How has your company linked Performance Management to career growth, and do you have any tips for using Performance Management as a career growth enabler?

I enjoyed reading the answers given by the community members so far - Malina, Linn, Matthew, Lynn, Aparupa. In my experience, Performance Management to Career Growth is and should be a natural progression. It is the meaningful conversation b/w the individual & the manager that drives it and not just the structure or framework. 

To have this progression in dialogue from performance to career, we need to equip managers and people in the organization. Let me put below what I have articulated on this topic within my organization:

Performance Enablement (Not Management) if it has be purpose driven, there are 3 transitionary stages:

Stage 1 - Performance Conversation: Examples are Align Work priorities and measurable key results, Resources made available to do the job well

Stage 2 - Development Conversation: Examples are Explore opportunities to enhance the individual's ability to perform, Shared ownership of an individual development plan

Stage 3 - Career Conversation: Examples are Discover what is important in the individual’s career, Empower the individual to learn and grow in line with aspiration

I transition through each of these stages. The common denominator to go through these transitionary stages is 'CONTINUOUS DIALOGUE'. The continuous dialogues will get meaningful when Trust, Psychological Safety and Willingness to Grow are demonstrated. 

What we have as a process, to compliment the PMP and yet with focus on employees' development is Career Conversations. Career conversation is a separate from year-end conversation meeting between the employee and the manager, where employee shares where and how they would like to develop - certain role,  certain area, learn new skill, upskill further in particular area, etc. While performance conversation is focused on the past (how the employee has done the job, success stories, gaps, etc), career conversation focuses on the future - what employee would like to do further and what kind of support might have from the manager and company - learnings, assignments, trainings, job swaps, project work, etc. 

If you do not have such process in the company, e.g. during the performance mid-year check can be discussed strengths the employee has, any skill gaps as a form of feedback. Then build on how the employee can continue developing and applying his strengths (we always like to apply what we are good at :) and what else they can do to be better in their job. 

What I encourage people managers to do during these conversations (it can be done even during dedicated 1-on-1 meeting) is to always ask first, listen carefully and create a safe space people to share how they would like to grow further. Only after that propose idea, solution, learning, etc. 

Unfortunately even HR people get in the trap to suggest roles, trainings, etc, without even listening to what people would like to do or imagine their development. 

Based on the above - the real growth enabler is not the process (it's just the tool), but the supportive environment and skilled managers. 

We link performance management with growth in a counterintuitive way, by bifurcating goals relating to business objectives (performance impacting like sales targets) and goals relating to personal development (growth-focused like learning data analysis). This has been useful for us because many leaders can mistake high performance with growth potential. 

Both types of goals are discussed and shared between leaders and employees, but only the business objectives directly impact the performance rating the individual receives. We have room to grow in our tracking as well, but ideally you record goals year-over-year and make this data accessible to leaders, employees and HR.

We have build an 'Aspiration conversation' into our performance management cycle.  Every 6 month colleagues talk to their line manager about their aspirations. There are four outcomes, from nailing your current role to finding the next role.  We make it clear that it's OK to be happy where you are! 

We have provided toolkits for employees and managers to get the most from this conversation, and how to then agree development goals to make it happen. 

We're not great at tracking outcomes to career moves as our tech isn't integrated, but it's in the backlog 

Performance management processes contain training, courses, mentorship, or assignments that can help employees acquire the skills and experiences they need, and when employees consistently meet or exceed performance expectations set by the company, they are often considered for promotions within the organization, which can lead to career growth.

 
To use performance management as a career growth enabler, first discuss with employees their career aspirations and how they align with their performance goals. Offer opportunities for skill development and training. Track their progress and celebrate their achievements.