With today's fierce competition in this sluggish economy, employers are looking for more effective ways to promote organizational goals to increase their chances of success, and a large part of that strategy comes down to performance management.

In the past, many employers focused on creating individual employee goals, but by aligning company goals with performance management, employee goals are better defined, and the work force is more engaged, says Elise Freedman, senior consultant for Towers Watson

"Companies that are better linking their employees to the business strategy are seeing results like increased revenue, increased customer satisfaction, increased quality and a higher shareholder return," Freedman says. "When the employees understand the company's focus and what they can do to make a difference in that area, problems start becoming resolved."