The performance management and development process can help you create a work environment that helps employees succeed. You can improve productivity, motivation, and morale by handling performance development in new ways.
Performance management is about having everyone succeed and improve, therefore the manager and the employee have to work together in a communication process to identify barriers to success and to build plans to overcome those barriers. The discussion needs to be forward looking, and not be restricted to "deficits" of employees only but also deficits in things like work flow, work communication, etc. Instead of having a once a year discussion with subordinates, managers should have informal short talks once every few weeks, quarterly discussion that are more organized and in meeting settings, and finally the year end review where things discussed should come as no surprise and should have been addressed thus far.
For this to have the highest effect in your organization it should start from the top going down. Ie, The CEO uses the new system with VPs. VPs use it with executive directors, and on downwards. The CEO holds VPs responsible for replicating the process with their reporting staff, and so on. The bottom line will be helping everyone possible in your company to succeed and improve.