This guide contains a detailed overview of each step in the Getting Started Checklist.

Introduction

Performance Management programs are designed to nudge and create new or enhanced habits, rituals and behaviors to enable Managers and Team members to have stronger performance conversations on a more frequent basis. Any implementation of new technology, tools and processes that require shifting performance behaviors require consideration of project and change management principles for rollout.

If you're not familiar with continuous performance management, check out our guide that covers the basics: Introduction to Continuous Performance Management.

Create a Rollout Plan for Your First Quarter

Use the Example Implementation Plan or the decision tree to provide an idea of expectations and timing for your rollout during the first quarter. Note that this is intended as a guide only. You may find that you will need to make some core decisions around your rollout which will include:

Which features will be implemented first?
What expectations do we need to set around being voluntary or mandatory?
Will the first quarter be a soft or hard launch?
Will we test some programs with pilot groups or departments before rolling out company-wide?

Determine Features to Roll Out

Determine which features you would like to roll out as part of your implementation plan. Below are links to some “Getting Started” guides and pointers for each feature in your bundle that may help you determine which programs to rollout first. We recommend that you pick a few core features or programs to tackle first and then add on each quarter so that the new habits or behaviors stick. It also allows your people to digest one program at a time especially if these are new for your company.

Note: Cascading SMART Goals & OKRs are only available in the Talent Development Pro package.

*Cascading SMART Goals are only available in Talent Development Pro

** OKRs are only available in Talent Development Pro and Standalone Talent Development

Assemble a Project Team

Clearly defined roles and responsibilities are important to determine from the outset. Some key roles to identify would be:

Project Owners & Executers (Admins) responsible for administrating the platform and coordinating all associated activities with your rollout.
Internal Champions and Super Users across the business within HR and outside of HR that will assist with training and coaching both in platform functionality as well as process support.
Visible Senior & Executive Sponsorship to endorse and speak to these new initiatives using as many channels as possible to garner buy-in and commitment across the company. (Note: This is particularly important for Advanced Goal Setting practices).

Establish Milestones and Measure Success

It is important to factor in what defines success for your rollout. A suggestion would be to reflect on the ideal future state in 2 ways:

At the individual program / feature level (e.g., what does success look after implementing a new and improved Reviews process using Talent?)
At the broader cultural company level (What is the ideal state for your performance culture overall?).

At both levels we recommend creating quarterly goals to measure progress of your rollout as a project team. Here are some examples of program milestones for implementation:

Program	Rollout Quarter 1	Rollout Quarter 2
Overall Rollout	Successfully launch Paycor Talent by implementing Goals, 1-on-1s & Recognitions across the organization	Implement Reviews with Paycor Talent with 3 departments and iterate on Goals, 1-on-1s and recognitions
Objectives	100% people at every level have at least 1 Quarterly objective in Talent by end of Q1	100% of Executive Leaders & Senior Leaders have aligned objectives in Talent 100% of employees have 3-5 Aligned objectives in Talent
Recognitions	50% of people have given one core value-based recognition by the end of Q1	3 Departments have implemented a Recognition Program for each core value Each department has 80% participation in Recognition
1-on-1s	100% Managers have completed at least 1 team 1-on-1 with each team member in Talent by the end of Q1	100% of Managers have conducted a 1-on-1 using our global template “Career 1-on-1s” in Talent with every team member
Feedback	Create a competency-based leadership effectiveness feedback and pilot this with a group of Managers for implementation in Q2	All Senior Managers have completed a 360 competency-based feedback by the end of Q2
Reviews	Prepare for Reviews launch by creating a template and workflow and testing on a pilot group in HR	100% of people have completed their growth Reviews conversations by the end of Q2

Tip to Measure Overall Effectiveness:

Correlate Team Engagement scores with their activity in Talent. Often higher participation in these activities will drive stronger engagement scores! If you don’t currently measure engagement, you can use the Company & teams feedback feature to do a quick e-NPS measure.
Send out a company or team feedback to assess improvements and garner input along the way. You can also use feedback to determine whether the training you incorporate is helpful or if your people need more support.

Communication & Training Plans

Building awareness, excitement and capability before and during your rollout will support a successful implementation. In your communications:

Buy In. Remember to include the “why” so people can see the benefit of engaging in these new programs.
Education & Enablement. Educate and enable your Managers and Team Members to engage in these activities by ensuring training is conducted just in time prior to a key activity or action you would like them to take using the new system.
Maintain Progress. Sustain momentum by making progress and updates visible to the company as you rollout (refer to the Example Implementation Plan for an idea of when to conduct training and other activities during your first quarter with Talent).
Stakeholder Engagement. Target your key stakeholders with training and coaching. Managers often require more support and will be the key to ensuring successful adoption. Spending more time training and supporting Managers first will help increase the likelihood of success.
Determining Cadences. Customize the cadence of your activities to your company and department operating norms. It is important to determine what components are mandatory and what activities are at the discretion of a Department or Manager. For example, across the company you may require that Goals must be set every quarter by a specific date and that Reviews are conducted annually during a specific period. At a Department level however, you might give Managers the freedom to decide when goals are “checked into” and how frequently they run their 1-on-1 conversations and what templates they use for those conversations in order for these activities to align with their existing workflows.

Evaluate, Iterate and Add on

After your first quarter, evaluate against your success milestones, iterate your goals for the next quarter and add on your next program or feature. For example, if you started with the milestone of having all people across the company enter their Goals and start conducting 1-on-1s in Talent Development, start thinking about incorporating additional programs to the next quarter such as Feedback and some more formal Review conversations. In addition, you might look to elevate your 1-on-1s from the prior quarter. The key to ongoing Performance Management is continuing to iterate and build on your approach quarter over quarter.