Employee Performance Management in Local Government
In recent years, the importance of employee performance management has been increasingly recognized by local governments. By implementing performance management processes that include regular check-ins, performance reviews, and development plans, government offices can help employees achieve their potential and contribute more effectively to the organization’s mission.
As local governments continue to face staffing challenges and strive to provide excellent services to their communities, building high-caliber front-line teams with effective performance management will become even more critical.
The Challenge — Moving Beyond the Annual
Review Process
Prior to implementing emPerform, this prominent city in Texas faced significant challenges with its existing performance review tool. The system was difficult to manage due to its lack of configurability and user-friendliness, making it challenging for supervisors to communicate with employees about their performance and provide feedback that could facilitate growth and development.
The city council recognized that they needed a more comprehensive performance management solution that would help increase the quality and frequency of performance discussions. The once-a-year performance review process was not sufficient, and they needed a better tool to support their goals.
“We were looking for a performance management solution that could streamline our review process and help our organization develop and better engage our talent base, emPerform stood out for its user-friendly interface and robust features that could meet our needs.” – City Director of Performance Excellence
The Impact of emPerform at the City
After launching emPerform, the city has experienced significant benefits for HR, employees, and managers.
Our employees love that development and career planning are part of the process in emPerform. They feel heard and seen. This change has boosted employee morale and engagement levels,”
City Director
Improved Performance Review Process
emPerform has greatly improved the performance review process at the city through the implementation of more regular check-ins. The upgraded process has increased communication frequency between supervisors and staff, simplifying the process for both parties and improving efficiency.
Their primary goal was not to reduce time spent on the process but to provide more opportunities for feedback. emPerform helped the city achieve this balance, leading to motivated employees and a clear path to success within the organization.
“emPerform has transformed our performance review process at the city. It’s easier for supervisors to track progress and communicate with employees. emPerform makes the process seamless and stress-free,” continued the Director.
Consistent & Frequent Feedback and Discussions
By using emPerform, the city has facilitated more frequent feedback discussions between employees and their supervisors. This has resulted in better clarity and understanding of job expectations, leading to improved employee performance and experiences.
“With emPerform, we have experienced a significant improvement in our ability to have frequent and meaningful performance conversations, it’s a substantial shift from our previous review process and the benefits are undeniable.”
Targeted Employee Development Planning
The city leveraged emPerform’s flexibility and configuration options to enable development-focused questions in both employee check-ins and end-of-year assessments. As a result, managers can create and track targeted development plans for each employee.
By focusing on the future and development, employees and managers are having more productive discussions, employees are getting the tools and guidance needed to achieve their goals, and the organization is able to better align and retain key performers.
Improved Team Communication:
Using emPerform, the city has strengthened communication between employees and supervisors by introducing more frequent opportunities for feedback and discussions.
As a result, the workplace has become more collaborative and supportive, fostering greater engagement, motivation, and alignment among employees toward the organization’s objectives.
“We wanted to give employees more opportunities for feedback, and emPerform has allowed us to do just that. While there was a learning curve, the result is a more collaborative and supportive work environment.”
The city is dedicated to continuously improving its performance management process so it can effectively manage its growing workforce. As part of their efforts, the city council plans to explore integrating a 360-review component and utilizing
emPerform’s Nine-Box Talent Matrix for succession planning.
By providing regular feedback and opportunities for development, the city is committed to equipping its employees with the necessary tools and support to achieve their goals.
Reduce your performance management overhead and better engage employee development with emPerform. Intuitive, complete & flexible employee performance management software.
