Reach and you will achieve

Setting specific goals ("Try to get more than 90% correct") result in superior performance more motivating than vague exhortations or low expectations ("Try your best")

Edwin Locke and Gary Latham,A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance

Performance management is broken

58% of executives surveyed believe their current performance process does not drive employee engagement and high performance.

and

58% of executives surveyed believe their current performance is not an effective use of anyone's time.

Deloitte University Press. Performance Management is Broken

http://dupress.com/articles/hc-trends-2014-performance-management/

More collaboration

67% of employees report an increase in work requiring active collaboration.

CEB’s 2013 Breakthrough Performance in the New Work Environment

Interviewing

A work sample test is the best predictor of how someone will perform on the job during an interview (29%)

Tied for second are:

• Tests of general cognitive ability (26 percent).
• Structured interviews (26 percent), where candidates are asked a consistent set of questions with clear criteria to assess the quality of responses.

Laszlo Bock, Work Rules!

Grading Performance Reviews

58% of 750 senior HR professionals graded their own performance management systems as a C or worse.

Source: World at Work and Sibson Consulting