05 Performance Management Reimagined: Supporting People Through Change

 

Performance in Motion: How HR Reimagined Appraisals During Transformation


One of the strongest lessons I’ve gained from my HRM studies is that systems don’t fail because they’re poorly designed—they fail because they no longer reflect the lived experience of employees. At Orion Tech Solutions, this became painfully obvious when the annual performance review cycle collided with a period of intense organisational change.

Digital transformation was underway.
New leadership priorities were emerging.
Teams were adapting weekly to shifting market expectations.

And yet, employees were about to be evaluated by a performance management system built for a world that no longer existed.

The old system—rigid KPIs, rankings, and numeric ratings—felt disconnected, demotivating, and outdated. This resonated immediately with the models and debates explored in my HRM module: during periods of change, static performance frameworks create misalignment, stress, and disengagement.

HR Director Leila Kapoor recognised this tension and responded with a strategic, people-centred approach that aligns closely with contemporary HRM and SHRM thinking.

From Listening to Insight: Understanding What People Need

Before reimagining the system, Leila did something foundational—she listened.

Through interviews, focus groups, and cross-functional workshops, she surfaced patterns that mirrored both my academic learning and workplace experiences:

  • Employees wanted continuous feedback, not annual judgement.

  • Managers needed coaching tools, not rating templates.

  • Staff needed clarity on success when goals were shifting.

  • The current system rewarded stability, not adaptability.

This echoed the research we explored during the module: annual reviews are increasingly seen as outdated, especially in unpredictable environments (Pulakos et al., 2015; Buckingham & Goodall, 2019).

Reflecting on this, I can clearly see how traditional systems fail to support learning, motivation, and agility—especially when transformation is constant.

Listening first ensured the redesign reflected real human needs, not administrative tradition.

Reimagining Performance: Applying Emerging HRM Concepts

Leila’s new performance framework integrated several contemporary HRM theories—many of which I learned during the module. These included agile HR, continuous performance development, strengths-based leadership, and employee empowerment.

1. Goal Fluidity (Agile HR Theory)

Instead of locking employees into annual KPIs, teams created short-term goals that could evolve with market and organisational realities.
This reflected a best-fit approach: aligning performance metrics to context, not forcing outdated measures onto a shifting environment.

Agile goal setting is strongly supported by Harvard Business Review and global SHRM trends.

2. Continuous Check-Ins (Contemporary Performance Management)

Bi-weekly or monthly 1:1s replaced once-a-year evaluations.
The focus shifted from “What did you achieve?” to:

  • What are you learning?

  • What’s blocking you?

  • How can your manager support you?

This reflects a shift from control to coaching—something heavily emphasised in emerging HRM debates and my academic readings.

3. Strengths-Based Feedback (Positive HRM Model)

Employees discussed strengths, development areas, and contributions to team outcomes.

This approach aligns with research showing strengths-focused feedback increases intrinsic motivation, confidence, and performance (Rath, 2007).

It also aligns with my experiential learning: people grow faster when HR reinforces what they’re good at and builds from there.

4. Recognition of Adaptability (HR’s Role in Change Management)

Instead of only rewarding outputs, HR recognised:

  • learning new tech

  • collaborating across teams

  • supporting peers

  • embracing change

This reflects global SHRM thinking: in transformation, adaptability is performance.

5. Learning Over Scoring (Developmental HRM)

Numeric rankings were removed.
Employees engaged in developmental conversations focused on skill growth, resilience, and contribution.

This mirrors modern HRM debates that argue performance discussions should promote learning, not competition or fear.

Cultural Transformation: What Really Changed

The result wasn’t just a new HR process—
it was a shift in organisational culture.

Teams collaborated more.
Managers became coaches, not judges.
Employees felt valued, seen, and supported.
Engagement began to rise.
Turnover decreased.

One engineer summed it up perfectly:

“My growth finally matters more than my rating.”

This quote highlights a critical insight I’ve gained from my studies:
HR systems shape behaviour, but human experience shapes culture.
When HR prioritises learning, people feel safe, motivated, and confident—even during transformation.

Critical Reflection: What This Story Reveals About Modern HRM

Across global HRM and SHRM debates, scholars argue that organisations must shift from rigid, compliance-driven systems to dynamic, people-centred frameworks. Leila’s approach reflects several of these emerging concepts:

  • Agile HR replacing bureaucratic processes

  • Continuous performance development replacing outdated annual reviews

  • Strengths-based psychology replacing deficit-focused feedback

  • Human-centred design replacing administrative tradition

  • Wellbeing and adaptability metrics replacing narrow KPIs

From my own perspective, writing about this through social learning helps deepen my understanding. These insights become clearer when shared, discussed, and critiqued collaboratively—mirroring how HR itself is becoming more participatory and community-driven.

