Putting Wellbeing at the Heart of Your Performance Management

It’s never been more important for businesses to focus on the issue of health and wellbeing in the workplace.

While employers have always had a duty of care towards their workforce, the COVID-19 pandemic brought home just how important it is to ensure your people can do their jobs without putting their physical and mental health at risk.

There are many actions you can take to ensure staff wellbeing is a constant priority, such as making it a core theme in your performance management practices.

The link between wellbeing and performance

Long gone are the days when companies viewed workers as assets who could be used and deployed in whatever way generated the most benefit for the business.

Today, the most successful and responsible organizations recognize they have an obligation to protect their workforce and provide the time, resources and support people need to look after their wellbeing. This leads to benefits for the business in the long term, since employees who feel happy and healthy are more likely to be engaged, productive and loyal.

One of the key findings in Deloitte's 2020 Global Human Capital Trends report was that employers can strengthen the connection between employee health and organizational performance by putting the concept of wellbeing at the core of how they operate. The research showed the benefits that can be gained by providing support not only for individuals, but for teams and the entire company.

Wellbeing emerged as the most significant trend, with 80% of respondents identifying it as important or very important for their success. More than six out of ten companies (62%) said their wellbeing strategy has a positive effect on the employee experience.

However, there’s still scope for many businesses to raise their standards in this area, with 61% of respondents saying their company wasn't measuring the impact of wellbeing on organizational performance.

Some of the world's most successful and influential brands have recognized how crucial it is to look after employee health. A series of case studies collected by Bupa highlighted examples such as GlaxoSmithKline helping its staff to learn mindfulness and Emirates devising an aviation-specific psychological skills training program for its commercial pilots.

Incorporating wellbeing into your performance management

There's no denying the importance of employee wellbeing on an individual, team and company-wide level, so what actions can you take to make wellbeing a fundamental part of your performance management strategy?

Arrange regular check-ins

Performance management is most effective when it's a constant, ongoing process. It's not something that can be condensed into annual appraisals.

Make sure you have regular check-ins with your staff so all parties have plenty of opportunities to engage in honest conversations and raise any concerns or questions they might have. As well as helping you and other managers in the business maintain a clear picture of performance, this contributes to wellbeing by ensuring employees always have the chance to share what's on their minds.

In a survey of global workers by Mind Share Partners, Qualtrics and SAP, 40% of respondents said no-one at their company had asked them how they were feeling while they were working remotely during the pandemic. Those individuals were 38% more likely than others to say their mental health had declined during the crisis.

Provide feedback and recognition

Feedback is a crucial part of the performance management process. Your employees deserve recognition for things they're already doing well and should also be given the information and guidance they need to keep improving and developing in other areas.

This is key from a performance perspective, but it's also a big factor in your employees' mental wellbeing. If people are working hard and providing excellent results for the company but not being acknowledged for it, they're more likely to feel stressed, unhappy and generally negative about their jobs and their employer.

It's also important to remember that feedback should go both ways. Your performance management workflow should give employees the opportunity to share their opinions on the effectiveness of their manager and how the company as a whole is run.

When employees know their voice is being heard and their views are being taken into account, they're more likely to feel valued and respected. What's more, you could gain some useful insights that lead to positive changes in how the business operates.