Will the alligators devour your organization in 2022?

It’s hard to navigate the swamp when there’s an alligator on your tail.

Pandemic restrictions, volatile jobs markets, unprecedented retention lows, supply chain messes, and inflation are chasing us into 2022. When stacked up against all that, performance management seems pretty trivial to most folks. 

So how do you shake the alligators off? The trick is having RIGHT performance management.

When March 2020 first hit us with sudden shutdowns and quarantining, thousands of jobs experienced massive pivots, from how services were provided to where employees worked. And it just kept going.

Adapting to the next big change has always been a valuable skill, but it’s a requirement now. Having a plan in place is key to maintaining some control over uncertainty, even when that plan has to be altered. When the gator is chasing you, having a map with a path you can modify is safer than just running recklessly through the swamp. 

Companies need performance management that’s robust and meaningful. That requires real consideration employee input, ongoing two-way conversation between direct reports and managers, and clear direction to workers that empowers them to build (or adapt) a development plan. This creates stability and trust, encouraging an investment in the success of the organization. Those employees are less likely to quit their jobs.

When phrases like “Turnover Tsunami” and “The Great Resignation” started getting thrown around this past summer, it was clear that retention was going to take a painful bite out of companies in just about every sector. Employees are demanding updates to their compensation, company cultures that value workers, and flexibility in their schedules or environments. 

Companies that prove they are willing and able to rise to the occasion are attracting the best in their fields and have lower attrition rates.

Providing the level of involvement, transparency, direction, and communication that coaching builds will provide clearer direction as you navigate the swamp. You need to know as soon as possible if someone can’t meet the needs of your customers or if they’re burning out. A clear path will keep your employees connected with management in a way that ensures everyone is doing all they can.

Gary Markle, chief catalyst of Catalytic Coaching Inc, is a speaker, consultant, author, and a business partner of Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee survey firm. Energage is The Washington Post’s survey partner for Top Workplaces.