Michelle Ehlers of Flex HR On 5 Tips For A Successful Performance Management Process

An Interview With Rachel Kline

Ensure Your Policies, Communications, and Best Practices Support Your Performance Management Process Instead of Undermining It — A company’s policies are meaningless if they aren’t actively lived and enforced from the top down. While there may be a section operformance management in the employee handbook, without providing managers with the time, tools, and support to turn that vision into reality, those policies will remain ineffective. It’s essential to not only have a clearly defined performance management policy but also to establish the communication and resources needed to ensure its successful execution.

Performance management is notoriously difficult to get right, but not impossible. In this series we speak with experts to get their insights into creating an effective performance management system. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Ehlers.

With a career spanning over a decade, Michelle comes to Flex HR as a passionate seasoned HR consultant. She specializes in HR strategy and operational efficiency.

Previously, Michelle has guided numerous emerging startups in implementing foundational HR processes and talent acquisition strategies. She excels at optimizing onboarding procedures, developing robust leave administration protocols, and enhancing operational workflows through HRIS automation.

Michelle’s experience includes strategic roles where she plays a pivotal role in supporting the process for a startup’s rapid growth. Her comprehensive approach to HR includes expertise in benefits administration, payroll processing, compliance management, and fostering inclusive workplace cultures. Her diverse skill set, coupled with a commitment to excellence, makes Michelle a valuable asset to Flex HR.

Michelle holds a Bachelor’s degree in Design & Merchandising from Drexel University and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She also recently got her real estate license and is looking for my first investment property. Michelle lives by the shore with her teenage daughter and enjoys the beach, outdoor concerts, festivals, and volunteering with her kids at church.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we drive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

Thank you for having me! I’m excited to discuss this important topic with you. My journey into HR is quite unique; it didn’t start in HR. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Design & Merchandising from Drexel University but soon realized that wasn’t my true calling. While I appreciated the blend of business and creativity, I was unsure of my career direction. I began my career in retail and restaurant management, where I frequently found myself taking on HR-related responsibilities, such as recruiting and training.

In 2010, I took a role as a department store trainer with Boscov’s, which I loved. Although the company had established training guidelines, I was given the flexibility to refine the process. This opportunity allowed me to contribute to the company’s training manual and develop new tools and policies for corporate rollout. That experience made me realize that HR was the right path for me.

I continued to advance in HR roles until I lost my job in 2020 due to COVID-19. By then, I had accumulated extensive HR experience and had been eager to obtain a certification but hadn’t found the time to study. With four months off, I dedicated myself to preparing for and successfully passing the SPHR certification exam.

After losing a second job to the pandemic at the end of 2021, I embarked on a consulting journey. During this time, I assisted startups in scaling and navigating the complexities of remote workforces. I discovered that one of my strengths lies in process improvement, which combines both business acumen and creativity.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It’s difficult to discuss, but early in my career, I mistakenly believed that employers were more interested in my resume rather than in me as a person with unique skills and experiences. I focused on researching companies extensively, regurgitating what I learned during interviews. I also hesitated to ask questions, thinking it might make me appear needy. In hindsight, I realize this likely came off as arrogant and unteachable. I’m incredibly grateful to those who looked beyond this façade and took a chance on me. This experience also enhanced my interviewing skills, allowing me to recognize candidates with untapped or underappreciated talents.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Several years ago, I interviewed for a corporate HR position with Garden State Tile that represented a significant advancement in my career. During the interview with my potential supervisor, the atmosphere felt awkward and strained. She repeatedly pressed me about specific responsibilities from my resume, inquiring whether I had performed tasks that weren’t explicitly listed. In fact, I had experience in everything she asked about. After I was hired, I brought up the interview with her. She explained that, given my background, she recognized I was far more qualified than I had acknowledged on my resume. She wanted me to confidently discuss my accomplishments. This new confidence helped me to launch my consulting business shortly after.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Early in my career, I struggled with mistakes, often taking them personally and feeling that failing at a task meant I was a failure overall. However, Thomas Edison’s quote, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” transformed my perspective. I now see what I once considered “failure” as a valuable learning opportunity and a step toward process improvement. No one gets it right every time, and sometimes we gain more insight from our mistakes than we would from immediate success.

Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?

I would definitely advise my younger self to have more confidence in my skills and experiences. Early in my career, I often downplayed my background, feeling I wasn’t at the “right level” for certain job titles. However, I eventually found myself in positions where I had to quickly adapt and lead, often being the most experienced person in the room. It’s important to remember that nobody knows everything, and everyone starts somewhere.

Let’s now move to the central part of our interview. Why is performance management so tricky to get right?

Performance management can be challenging because it relies on metrics and numbers to evaluate human performance. When not handled correctly, it can feel dehumanizing. However, effective performance management programs celebrate individual achievements while also providing clear, actionable steps for improvement. Successful managers recognize their role in supporting employee growth and develop realistic action plans to foster success.

Where do you see a lot of organizations go wrong with performance management?

Many organizations make the mistake of treating performance management as a once-a-year event rather than an ongoing process of improvement. Without proper preparation and support, managers often see performance management as a daunting task. However, with the right training, resources, and systems in place, performance management can become an essential part of their daily routine, enabling them to effectively drive performance and foster continuous growth.

Based on your experience and success, what are your top 5 tips for a successful performance management process? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Prepare Managers — When managers focus solely on performance management during the annual review period, they miss many opportunities for growth. I once worked with a manager who would say about a struggling employee, “I can’t wait to write their review in six months.” Performance management should happen every day, not just at review periods. To empower managers, it’s crucial to provide clear processes and expectations for managing team performance year-round.

