) their employees.
What about their role is engaging? What can you help them achieve in the near future? Do they feel recognised and supported? Having real-time feedback throughout the year helps you to discover new ways that you can help develop your employees and boost performance.
Speak with us
A continuous performance management system needs to be a staple in any organisation, particularly as we move into choppier waters this year.
Advanced Clear Review is an award winning solution that helps your business focus on performance and wellbeing by facilitating real-time feedback, meaningful conversations and agile goals to help combat burnout and stress.
If you would like to learn more about the findings of our Performance Management Report 2023, join our expert panel as they discuss the findings on Thursday 9 March at 14:00 GMT. Register your place now.