Performance Check-ins During Uncertain Times

Economic uncertainty and fears of a recession may be weighing on your employees. They may be asking: If a downturn happens, will I still have a job? Will the company cut back? What work will get prioritized? Am I still focused on the right things? 

In times of difficulty, employees need timely, authentic, and useful information from leaders. If you have been training and coaching leaders to have effective performance feedback and development conversations with their employees, they may be better prepared to have these tough conversations as well. 

People leaders can apply the skills they have developed to deliver performance feedback to similar conversations—formal or informal—when they need to encourage, coach, and support their workers. These include:

• Clearly communicating the purpose and goals of a change,
• Addressing real and perceived concerns of fairness, equity or bias,
• Creating an environment where communication is relevant, timely, accurate and meaningful, and
• Listening to employees to understand their concerns and expectations. 

Managers may also consider taking steps such as revising or revisiting team and individual performance goals as the priorities of the business shift. 

For more insights regarding the important role manager play in communicating with and guiding their teams during uncertainty and the alignment of performance expectations, see A Glimpse Into the Future of Performance Management. For a deeper dive about leadership during uncertainty, see this 2022 article: Human Capital Matters: Communicating with Employees During Times of Crisis