This is a shameless reference for one of my favorite Broadway shows - I've seen 3, so I'm a bit of an expert... Seriously - If you're stuck in a rut related to performance management, you can get strategic without really having to do too much work.  Here's your roadmap - it's worth your time, gang:

1. Make your process simple. Follow the rest of this to learn how.

2. Take all your MBO/metric/goal BS and re-position it as follows: The 5 Most Important Things.  If your managers could only talk to their employees about 5 things, what would those 5 things be?  That's your goals section.  That's section one of your performance review.

3.  Create a "section two" related to potential factors - come up with 4-5 things that everyone in your company needs to get hired and promoted, and if those things aren't there, fired.   Boom. Don't worry about making it perfect, because it will change and evolve over time.

4.  Get your systems in place that allow you to plot the two section review on an X/Y axis that creates a 9-Box grid.

What I just outlined is the hardest part.  Once you have that done, it's time to have some fun, and look strategic (hell, be strategic) with what follows below:

5.  Once your first performance review cycle is done using what's outlined above, run a "TALENT REVIEW" by doing the following:

-Plot everyone in the company on the graph that looks like the one that appears here (go departments/locations, etc. for large companies)

-Schedule and run a meeting with the managers you define as a leadership team for your company (or the specific unit you're focused on) and tell them you're going to discuss:

a. The overall chart including all employees.  ALWAYS start by showing them the overall graph, because it puts you in charge.

a. The highest performers in the top right box. (superstars)

b. The lowest performers in the company at all three levels (low performance with low potential, average potential and high potential - because one group probably needs to go, and something's broken with the other two).

Then stop there.  Sure, you could do more, but it gets overwhelming pretty quickly.  Follow that roadmap, and by the time you get to the talent review for the top 5% and the lowest 10% of performers, you'll be in charge of a conversation that's sure to get strategic pretty quickly - what do we do about the lowest performers?  How can we save low performers who have potential?  What about the highest performers?  How do we get them a bigger piece of the compensation and rewards pie?  Are the % in each box the right ones?

You'll be in charge of all those questions and more when you get to the Talent Review portion of the roadmap.  Strategy!  Provided by.... you..... But it doesn't happen unless you create it - which is why I'm doing this webinar this week on how to bootstrap a talent review and get started with Succession Planning.  Attend “Zombies, Grinders and Superstars:  The FOT Talent/Succession Review” and I'll give you a roadmap on this critical way for you to get strategic and change how your practice is viewed at your company.  I'll tell you how to set it up, run a session, etc.  

This one's on me - I'll get you started and you can steal my thoughts and make it better based on your world.

Register today - we're doing it live this Wednesday at 1pm EST/12pm CST. See you there, HR Cap readers.