Performance Management Consultancy
Creating a culture of performance through people and process.
Let’s Talk Talent designs performance management that managers use, and employees trust. In 10 to 16 weeks, we diagnose how performance works today, design a framework that fits your strategy and culture, and train managers to run the conversations. Then we check that it’s working after your first cycle.
Most organisations don’t have a performance management problem. They have a performance conversation problem: the form gets filled in, the ratings get moderated, and nothing about how people work changes.
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125%
more managers holding regular check-ins within six months (global fintech)
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+£1,000
profit per employee after the first redesigned performance cycle (global technology business)
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67%
rise in employees who say their manager gives them useful, relevant feedback regularly (bioscience organisation)
Questions we help you answer
- How do we drive high performance through our people?
- How do we raise expectations?
- How do we drive productivity across our teams?
- How do I train managers to give feedback?
- How often should one-to-ones happen?
- How do I handle underperformance?
- What should replace annual appraisals?
How we help
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1 Discover
See how performance works today and where it gets in the way.
- A performance diagnostic of your current approach, data, and system
- Listening sessions with managers and employees
You get: diagnostic findings and clear priorities.
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2 Design
Build a framework and approach that fit your strategy and culture.
- Design or redesign your performance framework
- Regular check-ins instead of annual appraisals
- Goals that stay current, including OKRs
You get: a framework and toolkit that fit your organisation.
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3 Activate
Give managers the skills and confidence to make it happen.
- Feedback and coaching conversations
- Continuous feedback
- Tackling underperformance early
You get: confident, capable managers.
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4 Measure
Check it’s working and keep improving.
- Simple measures of conversation quality, not just completion rates
- A review after each cycle, with changes where needed
You get: simple measures that show impact.
How we work
Design and launch typically take 10 to 16 weeks, followed by a review after your first cycle.
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Weeks 1 to 3
Diagnose
A health check of your current approach, data and system, with manager and employee listening sessions.
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Weeks 4 to 9
Co-design
Design sessions with HR, leaders and an employee working group to build the framework and tools.
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Weeks 10 to 16
Activate
Manager skills training, communications and system set-up, then a review after your first cycle.
Who’s involved: your HR director and HR team, your HR systems owner, a leadership sponsor, and managers and employees as co-designers.
Why Let’s Talk Talent
- See how we transformed performance management for One Utility Bill and for a global tech company.
- Trusted by Hearst, Warner Bros., Nokia, World Athletics and King’s College London.
- Named HR Consultancy of the Year 2025 at the Personnel Today Awards.
Our Clients
Let’s Talk Talent has supported change and transformation for organisations including Hearst, Warner Bros., King’s Fund, Vodafone, Nokia, ForGood Tech, Lifearc and King’s College London, across restructures, operating model redesigns, culture programmes and post-acquisition integration.
Performance management FAQs
How do we drive high performance through our people?
Make expectations clear, talk about them often, and give managers the skills to coach. High performance comes from regular, useful conversations, not from an annual form.
How do we raise expectations?
Set fewer, clearer goals, show what good looks like at each level, and revisit goals when priorities change. OKRs work well where priorities shift quickly.
How do we drive productivity across our teams?
Link individual goals to team and business priorities, remove what slows people down, and check progress little and often. A performance diagnostic shows where your current process gets in the way.
How do I train managers to give feedback?
Practice on real situations rather than theory, then follow up so the skill sticks. Managers need a simple structure, plenty of practice, and feedback on their own feedback. Our people management bootcamp builds these skills through practice.
How often should one-to-ones happen?
There’s no single right answer, but monthly is a sensible starting point: often enough to fix problems early, light enough that managers keep doing it. Agree the rhythm with your managers, then measure whether the conversations happen and whether they’re useful.
How do I handle underperformance?
Early and specifically. Name the gap, agree what good looks like and by when, and support the person to get there. Underperformance usually gets harder to fix the longer it’s left, so train managers to have the conversation sooner.
What should replace annual appraisals?
Regular check-ins, goals that stay current and continuous feedback, with one or two lighter review points a year for pay and progression decisions. Keep the paperwork simple so the conversation does the work.
How long does it take to redesign performance management?
Typically 10 to 16 weeks to design and launch, then a review after your first cycle.
Ready for performance conversations that change how people work?
Tell us how performance works in your organisation today, and we’ll show you where to start.
Related Services
- Careers & Capability: career frameworks that turn performance conversations into growth.
- Management & Leadership: develop managers who coach as well as manage.
- Coaching & Assessment: 360-degree feedback and assessment to support fair performance decisions.