Agile performance management has been adopted by large corporations such as Microsoft, Accenture, and Cargill for over a year.  Despite these large companies adopting, an agile approach and seeing positive results, SilkRoad’s The State of Talent Management Report has found that 84% of businesses are not agile and only 15% are moving towards an agile performance system this year. According to our report changes in performance management rarely happen since performance management is only an issue once a year. However, moving toward an agile performance system is not only easy; it can remove many issues in the workplace.

How to build a DIY Agile performance management system

Step one: Set goals and check in with managers

The hardest part of implementing an agile performance system is that you need manager buy-in.  Work with your test team to discuss how frequently agile goals and updates will be given, and set goals on what productivity increases your manager would like to see.  You can have your manager give you microfeedback on if the agile performance system is working and if goals are being met.

Step two: Start Small

Changing your performance management system is not an overnight task.  Which is why improving it is often pushed to backburner.  When implementing an agile system start small pick one team and work with one manager in the beginning so it’s easy to monitor and make changes along the way. At first educate the manager and the team about agile goal setting and microfeedback.  At first it’s okay for your manager and team to use inter-office communication such as email, skype for business, or an instant messaging service.

Step three: Scale up with HR Tech

Using inter-office communication systems can be good place to start, but implementing agile performance management software can smooth the transition to additional teams and give your managers and employees one place to set goals, give microfeedback, and record conversations between managers and their employees allowing managers to make informed decisions on which employees are ready for leadership or find employees that need help before it’s too late. Performance management software today can also give you important analytics that allow you to keep track of employee performance and engagement trends in your workplace.

For an in-depth look on how to build your agile performance management system listen to episode 8 of the HR TalentTalk podcast with Alexandra Levit.