What do you do if your performance management skills are falling behind industry standards?

1 Assess your current skills

The first step to improve your performance management skills is to identify your strengths and weaknesses. You can do this by asking for feedback from your peers, supervisors, and employees, or by using self-assessment tools such as online quizzes, surveys, or checklists. You can also compare your performance management approach with the industry benchmarks or the best practices of your competitors or role models. The goal is to find out where you excel and where you need to improve.

2 Set learning goals and action plans

Once you have a clear picture of your performance management skills, you can set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) learning goals and action plans. For example, you may want to learn how to use a new software tool for performance tracking, or how to conduct more effective performance reviews, or how to handle difficult conversations with low-performing employees. You can then break down your goals into smaller steps and assign deadlines and resources for each step.

3 Seek learning opportunities and resources

There are many ways to learn new or improve existing performance management skills. You can enroll in online courses, webinars, workshops, or certifications that cover the topics you want to learn. You can also read books, articles, blogs, or podcasts that offer insights and tips on performance management. You can also join professional networks, forums, or communities where you can exchange ideas and experiences with other performance managers. You can also seek mentoring, coaching, or shadowing opportunities from experts or peers who can guide you and give you feedback.

4 Apply and practice your skills

Learning new skills is not enough. You need to apply and practice them in your daily work. You can do this by setting up experiments or trials where you test your skills in real or simulated situations. You can also ask for feedback or evaluation from your stakeholders or observers on how well you performed and what you can improve. You can also reflect on your own performance and identify what worked and what didn't, and what you learned and what you still need to learn.

5 Review and update your skills

Performance management is a continuous learning process. You need to review and update your skills regularly to keep up with the changes and challenges in your work environment. You can do this by monitoring your progress and results, and by seeking feedback from others. You can also revisit your learning goals and action plans, and adjust them as needed. You can also look for new or emerging trends, best practices, or standards in performance management, and learn how to adopt or adapt them to your context.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?