Recruiting quality employees is a big win, bigger still is retaining them for the long haul. Studies have shown that a significant number of employees put a high importance on being respected, and having their voices heard. Updating your performance management strategies, taking time to provide feedback to, and get feedback from employees is a critical piece of the retention puzzle.

Traditionally, the time to give feedback to an employee is at their annual review. However, increasingly, employers are beginning to step away from the traditional performance review model. The system of infrequent and one-sided feedback that is the annual review, is not a recipe for success and is almost universally loathed by employee and manager alike.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune,

People have long complained about the anxiety around annual ratings, the scramble to remember all that happened in the past year and the piles of forms to be filled out. But only within the past two years have companies made major efforts to revolutionize the practice — not by scrapping reviews altogether, but by doing them all the time.

The pace of our world has changed. In so many ways, anything short of “instant” information is too slow these days. So why aren’t our workplace strategies keeping up?

Here’s a quick rundown of ways that you can start implementing effective performance management strategies in your workplace today.

• Regular Check-Ins. Performance management includes “check-ins” as well as the more formal review. Monthly, weekly, daily check-ins, often called a “Daily Huddle” or “Scrum Meeting” might involve a manager meeting with each employee or team for 5-10 minutes to provide an opportunity for giving updates, addressing concerns, or giving feedback. Employees get instant access to information thanks to smartphones, technology, and social media. They expect the same, or at least timely responses and feedback from their bosses too.

• Review Frequency. The days of annual reviews are coming to an end as business moves at a much different pace. Quarterly, monthly or real-time reviews are working well for many companies. Take a pulse check survey of your managers and employees to get their input, and work from there!

• There’s an App for That! Consider alternative methods of communication-based on your employees and company culture. Indeed, there’s an app for performance management. There are several actually! A few that come to mind are Snapshot and TINYpulse, but there are so many options out there to match your business needs.

Change can be a bit scary, and it is important when making a change to your performance management strategy, to make sure leadership is fully on board. If the CEO refuses to provide more frequent check-ins with his team, then there will likely be a trickle-down effect. Create a system that works for your organization – from the C-suite to entry level.

Changing your performance management model will involve thoughtful assessment, planning, training, and an organized and diligent implementation, but the results are well worth it. Having an effective and impactful performance management strategy will do wonders for employee engagement, retention and succession planning, not to mention leadership development.