Here are some key strategies:

• Establish Policies and Templates: Provide resources for regular employee check-ins, one-on-ones, and both verbal and written warnings. Include specifics on the criteria and timelines for initiating performance documentation.
• Define Performance Metrics: Clearly outline the metrics that will be used in evaluations, enabling managers to guide employees on their performance throughout the year.
• Train Managers: Offer training for new managers on performance management, covering topics such as setting the right tone, conducting difficult conversations, leading for success, and recognizing and avoiding bias.
• Clarify the Review Grading System: Explain the grading system and provide guidelines to help managers avoid biases. I’ve seen cases where underperforming employees receive favorable reviews due to personal likability, while high achievers are penalized for challenging the manager.
• Ensure Transparency: Make it clear that effective performance management throughout the year should eliminate surprises during the annual review. Employees should have a solid understanding of their performance levels, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and engagement.

2. Prepare Employees — Preparing employees for performance management is just as crucial as training managers. Both parties need to understand the rules of engagement for mutual success. In one company I worked with, the expectations for sales metrics changed three times in just six months, leaving employees confused and uncertain about how to meet the company’s expectations. This resulted in significant turnover in the sales department.

To prevent such issues, it’s essential to communicate the following to employees:

• Clear Metrics: Inform them about the specific metrics they will be assessed on.
• Performance Documentation Criteria: Outline the criteria that will trigger performance documentation.
• Support Channels: Specify who they can turn to for help and how to reach out if they need assistance.
• Promotion Expectations: Clearly define what is expected of them to qualify for promotion to the next level.

By providing this clarity, you can foster a more engaged and successful workforce.

3. Ensure Your Policies, Communications, and Best Practices Support Your Performance Management Process Instead of Undermining It — A company’s policies are meaningless if they aren’t actively lived and enforced from the top down. While there may be a section on performance management in the employee handbook, without providing managers with the time, tools, and support to turn that vision into reality, those policies will remain ineffective. It’s essential to not only have a clearly defined performance management policy but also to establish the communication and resources needed to ensure its successful execution.

4. Set Goals That Contribute To Both The Growth Of The Company And The Growth Of The Employee — Most managers set goals to improve employee performance and support company growth. However, successful managers also prioritize employee development by establishing goals that foster new skills. By encouraging employees to partner with a mentor on a project or take LMS courses to prepare for higher-level positions, you invest in their professional growth. This not only enhances their engagement and productivity but also contributes to the company’s succession planning. At one company I worked with, goals were consistently set to help employees develop for the next level. As a result, these employees were more engaged than I had seen elsewhere, and the company experienced significantly lower turnover rates.

5. Encourage Interactive Feedback…And Listen! — Successful companies and managers understand the importance of receiving and responding to employee feedback. In fact, surveys have found that employees who feel heard are more engaged and productive in their positions. At one company I worked with, employees were told that the company encouraged them to provide feedback. However, when valuable insights that could have boosted productivity conflicted with upper management’s preferences, they were stifled before reaching decision-makers. Eventually, employees stopped providing feedback on all levels.

How do you approach performance management in your organization? Do you tie it to compensation for example?

I do prefer to tie compensation to performance management in some capacity. When compensation is not tied to performance management, unless there are clear and uniformly applied policies in place there is a risk of bias being incorporated into the process. This is especially true for a rapidly scaling startup that may still be in the process of defining policies. The best way to avoid the appearance of some type of bias is to have clearly outlined procedures and metrics for compensation. A great way to do this would be to run a review cycle just before the compensation cycle and use the results of the review cycle to develop compensation tiers.

Which tools do you use for your performance management?

The simplest way to manage performance is by utilizing built-in features in a company’s HRIS system or by integrating a user-friendly platform like Lattice, Culture Amp, or PerformYard. These options allow for the creation of templates and reminders for both managers and employees, along with interactive feedback features that generate useful reports. While implementing such systems can be a big lift early on, they centralize all performance management processes and reduce administrative burdens. If these options aren’t feasible for a company, I can assist in developing templates and systems on a smaller scale to meet their needs.

How do you measure and improve your performance management process?

Listening to feedback and analyzing performance management metrics and trends are the most effective ways to drive improvements. Companies should consider the following:

• Feedback Trends: Are there patterns indicating that employees are unclear about expectations or their performance in relation to those expectations? This may signal a need for better communication strategies.
• Check-In Practices: Are certain managers or departments not conducting regular check-ins with their employees? If so, is this trend linked to an underperforming manager or a department that is overwhelmed and in need of additional support?
• Performance Gaps: Are there specific positions or overall metrics where employees consistently fall short of their goals? Is this due to external factors, such as an economic downturn, or could it stem from unrealistic goal-setting by the company?

Continuously refining your performance management process should be an integral part of the overall performance management strategy.

We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.

I would love to have lunch with Elon Musk. Despite facing criticism for his business communications and decisions, I admire his direct, no-nonsense style. He speaks candidly and doesn’t mince words; what he says is what he truly means. While many shy away from discussing opposing or polarizing viewpoints, he embraces these conversations, valuing diverse perspectives and differing opinions.

How can our readers further follow your work?

I have recently joined the amazingly talented team at Flex HR and am excited to be contributing to businesses through them! I’d love to connect with everyone on LinkedIn or through the Flex HR website.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!