Insights

Manager Enablement: A Practical Playbook for Feedback & Performance

2025-09-26 14:34 Alignment & Collaboration Growth & Development
Managers signal engagement fall and insufficient trust in performance management processes

Crack the Nut: Redesign Feedback and Performance Management

Trends in brief:
  • Manager engagement dipped to 27% in 2025, matching the 2021 level.
  • 61% of managers have low trust in their organisation’s performance-management process.
These trends put pressure on productivity and execution.

How can organisations address these trends to improve performance?

Adjust the feedback loop to weekly check-ins

What: Introduce weekly feedback check-ins with monthly evidence snapshots. Annual cycles are not enough
How:
  • Run 15–30-minute 1:1 meetings to align on a small set of measurable outcomes.
  • Focus on two questions: What were the wins? What blocked progress last week?
  • Log work examples to build evidence and speed up application.
Proof: Manager engagement fell from 30% to 27% (Gallup, 2025)

Redesign the human performance equation

What: Consider a holistic approach to performance management that links human with business outcomes.
How:
  • Easy key tension in the performance management process: increase personalisation over standardisation; measure outcomes over outputs.
  • Make the process more agile: empower employees to shape development goals and track potential, not only predictability.
Proof: 61% of managers don’t trust performance processes (Deloitte, 2025)

Ready to enable your managers?

If helpful, book a short working session to map your context and identify smart opportunities.

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