A focused transformation to rebuild and align performance systems with business outcomes and global cycles, enhancing timeliness, accountability, and talent development.
Time to Read: 4 mins
Background
Thomas Cook India Ltd., a leader in travel and foreign exchange services, was operating with a legacy performance system that lacked structure, consistency, and alignment with global business timelines. The performance cycle was misaligned with the calendar year, leading to delays in reviews, scattered goal setting, and lack of clarity for business leaders on talent outcomes.
The need was urgent: establish a clear, timely, and transparent Performance Management System that not only measured performance effectively but also acted as a foundation for rewards, promotions, and career discussions.
Objective
To revamp the Performance Management System by aligning it with the global Jan–Dec cycle, bringing in structured processes, timely closures, and clear performance visibility across levels.
Actions Taken
- PMS Calendar Realignment
- Shifted the entire cycle to follow a January–December cadence, ensuring global integration and alignment with financial planning.
- Process Redesign & Digitisation
- Streamlined goal-setting, mid-year reviews, and year-end evaluations with defined templates, workflows, and checkpoints.
- Introduced digital dashboards for tracking PMS progress, status, and closure rates across business units.
- Manager & HRBP Enablement
- Conducted capability-building workshops to help managers differentiate performance and provide developmental feedback.
- Created toolkits for HRBPs to anchor robust performance dialogues and calibration sessions.
- Governance & Timeliness Monitoring
- Established governance reviews with CHRO and CEOs to drive adherence and accountability.
- Designed tracking mechanisms for performance closure status across functions, with escalations where needed.
Results
- Achieved 95%+ on-time performance closure, compared to <60% in previous cycles.
- Enhanced manager accountability and employee experience through transparent goal setting and feedback loops.
- Aligned performance outcomes with global timelines, enabling timely reward distribution and budget planning.
- Strengthened linkages between performance, learning, and succession planning.
“Realigning our PMS wasn’t just a process shift—it was a mindset change. It gave people clarity, purpose, and momentum to deliver better.”
Want to move your performance system from transactional to transformational? Let’s co-create a calendar-aligned PMS for your business, Connect with us or click here
