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[Guide] AI in performance management

[Guide] AI in performance management

Learn to leverage AI for these specific workflows.

Mariam Mushtaq
October 28, 2024

Hello HR Brain Pickings readers! 👋

In today’s edition

1. Gift this AI x CX Event to Your CS Team! 🎁
2. 🚨 HR Fails Lessons in One-Size-Fits-None
3. 🔓 Unlock Resource | The Beginners Guide to AI in Performance Management
4. Recommended Reading 📚️

Gift this AI x CX Event to Your CS Team! 🎁

Here’s a gift for your CX and CS counterparts! After the incredible success of the AI x HR virtual series you loved, we’re excited to bring you AI x Customer Experience Playbook: Shaping the Future on November 6, 2024, from 1-3 PM EST.

The event upholds the same standards of excellence as the AI x HR Playbook series, diving into topics like AI-chatbots for customer experience and balancing human and AI interaction.

Share this event with your customer service teams—they’ll thank you for it! 🙌

🚨 HR Fails Lessons in One-Size-Fits-None

Welcome to this edition of HR Brain Pickings! 😬 We’ve all been there—an HR initiative seems like a great idea, but then... things go a bit sideways

But instead of focusing on the mistakes, let's look at what we can learn from them. From wellness programs to performance reviews, here’s how well-meaning HR initiatives can stumble—and how HR leaders can avoid those pitfalls.

1. The One-Size-Fits-All Wellness Program

🧘‍♀️ The Approach: A company rolls out a global wellness program offering free yoga classes, mindfulness apps, and therapy sessions to all employees. Sounds perfect, right?
😬 The Reality: What works for one region doesn’t always work for another. Employees in some countries may not have reliable internet for virtual yoga, or cultural attitudes toward mental health might prevent them from using therapy sessions. The result? A well-meaning initiative that leaves large parts of the workforce feeling disconnected.
🧑‍🏫️ Lesson: Wellness programs need to be localized to cater to regional preferences and resources.

2. The “Unlimited” Vacation Policy

👶 The Approach: An organization introduces an unlimited vacation policy to give employees more flexibility and promote work-life balance.
😡 The Reality: While it sounds great, in practice, employees often feel unsure about how much time off is acceptable, leading to fewer vacations rather than more. The ambiguity creates stress, and the policy ends up backfiring.
🧑‍🏫️ Lesson: Policies like this need clear guidelines and communication to help employees feel comfortable using them.

3. The One-Day Diversity Training

☕ The Approach: After a workplace incident, a company mandates a one-day diversity training for all employees, aiming to foster inclusivity.
💬 The Reality: A single, broad training can feel generic and disconnected from the specific needs of different teams. Employees might leave the session feeling that it was more of a PR move than a meaningful attempt to drive change.
🧑‍🏫️ Lesson: Diversity initiatives need to be ongoing and customized to the unique dynamics of each team and location.

4. The Forced Ranking System for Performance Reviews

📊 The Approach: A company introduces a ranking system where employees are evaluated against each other, with the bottom performers penalized. The intention here was ofcourse to motivate and provide a “winning” incentive.
😨 The Reality: Instead of motivating employees, this system creates a cutthroat environment, discouraging collaboration and fostering anxiety. High performers burn out, and team morale plummets.
🧑‍🏫️ Lesson: Performance management should focus on growth and development, not competition and fear.

5. The "Volunteering Opportunity" Policy

📦 The Approach: A company asks employees to volunteer their time during a busy season by working extra shifts in the warehouse. Posed as a "team-building" opportunity, the initiative aims to foster goodwill among staff.
😬 The Reality: Employees, many of whom earn minimum wage, feel pressured to work for free, leading to frustration and backlash. The request is seen as exploitative, especially for a highly profitable company.
🧑‍🏫️ Lesson: Asking employees to "volunteer" for extra work needs to be handled carefully, with compensation and transparency at the forefront.

Check out the real story behind this, along with other "HR gone wrong" examples here.

Do you have any HR stories or lessons to share? We’d love to hear how you’ve tackled similar challenges or avoided potential pitfalls. Drop us a note or reply with your experience—we might feature it in our next edition of HR Brain Pickings!

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced with company-wide HR initiatives?

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🔓 Unlock Resource | The Beginners Guide to AI in Performance Management

In this document: This document provides an overview of how AI tools can be effectively used to manage and improve employee performance, drawing from the latest advancements in AI-powered solutions.