The world order has evolved constantly in the last decade and so has the dynamics of workforce performance management. What used to be driven in a traditional method has now gained a significant uplift with precision and what used to be hinged on the achievement of sales targets and KPIs; with very little in the sense of feedback or adequate development space offered to employees.
Shweta Rathore, Deputy General Manager, HR, Ajmera Realty and Infra India Limited, says fast forward to current times, performance management now correctly features regular one-on-one meetings with team members where the discussion revolves not only on the results, but also on career advancement, challenges, and personal development.
On the other hand, adds Shweta, a continuous feedback line must be maintained where any success is recognised, and negatives are combated without delay. “Besides that, it is also adaptive, and its survival requires an alignment with the company’s values to ensure that performance evaluation should not be limited to numbers, but also should reflect the positive participation of the team toward the larger goals and mission of the corporation.”
Keeping team motivated and avoiding burnout
Ajmera Realty as an organisation believes in employee-first philosophy, says Shweta. Their constant endeavor is focused on three key elements including developing motivation-induced productivity, addressing employee discomfort, if any, and healthy workplace ethics to avoid burnout as creating a work-life balance is of utmost importance, especially in the high-intensity world of real estate.
HR’s role in enabling managers to set SMART goals
At Ajmera Realty, Shweta recognises that effective employee development starts with setting well-defined SMART goals. As Head of HR, her team and she empower managers in the following ways:
- Training and Workshops: They organise regular goal-setting workshops to educate managers on the SMART framework and demonstrate how to align individual goals with organizational objectives.
- Customised Goal Templates: They provide goal-setting templates tailored to their business needs, ensuring managers have a clear structure to follow.
- Collaborative Sessions: HR facilitates one-on-one and team discussions between managers and employees to collaboratively define goals that are both ambitious and achievable.
- Technology Integration: By leveraging advanced performance management tools, managers can document, track, and review goals efficiently.
- Ongoing Support: We act as a sounding board, providing feedback and refining goals when necessary to keep them relevant and realistic in our fast-paced real estate environment.
“Our approach ensures that every employee’s development plan contributes to Ajmera Realty’s growth, fostering a culture of accountability and excellence,” she says.
Methods for monitoring performance and ensuring success
Monitoring is at the core of performance management at Ajmera Realty, Shweta shares. To track progress and ensure success, they utilize the following methods:
- Regular Check-ins: Managers conduct real time and quarterly check-ins to review progress, provide feedback, and address roadblocks. HR supports these sessions with structured guidelines.
- 360-Degree Feedback: We encourage a feedback-rich culture where input is gathered from peers, subordinates, and clients, offering a holistic view of performance.
- Data-Driven Insights: We analyze performance metrics to identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement, enabling timely interventions.
- Recognition and Rewards: Success is celebrated through our rewards and recognition programs, which reinforce positive behavior and motivate employees to exceed expectations.
- Mid-Year and Annual Reviews: Formal reviews are conducted twice a year to evaluate overall performance, recalibrate goals if needed, and ensure alignment with business priorities.
“By combining these strategies, we ensure that both individual and organisational objectives are met, paving the way for Ajmera Realty’s continued leadership in the real estate sector.”
Challenges in managing the performance and ways to address
Feedback is sometimes limited to reviews, explains Shweta, leaving employees in the dark about their performance in real time. “Feedback may be generic, unconstructive, or delivered too late to be useful. Personal biases can skew evaluations, resulting in unfair and inaccurate assessments. Managers may lack the time or resources to conduct thorough performance management processes. This leads to rushed evaluations, inadequate feedback, and a sense of overwhelm.”
Employees and managers may resist the performance management process, especially if they are perceived as being too complex, time-consuming, or unfair by them. Employees may not understand the purpose of performance management or how it benefits them. They may see it as a top-down process rather than a collaborative effort. Performance management software may be difficult to use, lack key features, or not integrate with other HR systems.
Performance management in the next five years
Looking at the future, Shweta sees performance management evolving significantly over the next five years, largely driven by technological advancement. “There have been impactful changes the way we assess, track, and develop talent in real estate, where both soft and hard skills are critical for fostering a progressive workplace.”
Shweta believes technology will play a larger role in measuring and improving employee engagement and well-being, which is expected to impact performance. “Focus on using digital tools to gather insights on employee satisfaction, work-life balance, and overall morale of the floor. This will allow us to be more proactive in addressing issues before they affect performance.
The future of performance management in an industry like real estate will be much more agile, data-driven, and personalised in coming years. It should be devised to empower employees with continuous feedback and development opportunities, ultimately leading to a more efficient and high-performing workforce that is better equipped to navigate the rapidly evolving market landscape.