Experts from ooba proved that HFMtalentindex’s 360-degrees-on-steroids approach works.
CHRO SA recently hosted a webinar, in partnership with HFMtalentindex, about their innovative feedback and performance management methodology. Dubbed “360 degrees on steroids”, the technique enables organisations to leverage this enhanced 360-degree feedback methodology to reap outstanding benefits.
Industry expert, psychologist and HFMtalentindex country manager Jaintheran Naidoo explained the difference between their method and the traditional 360-feedback approach, which essentially only gives an indication of an individual’s demonstrated performance at any given moment. What the 360-degrees-on-steroids approach does is also highlight the person’s potential performance levels as well as their ability to actually develop effective behaviours in the face of new experiences and new situations.
In a nutshell it illuminates an individual’s current potential and the extent to which they are living up to it, as well as their capacity to learn and adapt in a new role.
“If we consider a more traditional 360, the outcome is that we are able to identify our high performers from our not-so-high performers. Another element forecasts those same individuals' potential in the roles they currently hold and that allows the organisation to distinguish between high-potentials and low-potentials,” said Jaintheran.
He added that this allows leaders in a business to start thinking and talking about succession planning and answering questions about who to consider redeploying in the organisation. That way, they can also start reflecting on whether they made any errors in the recruitment process.
“The third element is learning agility, which gives the organisation a 3D view of an individual's performance, potential and ability to adapt to a changing environment. Not only does this method give you a sense of how well you can possibly perform in your current role, and how well you are performing in your current role, it also provides an indication of your likely performance in other roles within the organisation.”
The ooba case
Linda Roos, the head of human capital at ooba, explained why she and her HR team championed this approach in their organisation, saying they viewed performance management as a significant culture shaper.
“I know it's become a bit of a cliché, but we are working towards a growth mindset culture and our performance management system had to change significantly in order to make that possible,” she said. Linda explained how ooba moved away from performance rating systems on the basis that they wanted their system to not only achieve commercial results but also help people achieve personal and professional mastery.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure and we wanted a scientific tool to help us do that. We did not want a DIY performance management 360 system because not only is scientific data significantly more insightful, in our business, it is a prerequisite for developing insights,” said Linda, adding that adopting the new approach has been very successful and very powerful for driving change.
The agility component of the methodology was very important for ooba because it enabled them to show people that, while they might not have been currently achieving their performance potential, the number reflected they would be able to do so in future.
Real results
Said Linda: “It has really helped us with our talent strategy both in the way we manage our existing talent pool as well as how we recruit. We had an employee in sales, for example, who was performing below the required standard and, after doing an assessment we realised he wasn't a good listener, thus shouldn’t be selling. But we moved him into a different role that was more aligned with his potential and he is now thriving. So we have seen it in practice.”
Thato Matlala, an HR business partner at ooba, outlined how this helped them transform the antagonistic qualities of traditional performance reviews into an effective individual and organisational developmental journey.
“We considered all the things that are required for a person to be in balance, and thereafter ensured that our ecosystem allows for this. We broke it down into five domains, namely the social, physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs that every employee has and how we can meet them,” said Thato.
Thato closed the webinar by showing that, after introducing the 360-feedback-on-steroids methodology, the company achieved a 36 percent reduction in overtime spend, and 50 percent reduction in sick and unpaid leave in the following financial year.
