How MLB hit a home run with 95% employee engagement in performance management

In professional sports, performance is everything. At Major League Baseball (MLB), that extends beyond the diamond, influencing how the league manages performance off the field.

MLB’s workforce is vast, involving not just athletes, but also hundreds of professionals in stadium operations, marketing, broadcasting, retail, and other critical areas. Turning feedback from that vast workforce into action proved to be a challenge – and when employees don’t feel heard, performance and engagement suffer across the organization.

In 2019, gaps in employee engagement signaled a need for improved listening strategies and engagement practices. Taking action, MLB’s leadership formed a talent management team to reshape the employee experience and drive performance. Frank Caleca, Head of Learning and Development, and Patrick Gallagher, HR Business Partner, set out to shift MLB to an employee-centric, high-performance culture.

Together, they helped MLB step up to the plate to make every employee – regardless of their role – feel valued, heard, and inspired.

Turning people signals into a case for change

Employee experience data played a powerful role in supporting MLB’s business decisions.

Before the organization could improve engagement and foster high-performance, the L&D and HR teams needed to gain more visibility into the existing employee experience. To do so, MLB launched surveys to give employees a way to share their experiences. It was also a means to gather data on the issues employees faced. Combined with information from 1-on-1s and focus groups, the survey insights ensured the league’s path forward was data-driven and focused on the right areas.

The upfront employee listening MLB performed significantly shaped the organization’s subsequent learning and development strategy. They launched targeted mentorship and leadership programs, tailored to specific needs surfaced by the surveys, which showed employees the organization was directly acting on that feedback.

The surveys also gave MLB’s leadership the clarity and confidence to invest in a single, integrated system for performance management. With goals, feedback, and coaching in one place, they could improve performance consistently throughout the year. Managers had access to the data they needed to spot employees’ development areas in a timely way and help them deliver their best work.

"Having access to features like direct feedback is extremely helpful for us in human resources. It allows us to refer back to these tools and conversations effectively, aiding us in delivering exactly what our employees need and request on a daily basis."

Making performance management continuous

MLB understood that formal reviews are most effective as part of a continuous approach to performance management. Building a high-performance culture would require more than once-annual performance reviews.

Many employees at the league had been there for years – in some cases, longer than a decade. Episodic performance evaluations at the end of the season didn’t reflect the work these employees delivered. The process was also burdensome for managers since all reviews happened simultaneously, and each one required tremendous preparation time.

Culture Amp’s user-friendly performance management tool made that process more efficient and useful for both employees and managers. Performance touchpoints like regular 1-on-1 conversations and actionable feedback became part of the flow of work, opening up ongoing conversations about growth and development.

Continuous performance management practices also generated performance data throughout the year, making for easy reference during the review cycle and reducing preparatory work. Culture Amp’s platform was especially beneficial to new managers, who now had the guidance they needed to lead alongside seasoned supervisors at the league.

“We wanted the experience of [performance management] to feel like a lighter lift and still result in better, more frequent, and more substantive conversations about career development and learning paths. And I can say, undoubtedly, our situation today is substantially better than it was just three or four years ago, thanks to Culture Amp.” – Patrick Gallagher, HR Business Partner, Major League Baseball

Aligning individual and organizational goals to drive high performance

Thoughtful employee performance goals are key to a fair and motivating review process, and an effective way to retain top talent. For MLB’s goal-setting to actually drive performance, the goals had to be clear, established with consensus, and aligned with organizational objectives.

Within a single, integrated performance system like Culture Amp, goal alignment creates guideposts that help employees feel motivated and confident, while ensuring that the work they put into their development connects to tangible business results.

For MLB, the impact of goal-setting has been game-changing. Both employees and managers have noted the effectiveness of the new process. Tracking goal progress has given them better clarity and confidence going into performance reviews, along with the space to reflect more deeply on professional development and career growth.

"Goals have really enabled more frequent and productive conversations, which is fantastic. People now understand what changes they need to make. It's like in baseball: for hitters in the box, making adjustments during the at-bat is easier than waiting for the next opportunity." – Frank Caleca, Head of Learning and Development, Major League Baseball

A winning strategy for employee engagement

By placing collaboration and employee experience at the core of its performance management strategy, MLB has proven that teamwork is as essential to performance off the field as it is on the diamond. Now, the league boasts over 95% employee engagement with its performance management processes. There has been overwhelmingly positive employee feedback on the changes the organization has implemented with Culture Amp. Meanwhile, the trust and support of leadership in ongoing performance efforts continues to grow.

Dive deeper into MLB's partnership with Culture Amp. Watch the on-demand session from Culture First Global.