Workplace environments are in a state of rapid transition. As companies like Accenture and Adobe catch on to the importance of consistent feedback and informed conversations, more businesses have realized that in order to maintain top talent, they must transform their performance management structures.

Companies that aim to evolve their performance management structures have a big challenge ahead of them. The reality is when feedback models change, the entire business and the way leaders look at goals and success changes too. That being said, HR plays an integral role in encouraging enterprise leaders to make the change and facilitating a smooth transition. Here are four ways HR leaders can get involved:

1. Build a business case

Since HR leaders are typically in the know about employee turnover and satisfaction, they are in the perfect position to create a business case for performance management changes in the first place. David Rock, director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, told Human Resource Executive Online that the first step is to determine what leaders expect to achieve from their existing performance management structures.

Once those goals are identified, HR leaders can then conduct analysis to determine if those objectives are actually being achieved, and then build a business case to offer an alternative, more effective approach. Additionally, HR is responsible for communicating the strategic benefit of new structures. As our white paper, “Performance Management and Goals” explains, there are five key benefits of ongoing performance development™:

• Smarter planning with increased employee engagement, motivation and clarity of purpose
• Greater visibility across silos
• More informed discussions
• Higher innovation and less personal risk
• Improved intrinsic motivation

2. Facilitate training programs

Once an enterprise determines the importance of evolving their performance evaluation standards, the next step is to begin training managers to implement the new structure. This is crucial, because managers have a direct effect on employee engagement throughout an organization. In fact, research from Gallup showed managers are responsible for 70 percent of variance in employee engagement. If managers aren’t on board with or prepared to facilitate continuous feedback, organizations are unlikely to be successful. HR leaders play an integral role in this process, and should help ensure sufficient training before any official roll-out of new processes.

“Managers have a direct effect on employee engagement.”

3. Evaluate employee feedback

HR leaders must also ensure any changes to the performance management process actually work. One key reason to move to ongoing coaching and performance development through interactive goal setting software is to improve employee engagement and retention. As a result, HR leaders should conduct anonymous surveys and in-person interviews with staff to get an honest gauge of how the new model works and where there is room for improvement.

4. Communicate the benefits

As an organization becomes accustomed to a more frequent, ongoing performance development process, HR leaders should communicate the positive benefits to both existing and potential employees, as well as provide consistent, data-driven updates to executives. Today’s employees want a clear understanding of upward mobility and their long-term growth within a company. HR leaders have the opportunity to communicate this and the advantages of working for a company that has a modern approach to growth and evaluations during initial interviews and ongoing conversations.