Before the pandemic, performance management seemed to be more straightforward. You had certain expectations of employees and you reacted depending on whether they met them or did not. But with the pandemic came the recognition that employees have lives outside of work. Systems grew more compassionate. Employees felt empowered to quit if they didn’t feel seen and heard. At a From Day One conference in Seattle, a panel of experts talked about how their companies have handled performance management in these turbulent times.

Staff development was one of the biggest areas of change at Microsoft, said Ki Thompson, global leader of diversity and inclusion for executive engagement. Before, they would hire based on needs. Now, they look at overall corporate strategy, which existing staff may have needed skills, and what competencies they need to acquire to move the organization forward. The company is also changing job descriptions to match future goals and “intentionally working to develop that talent for the future,” he said. “We can’t necessarily buy talent now. We have to develop it internally instead. We have 220,000 employees. I’m sure we have the skill set internally to move forward.”

The pandemic brought more compassion to a lot of business policies. At Talkspace, the online mental-health company, leaders strive to find the middle ground between performance and compassion, said Aidan McMahon, the director of employer sales. Sales can be hyper-competitive, she said, and it can be difficult to find that line between business goals and empathy and compassion. McMahon said that knowing that she tends to fall on the empathy side of that spectrum, she makes sure to work the expectations side of management as well.  

You can’t be all one thing and succeed, said Nicole Tanzillo, co-founder and chief operating officer of the leadership-development company Ceresa. There is an internal slogan used in the company that “clear is kind,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many conversations I've been in at the team- member level and at the leader level where both sides are frustrated because it seems there are unspoken expectations. Our employees are amazing and talented, but they aren’t mind readers.”

Being clear about expectations is critical, Tanzillo said. “You don't have to have a full-blown competency matrix and progression plan, but having clarity around the outcomes that we need someone to drive is critical. We have to talk about how we can get there.” Those conversations are not as common as they should be. “If we're all guessing, it’s hard and stressful.”

“We have always had a culture of care at Hearst,” said Maris Krieger, the company’s senior director of talent programs. “It wasn’t ever all about performance and then with the pandemic a sudden shift to empathy. We had it before. But we did become more patient and flexible.” The company didn’t do any RIFs or furloughs or pay cuts during that time. Now the business environment is changing, and people will have to demonstrate their value to the company going forward. But she said that doesn’t mean the company won’t still be patient and flexible.

Changing performance management to be more compassionate doesn’t mean there aren’t clear measurements of success. Julie Johns, who is in charge of talent acquisition for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said she thinks about performance as the what and the how. “What is your role, what are you trying to achieve, and what are the outcomes you are striving for? I want to know what ‘good’ looks like to them and what success means to them. Where are they making progress and where aren’t they? I want to know too, how they show up and whether and how they collaborate. Do they bring people along and bring people in? When you aren’t talking about hard numbers, like sales, it isn’t black and white. But you do have to have clear expectations. And I think that moving away from having these conversations just once a year is a good idea. The more conversations you have, the fewer surprises can occur.”

The criteria on which you base measurements should change over time, said Thompson. “I used to have development plan conversations with people and one of the top competencies that would come up was the balcony and the dance floor.” That is, about micromanaging what is happening on the dance floor, or looking at something from the perspective of the balcony. “When leaders are trying to develop this competency, it is easy to say, well if a worker is remote, I can’t be micromanaging. But if you are still checking in and emailing them constantly, you are.”

If you can’t be in a room full of people, but instead have to influence them remotely, the results might be different, and your criteria for success should reflect that, he added. “Adjust the performance criteria to meet the world we are in today.”

One misstep Tanzillo said she made early on was in trying to develop balance between being more directive and telling before asking, versus someone who connects with someone first, understands their world, and then works with them to create expectations. Questions she might ask now: How are you doing? How do you think things are going for you here? How can we help you bridge any gaps? These questions can help create a connection that leads to very different conversations than walking in and telling someone that you’ve noticed something about their behavior or performance. “Almost certainly, they are aware of problems and probably feel worse about it than you. Creating a connection makes it a different conversation.”

You hire people because they are smart and good at what they do, said Johns. “When things aren’t going well, call it out early and often. Don't wait for it to pile up into something bigger.”

If there is one truth about the last three years, it is that we now understand the impact of mental health on work and workers. Krieger said at Hearst, they understood the additional stressors that were put on employees, and they added more benefits related to childcare and well-being. “What we didn’t do well was figure out how to make these perks work in the new world of work. We had all these wonderful well-being webinars for people, but they had no time to attend them. That was really annoying. We tried, but we still have work to do.”

Mental health is always a factor, even when we aren’t in the middle of a pandemic, said McMahon. “When you have a team member who may have performance not going in the direction you want, don’t assume it’s because they don’t care or aren’t working hard. Often it’s something deeper.” 

You can have a huge impact on them just by having a conversation, she said. Ask if there is anything you can do to support them. Be ready to provide them with resources. 

McMahon also recommends modeling the words and behavior of self-care. “When I need a mental health day, I tell them I am taking a mental health day. They respect that and support me. In turn, they will also ask for mental health days. I encourage people to do what they need to take care of themselves. For me, it is often taking a walk to clear my head. I do that and I come back like a completely new person.”

Lisa Jaffe is a freelance writer who lives in Seattle with her son and a very needy rescue dog named Ellie Bee. She enjoys reading, long walks on the beach, and trying to get better at ceramics.