Hype and reality in performance management

Although few organizations would claim to have sophisticated and well integrated performance management programs up and running, during the last two years the concept of performance management has undergone a major transition. Up until the late 1990s, performance management as a concept was being nurtured in business schools and was predominantly concerned with the balanced scorecard. Other than for a few best of breed vendors, it was not something that the software industry got too involved with, as implementing wall‐to‐wall ERP and CRM solutions was far more lucrative. However, things have changed. Performance management has leapt out of its pram and started to scream around the nursery. Just like any toddler, it is making a lot of noise and at times can be very difficult to comprehend. Exactly how, when and in what order events happened is difficult to pin down, but its transformation is certainly manifest. This article discusses the rapid evolution of performance management; the competitive and regulatory pressures that are providing momentum to performance management and concludes by examining how companies are merging individual performance management methodologies into integrated solutions.