Hybrid performance management emerges as top approach to boosting employee engagement

Employee engagement is a key priority for businesses in 2020, according to new research from Intuo by Unit4

Over half of organisations (56%) that use the hybrid approach to performance management have high employee engagement according to international research from Intuo by Unit4. Companies employing a hybrid approach scored 65% or more on engagement levels, highlighting that performance management processes can significantly impact employee engagement.

These findings come from Intuo by Unit4’s Employee Engagement Trends research that spoke to over 100 organisations in the Intuo HR network across the US, Europe and South Africa. Further insights were gleaned from analysis of user data of over 900 000 users from the Intuo platform between January 2018 and November 2019.

Of the surveyed companies that score low on engagement, 44 percent work with the traditional performance management process involving one or two mandatory conversations every year alongside yearly appraisals and a mid-year review. In contrast, companies that score high on engagement (above 65%), mainly work with hybrid appraisal processes (56%). In this model, conversations are light and not focused on competencies. A lot of awareness is created around leadership training and managers are coached on how to give feedback and the importance of objectives and key results. The differing results highlight that today’s employees respond best to modern appraisal models that encourage an open culture of feedback and communication.

As many as 66% of organisations indicated that boosting employee engagement is a priority for 2020, yet a third of organisations (32%) admit to not measuring engagement levels at all. This is further compounded by the fact that 43% of HR leaders saying their company is losing talent over disengagement, making it clear that businesses must measure engagement in order to make positive changes across the business.

Boosting engagement comes down to a few key important drivers according to the Intuo’s research. Job satisfaction has a major influence (73%), as well as shared values (64%) and the willingness of employees to commit themselves as ambassadors of the organisation (60%).

Tim Clauwaert, CEO of Intuo, said:

"Employee engagement taking business priority in 2020 comes as no surprise. High employee engagement can contribute to the company's growth and profit per employee, making it a critical consideration for today’s businesses. Boosting employee engagement, however, can be a challenging undertaking as every company has its own culture and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to achieving engagement. Technology can play a critical role here, enabling organisations to easily set up modern appraisal processes that are in-line with their business needs and engagement goals.”