What I Learned: People Are the Centre of Performance—Not the Metrics

This story reinforces several personal learning takeaways:

  • Performance grows when people feel supported, not graded.

  • Feedback works when it is continuous, collaborative, and strengths-oriented.

  • Performance systems must adapt as fast as the organisation itself.

  • Managers must evolve from evaluators to coaches.

  • HR drives transformation by designing frameworks that recognise human complexity.

Most importantly:

Performance management cannot be a snapshot from the past.
It must be a living system that supports people as they grow, evolve, and adapt.

Leila didn’t just redesign an appraisal system.
She rebuilt trust, strengthened culture, and aligned performance with reality.
This reflects the future of HR—strategic, human, and deeply connected to how organisations change.

References

  1. Pulakos, E. D., Hanson, R. M., Arad, S., & Moye, N. (2015). Performance Management Can Be Fixed: An On-the-Job Experiential Learning Approach. Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

  2. Buckingham, M., & Goodall, A. (2019). Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World. Harvard Business Review Press.

  3. Rath, T. (2007). StrengthsFinder 2.0. Gallup Press.

  4. Aguinis, H. (2013). Performance Management (3rd Edition). Pearson.

  5. Schein, E. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass.

  1. Harvard Business Review (2020). “Agile Performance Management: How Companies Are Reinventing Reviews.”

  2. Deloitte Human Capital Trends (2020–2024). “Performance Management in a Changing World.”

  3. Gartner (2022). “Driving Employee Engagement Through Continuous Performance Conversations.”

  4. McKinsey & Company (2021). “Reimagining Performance Management for the Future of Work.”

  5. Josh Bersin (2021). The New Performance Management Imperative.

Here are some curated videos that provide practical insights and expert perspectives on reimagining performance management during times of change 👇

🎥1. “Rethinking Performance Reviews – Marcus Buckingham | TEDx”

Explains why traditional ratings fail and how strengths-based feedback works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1G0zXf_0k

🎥2. “Agile Performance Management – Josh Bersin Insights”

Discusses continuous feedback and adaptability in performance management.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3bHfzRcjtI

🎥3. “Continuous Performance Management – Deloitte”

How companies implement agile performance conversations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVxJd2s1tC0

🎥4. “The Future of Work: Performance Management” – McKinsey & Company

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b3drHT1Mu8

🎥5. “Feedback That Works – Harvard Business Review”

Focus on coaching, strengths, and employee development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm1Wv0I1qqA

Comments

  1. Nimal Jayarathnage Sumeda Jayarathna - E268252 6 December 2025 at 06:38

    This is an excellent and deeply relevant exploration of how performance management must evolve during periods of organisational transformation. You have captured a critical truth that many organisations overlook: performance systems fail not because they are poorly structured, but because they fail to reflect the reality employees are living in. The example of Orion Tech Solutions shows how traditional appraisal systems—rigid KPIs, annual reviews, and numeric ratings—can become completely misaligned when business priorities and working conditions are shifting rapidly.

    Your analysis highlights the importance of listening before redesigning systems, and Leila Kapoor’s approach beautifully integrates modern HRM theory with practical application. The shift toward agile goal setting, continuous check-ins, strengths-based feedback, and recognising adaptability reflects some of the most progressive trends in contemporary HR practices. What stands out most is your emphasis on the human experience of performance—clarity, support, psychological safety, and meaningful dialogue—rather than traditional evaluation mechanisms. This aligns strongly with your HRM learning journey and reinforces the idea that effective performance management is ultimately about enabling people, not judging them. A very insightful and well-articulated reflection.

    In fast-changing work environments, what do you think is the biggest obstacle to shifting from traditional annual reviews to continuous, coaching-based performance systems—manager capability, organisational culture, or employee mindset?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kavishka Ratwatte6 December 2025 at 07:21

    I really enjoyed this article. You did a great job connecting real-life workplace stories with current HRM theories. Just one thing: if you threw in a quick mention of specific academic models, it’d make your points about continuous feedback and agile goal-setting even stronger. That extra touch would back up your arguments with more academic weight but still keep things practical. All in all, really sharp work!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yohan Maleesha (E146329)6 December 2025 at 20:33

    Your article gives a fresh and thoughtful perspective on reimagining performance management for modern workplaces. I particularly appreciated how you challenge traditional annual reviews and instead advocate for continuous feedback, real-time coaching, and more frequent check-ins to support growth and accountability.

    The emphasis on making performance conversations more human-centered — focusing on development, strengths, and purpose — is a powerful reminder that employees do better when they feel seen, supported, and trusted. Your ideas make a compelling case for why organizations should shift toward more agile, growth-focused performance systems.

    ReplyDelete

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