ATD Research: Organizations Have a Long Way to Go to Master Performance Management

[Alexandria, VA], March 12, 2025—New research by the Association for Talent Development (ATD)revealed that only 15 percent of organizations find performance improvement plans to be effective.

“Good performance management rests on measurable outcomes that derive from employees or team goals and objectives,” according to ATD’s Performance Management: Working Together to Achieve Results research report. “For equity across the organization, managers and employees should understand the strategies and objectives of goal setting.”

Eighty-eight percent of organizations use performance improvement plans to address performance that doesn’t meet expectations, but more than half use coaching (58 percent) and training (57 percent) to help employees improve their performance.

Key findings from the report include:

• Most organizations train managers in elements of the performance management process. Forty-two percent of organizations train every manager on giving feedback.

• Having enough time to participate in the performance management process is a major challenge. Other notable challenges include not being able to adequately reward high performers or to address performance that doesn’t meet expectations.

• Seventy-one percent of organizations say it is extremely or very important to align individual goals with organizational goals.

While evaluating employee performance is an important part of talent management strategies, it may be time for fresh perspectives on what performance management should look like in today’s world of work, the report recommends.

ATD surveyed 201 talent development professionals to discover what opportunities may exist for improving processes related to performance evaluation and management.

ATD is hosting a free webinar about the report on March 13 at 2 p.m. ET.

About ATD

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help to achieve results for the organizations they serve. Established in 1943, the association was previously known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).

ATD’s members come from more than 100 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports TD professionals who gather locally in volunteer-led US chapters and international member networks and with international strategic partners.

For more information, visit td.org.