There is an interesting article on the CIPD website regarding the impact of the economic downturn on performance management.  In parts the article draws conclusions from the data that I would be less certain about but there are two interesting points that I see.

First, performance appraisal particularly the management of underperformance is being seen as critical and second, hr managers are making use of the downturn to put their procedures and processes in order ready for the busy times again.

The interest in our 360 degree feedabck and annual performance appraisal systems certainly reflect the latter point with the last couple of months being record months for us. 

The former item intrigues me.  What is it about a downturn that makes managing underperformance more important?  The guess is that managers feel less able to carry underperformers in the downturn.  I suspect that some of this response is driven from a need to support selection procedures for redundancy programmes.  Organisations are looking at their performance appraisal data and finding it wanting.  A lesson for all of us would be that accurate performance appraisals benefit both the individual and the organisation.  But its too late to sow seeds in September.

Brendan