By: Dima Hamodi, Customer/Partner Success Manager, CUBES Platform
Corporate performance management (CPM) is a concept that existed decades ago, yet its value keeps on increasing for all businesses whether small or large. Let us define it in a way that shows its beauty. CPM is an umbrella for processes and methods that businesses implement to align their strategies and goals, streamline workflows, and track success. It can be used as a solid foundation when monitoring and managing performance based on key performance indicators (KPIs), becoming a focal point for driving and maintaining growth.
Ideal performance management is both continuous and complete. Over the years, it has evolved rapidly amid a modern digital era where contemporary trends and technologies are continuously unveiled. This has led to fundamental changes in organizational structures, business models, the nature of work, and employee needs.
To this end, performance management tools have become popular. 360 Research Reports show the increasing worth of performance management tools and technologies. The report expects the global Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Software market size to record a 17.12% increase by 2027 to generate USD19454.4 million.
Trend #1 – Customer Voice Matters
Because the voice of the customer reflects the reality on the ground! Performance excellence is directly tied to the customer hence why it stole the spotlights as the number one trend of 2023 for effective performance management. To have clear insights into the customer journey, it is important to be able to clearly capture customer feedback and satisfaction and foresee customer emotions. How does this help performance management? Offering customer journey maps clarifies and defines central requirements based on practical customer needs and feedback by enabling customers to access forms, send emails, contact customer service, and provide feedback freely, interactively, and progressively.
Trend #2 – Work Smart, Not Hard
Sometimes, it is all about simplicity. Following overly intricate strategies or frameworks does not always mean a great outcome. On the contrary, simplicity and clarity often lead to better results. This principle specifically holds true when it comes to key performance indicators (KPIs), employing a concise set of KPIs makes the process more straightforward and ensures enhanced clarity and focus. It is also worth noting that incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Metrics into your framework increases the effectiveness of performance management. Businesses are now focusing on ESG in their strategic plans to identify the effects of environmental and social factors on their long-term business success. Remember, work smart not hard to achieve your goals.
Trend #3 – Single Source of Truth
Moving away from siloed systems and embracing an integrated approach to performance management gives you meaningful results: a single source of truth for a comprehensive view of organizational effectiveness. Unifying performance management systems across your organization fosters alignment and a shared understanding of organizational objectives. This, in turn, overcomes challenges born out of siloed systems such as data duplication, coordination breakdowns, communication problems, and difficulties in identification and resolution. A unified system improves efficiency and allows organizations to make better strategic decisions, accelerated innovation, and a more engaged and motivated workforce.
Trend #4 – Own Your Power
What more do you need for effective performance management? something essential to truly own your power: data-driven insights powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Having this kind of power provides reliable, accurate, and strategic insights that enable organizations to identify areas for improvement, make data-driven decisions, and enhance employee performance. By tracking key metrics and analyzing trends, intelligence-driven tools can uncover patterns and bottlenecks, enabling you to address issues early on and prevent them from escalating. Through owning this power, organizations can also predict future performance, further enhancing decision-making and their overall effectiveness and value. While AI plays a crucial role, it’s essential to remember the human factor, which remains indispensable in performance management.
Trend #5 – Old is Gold
SMART goals and objectives hand in hand with Balanced Scorecards (BSC) and OKRs (Objectives Key Results) are classic -fundamental- trends to achieve effective performance management. Let us start with getting to know them better, and underlining the reason these concepts are still GOLD as trends.
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals provide a framework for setting clear, concise, and easy-to-understand objectives. SMART goals are key for ensuring two especially important components: clarity and direction. Thus, driving performance and supporting a more solid and thriving business. It further facilitates clear expectations and is a way to reliably track progress along with aligning employee goals with organizational objectives.
Balanced Scorecards (BSC) provide powerful tools for integrating performance management across an organization. BSCs provide a framework for translating strategic objectives into a set of performance indicators that are measured, tracked, and reformed if necessary to meet the strategic goals of an organization. This classic, reliable framework is especially effective when aligning performance across departments.
Meanwhile, OKR is a masterpiece of a tool that helps in setting goals and ensuring effective performance management. Organizations are known to use OKRs in setting and enacting their strategies, as well as aligning their strategic goals with individual and team objectives. Through several elements such as focus, transparency, and visibility, OKRs provide a framework that eases achieving your business vision and reaching great accomplishments.
Leveraging a Complete, Effective Performance Management System
At CUBES Platform, we believe in the importance of providing a comprehensive analysis tool, a one-stop destination to find a unique system that covers all your needs and ensures that your performance management is effective. CUBES Platform solutions are designed to be transparent, reliable, and easy to use, empowering organizations to unlock their true performance potential. CUBES transforms the way we look at performance management, it constantly works to develop the best arms of governance through the latest innovations and powerful connectors.
The platform helps extend your reach through several modules including Strategy and Performance Management, Portfolio and initiatives Management, Risk Management, Compliance and Audit Management, Employee Appraisal, Surveys, Task Management, and Excellence and Awards Management.
Technologies & Tools
Performance Dashboards are great management tools for measuring, monitoring, and managing key performance activities and processes. Comprehensive dashboards offer real-time visibility into key performance metrics, enabling businesses to clearly identify trends and make informed decisions. Defined as a data visualization tool, performance dashboards support individual teams and management to join hands in achieving business goals and objectives more effectively.
The Survey Module is a unique way that CUBES developed to revolutionize data collection. It works to empower businesses to capture both qualitative and quantitative data through unlimited surveys and generate insightful reports. This tool fosters complete data governance, providing transparent and full visibility into the customer journey from hearing the voice of customers to capturing customer satisfaction. This centralized platform enables the user to effortlessly create, edit, publish, collect, and analyze an unlimited number of surveys, generating an unlimited number of responses. How amazing is that in uncovering clear and comprehensive insights? Not only that, but CUBES Survey Module also leverages the power to deliver a multitude of features and results.
Cloud-Based Performance Management is a compelling technology that can be your own little secret for superior productivity. It demonstrates in a clear way the performance of all employees thus allowing you to make the best actions and take strategic decisions for efficiency and productivity. Considered one of the leading solutions of our time, cloud-based performance management allows you to communicate with your team no matter where you are. You can also leverage this solution to obtain access to real-time data along with ensuring better scalability in your organization.
In Closing,
Performance management is truly one of the best modern discoveries we have witnessed, it stands as a beacon of innovation and remains a critical part of organizational success. What makes it popular is its ability to empower all businesses whether by optimizing their performance or by achieving their strategic goals. Effective performance management aligns individual and team efforts with organizational objectives and fosters a culture of continuous improvement and growth, exactly what a business needs for a thriving enterprise. A crucial point to emphasize: following your own way? Not always a path that guarantees success. Deviating from recognized and universal frameworks can increase risks, so try to stick to the basics to unlock the essence of effective performance management. It is like a game of chess. “In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before anything else”.
About the Author
Performance and strategy consultant addict! Working across multiple industries has given her the opportunity to overcome many strategic challenges by enforcing her engineering logical skills accompanied by mainstreaming gender which helped to improve many organizations that she touched. Dima is managing and leading the implementation team of Strategic Performance Management, Excellence, Risk Management, and Research Projects by introducing clients to CPM tools, Integration Services, and Technology Solutions. With a Master’s in Monitoring and Evaluation and a bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering and accreditation in Balanced Scorecard, Dima has created a thorough understanding of monitoring models.
