Michal Biron, Elaine Farndale, et al. (2011) "Performance management effectiveness: lessons
from world-leading firms", The International Journal of Human Resource Management,
(volume
22).
Molraudee Saratun, Mahidol University (2016) "Performance management to enhance employee
engagement for corporate sustainability", Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration
(volume 8),
10.1108/APJBA-07-2015-0064
Business case: HSBC's performance management strategies
HSBC is a worldwide financial corporation with operations in over 80 countries. It has over 6000
branches located across the globe, including the US and Canada. With the workforce expected to
exceed 250,000 people, HSBC focuses on investing in employee development to optimize the
human capital values to remain competitive in the financial service market. I would like to
further discuss HSBC's performance management system in this report.
According to Vishesh Dimri - a leader in HR Consulting, HSBC ensures an overall approach
towards performance management for both its employees and managers by focusing on three key
factors: digital enablement, process effectiveness, and people manager capabilities (Priya Sunil,
2022). Firstly, in terms of digital enablement, the firm launched an HR mobile application for its
staff to stay up-to-date with daily work performance. This application not only improves general
communication but also encourages two-way communication by allowing users to capture and
share regular achievements, access lists of tasks, and online learning resources (Learning On-the-
Go), manage personal professional information and have a view of the entire organization chart.
HSBC's process effectiveness includes the application of everyday performance concepts such as
goal setting and regular check-ins to support the fulfillment of career aspirations while
maintaining productivity. Dimri states that process effectiveness strengthens the relationships
between managers and employees, "Managers can support their team members in the right ways
and, at the right times, towards a meaningful year-end assessment". Lastly, people manager
capability involves constant engagement, continuous improvement in coaching, providing
guidance and supporting resources. They also hold year-end assessments as part of the
performance management system, and one of the most important factors of this assessment is the
"Fairness review" which is placed to ensure unbiased feedback among the employees. HSBC
puts a lot of effort into continuously enhancing employees' performance either by offering
various training opportunities or providing tools to improve interpersonal relationships and
active communication.
In the first article "Performance management effectiveness: lessons from world-leading firms",
one of the four key facilitators by which organizations can enhance performance management is
clear communication of performance expectations. The use of HSBC's HR mobile application