The neuroscience of performance management
The negative response that many people have to performance feedback may be explained by neuroscience. Thanks to MRI scanning and other brain technologies we are no longer in the dark regarding what happens in our brains during learning, engagement, motivation and social interaction. The brain’s role in human nature and behaviour is now studied and explained by the joining of psychology (the study of the human mind and behaviour) and neuroscience (physiological study of the brain).
Adrienne Fox published an article called ‘The Brain at Work’ in HR Magazine in 2008, in which she mentioned that neuroscientists are learning more about the brain as a social animal that needs interaction with others. David Rock, Director of the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of the book Your Brain at Work refers to a study that showed that social pain - being rejected or berated - lights up the same regions of the brain as physical pain. Just imagine the pain when employees receive feedback in such a way that they feel berated or rejected, “as far as brains are concerned, social pain proves just as harmful as physical pain,” says Fox.
One of the most common complaints about performance management is that it is not fair. Research in neuroscience found that the brain finds fairness intrinsically important. According to Fox, scientists found that when people judge a scenario to be fair, reward centers of the brain light up on MRI scans just as when they see a loved one or taste good food. On the other hand, unfair situations aroused the brain’s fear circuitry, and light up a region of the brain activated when we experience disgust. This could have a far reaching effect on employee engagement and commitment levels as no one would like to stay in an environment where they are experiencing feelings similar to disgust on a regular basis. This shows the impact that performance management could have on employee retention.
Social fairness and respect are also important to help employees learn and perform. Ellen Weber, the director of the MITA International Brain Based Center stated in the same HR magazine article that if managers show an interest in employees, support them and praise them genuinely, they cause a chemical called serotonin to be released into the brains of the employees. Serotonin opens employees’ minds to ideas, and creates the desire to get to know managers better and to support whatever the managers need done. The opposite is also true. If managers do not support employees and treat them without respect, cortisol is released into their brains. Cortisol is a stress hormone and shuts down the brain to new ideas and diminishes the employees’ willingness to help the line manager.
It is also important in performance management that expectations are clearly defined. The Society for Human Resources Management in the US, found that one of the most common problems in performance management is the failure to communicate clear and specific goals and expectations. When people have expectations that are met, they generate an optimal level of dopamine in the brain, a chemical that is critical in order to think clearly. When people are not expecting positive outcomes and get them, they get even higher levels.
Fox mentions in her article that when people expect a positive outcome and get the opposite, they receive lower levels of dopamine. If people expect a negative event and the expectation is met, dopamine levels also drop. Author David Rock says that this, in turn, affects the employee’s ability to think, solve problems and make decisions, as this involves using the prefrontal cortex and, in turn, this requires the right levels of dopamine and other neurotransmitters. The end-result of the lack of clear expectations regarding performance could then lower employees’ performance, the exact opposite of what we would like to achieve!
The brain also seems to like certainty. Effective performance planning and monitoring can provide more certainty in the work situation. David Rock explained in various publications that even the mildest uncertainty, like not knowing what a word is on a page, gets a person’s attention and increases adrenaline and arousal in the brain. Greater uncertainty significantly increases adrenaline levels that can decrease the capacity of employees to make decisions. Involving employees in the performance-planning process and providing them with information can help to create more certainty and, as a result, better performance.
Neuroscience seems to explain a lot of the problems experienced regarding performance management in organisations and highlights the need to address the issues carefully. The interaction with employees around the system is of crucial importance. A punitive approach, lack of clarity and unclear rewards has a negative impact on the brain and consequently on employees’ performance and engagement. Let’s take this into account and implement more transparent, collaborative and fair performance management processes and we will see performance improvement.
