What do you do if your IT team's performance evaluations aren't identifying high-potential employees?

We can't be too reliant on performance evaluations, KPI's and similar metrics. People and their competence is the most important aspect where i work. We need to be able to see the individuals and follow them up in a matter that develops and motivates them.

In most cases performance evaluations and KPI's is direct contra productive and add little to no value. If and when we create a motivating, healthy and safe environment that promotes inovation and performance we will alway get inovation and performance. If this fails we need to see if we have external factors or management problems.

La evaluación del desempeño es una forma de valorar el capital humano dentro de la empresa, a través de un proceso estructurado, guiado por métricas, y que mejora los resultados. Al evaluar, es posible identificar fortalezas y puntos a desarrollar por parte de los empleados. Cuando se utiliza correctamente, el análisis es una de las mejores formas de identificar problemas de liderazgo, integración de equipos y falta de capacitación, así como posibles brechas entre el empleado y el rol que desempeña, pero también sirve para identificar las oportunidades.

É essencial revisar o processo de avaliação em busca de falhas e áreas de melhoria. Estabelecer critérios claros alinhados aos objetivos organizacionais e oferecer treinamento aos gerentes para identificar o potencial dos funcionários são passos fundamentais. Promover uma cultura de feedback regular e aberto é essencial para o desenvolvimento dos colaboradores. Importante também desenvolver planos de desenvolvimento individual para os talentos identificados e facilitar programas de mentoria e coaching para orientação adicional. Atribuir projetos desafiadores aos funcionários de alto potencial e realizar revisões periódicas do progresso são práticas que ajudam a aprimorar a identificação e o desenvolvimento de talentos na equipe de TI.

If performance evaluations fail to identify high-potential employees in my IT team, I reassess evaluation criteria to align with organizational goals and career development paths. I incorporate feedback from team members and managers to ensure a comprehensive assessment. Additionally, I implement talent development programs, mentorship opportunities, and cross-functional projects to nurture and recognize emerging talent, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth within the team.

Regular Interaction with Teams, taking output from brainstorming sessions , in depth 1X1 and interviews to collate results and identify gaps would help to see the bottleneck, and will improve evaluating high potential customers

Understanding the employees contribution and their impact requires a careful understanding of their personality and how they prefer to receive the feedback. I found that feedback would not be received as constructive when given to employees with high pride of their work or if it is given to low performing employees whom they have no interest in improving. The high performing employee has a pride of ownership. Feedback should be in a form of encouragement. Where low performers tend to receive the feedback as they got caught, therefore, they put their defensive shield on and create problems. It is important when giving a feedback to understand the recipient in order to make a positive change.

I work with people to understand their strengths and encourage to grow in that role. To me, not everyone is same and encouraging in their strength is a win-win

Checar a rota durante a jornada é essencial em qualquer processo, e no desenvolvimento de talentos não pode ser diferente. O feedback no meu ponto de vista é a melhor forma de checar e reajustar rotas constantemente com o time e fazer o papel de tutor de direcionar os talentos para onde vão desempenhar melhor seus papeis. Como líder, o feedback também é uma saída poderosa daqueles membros da equipe que não estão interessados em se desenvolver. Garantindo o loop, você também garante o entendimento das regras do seu jogo e de onde você quer levar seu time.

Implement regular feedback mechanisms between managers and team members to identify strengths, areas for improvement, and potential leadership qualities, facilitating a more holistic assessment of employee potential.

Training programs, particularly those involving challenging projects or advanced skill development, have the potential to push employees beyond their current roles. This can uncover hidden talents and capabilities that may not be apparent in their day-to-day responsibilities. Employees with high potential are likely to embrace these challenges and demonstrate a thirst for learning. Training programs can also offer opportunities to develop leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, in addition to technical expertise. High-potential employees often use these programs to acquire a broader skillset that demonstrates their potential for future leadership roles.

Offer targeted training and development programs to nurture high-potential employees, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in their roles and prepare for future leadership positions within the organization.

Investing in tailored training programs can indeed be a game-changer for recognizing and nurturing high-potential employees. Generic training programs might not fully address the specific skills and knowledge that are crucial for success within your organization. To effectively recognize and develop high-potential employees, it's essential to design training programs that are aligned with your company's vision, goals, and values. These programs should focus on developing the competencies and expertise that are most relevant to your organization's definition of high potential.

According to my experience, analyzing staff well is not easy, we must rely on specific training to develop skills and knowledge to obtain a better work environment.

Look at the identified issues/gaps in service delivery against skill set and motivations of team. Work with team to identify a way forward with clear and achievable goals. I have found this can bring out hidden skills and show the development (training, mentoring etc) needs of the team.

Integrate succession planning into performance evaluations, identifying and grooming high-potential employees for key leadership roles through mentorship, stretch assignments, and career development opportunities.

Incorporate peer reviews into the performance evaluation process to gain insights from colleagues who work closely with high-potential employees, providing a more comprehensive and 360-degree assessment of their capabilities.

Promover um ambiente de trabalho saudável e inovador é responsabilidade de todos. Responsabilidade do líder está em buscar formas de reconhecer aqueles que tem o espírito mais inovador motivando a trazer soluções para a mesa, independente de julgamentos contrários e discutindo sempre com o time o lado positivo das soluções com o cuidado de não repreender este tipo de comportamento proativo.

Formar equipos o pares para que colaboren en la implementación de un proyecto que represente un desafio en donde puedan poner en la práctica tanto la parte conceptual, metodológica, uso de herramientas y la experiencia. De esta manera se fomentan el desarrollo de habilidades duras y blandas

Foster a culture of innovation and creativity within the IT team, providing opportunities for high-potential employees to contribute to innovative projects and initiatives that showcase their leadership potential and problem-solving skills.

The first reaction will be to upskill teams and or bring in talent to upgrade your team. Consider if teams are stretched beyond capacity and do you need to prioritize what teams should be working on. Your strategy may be too broad and teams are working on too many things which reduces the quality of their work and does not show case the teams true skill sets. Tightening the strategy the best of the best will float to the top and success can be achieved. Just food for thought.

Aside from the fact that performance reviews are pretty inane… If your performance reviews aren’t yielding high performing employees. It’s time to look take a look inward. How is the company hiring? Are you paying well? Is the work interesting? Do your managers take a mentorship approach? How is the company culture? People are complex and it takes a combination of factors to motivate them. It starts at the top with how the executives communicate and interact with employees. Typically honesty and transparency are the best policies to establish trust and expectations. If you can operate like this with clear guidance, trust, and autonomy your employees will perform highly for you is most cases.

Ensure performance evaluations are conducted consistently and transparently across the team, minimizing biases and favoritism. Encourage ongoing dialogue between managers and employees to discuss career aspirations, goals, and development opportunities. Provide recognition and rewards for high-potential employees to incentivize continued growth and performance excellence. Regularly revisit and refine performance evaluation processes based on feedback and evolving organizational needs to effectively identify and nurture high-potential talent.

Vários pontos precisam ser avaliados. No ponto de vista global: as metas e objetivos estão claros para todos para que os profissionais saibam o que fazer e entregar? Individualmente, eles foram treinados, estão capacitados e possuem o perfil para executar aquela tarefa? Na gestão, foi dado feedback periódico, plano de desenvolvimento individual?

Just one thought: Is it or will be possible to engage AI for employees performance review? And of course if yes why this is good? If no, why?