Manager, Performance Management and Engagement

CDW•Vernon Hills, IL

About The Position

At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It’s why we’re coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we’re headed. We’re proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW. Job Summary The Manager, Performance Management & Engagement is responsible for designing, managing, and continuously evolving CDW’s enterprise performance management programs and employee engagement survey strategy and approach. Reporting to the Director, Talent Strategy, this role serves as the functional owner and subject matter expert for all aspects of performance management—including goal-setting frameworks, mid-year and annual review cycles, calibration processes, and performance-to-development integration—as well as the strategy and execution of CDW’s engagement and pulse survey programs. The Manager partners closely with HRBPs, Centers of Excellence, HRIS, and business leaders to ensure performance and engagement insights are embedded into the broader talent lifecycle—informing succession planning, development prioritization, workforce planning. In addition, they will act as a key partner to the Culture and Engagement team, informing the design of offerings that enhances the employee experience. The ideal candidate brings experience in performance management program design, survey methodology, change management, and HRIS platforms, with a strong propensity for data-driven continuous improvement and AI-enabled HR optimization.

Requirements

Bachelors degree and 5+ years of progressive HR, talent management, or organizational development experience, with 3+ years in performance management program ownership or engagement survey administration or 9+ years of progressive HR, talent management, or organizational development experience, with 3+ years in performance management program ownership or engagement survey administration
Experience designing and managing enterprise-scale performance management frameworks, including calibration, goal-setting, and review cycle management.
Proven ability to design and administer employee engagement or pulse survey programs, including instrument design, results analysis, and leadership reporting.
Demonstrated track record presenting to and influencing senior and executive stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Masters in Industrial Organizational Psychology
Systems Thinking: Connects performance management and engagement to workforce planning, L&D, succession, and business strategy with a clear cause-and-effect lens.
Analytical Rigor: Transforms raw performance and engagement data into strategic narrative. Builds clarity from complexity; resists oversimplification in assessments and reporting.
Process Excellence: Meticulous about program design and execution. Builds repeatable, scalable processes that endure leadership turnover and organizational change.
Survey Methodology Expertise: Grounded in survey design principles including validity, reliability, and bias reduction; experience with vendor-managed and in-house survey platforms.
Experience with AI-enabled performance management tools, listening platforms, or skills intelligence solutions.

Responsibilities

Performance Management Architecture & Program Ownership: Designs and manages CDW’s performance management framework—including goal-setting, review cycles, calibration, and rating processes—and continuously improves it over time.
Oversees the full execution of annual and mid-year performance cycles to ensure a consistent experience for managers and employees.
Applies best practices in performance management and continuous feedback to support a fair, development-focused, and business-aligned culture.
Leads change efforts through stakeholder planning, communication, and training to drive adoption across the organization.
Engagement Survey Strategy & Execution: Owns the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of CDW’s employee engagement and pulse survey programs.
Manages the full survey lifecycle—from strategy and questionnaire design to communications, data collection, and reporting across engagement, onboarding, and exit surveys.
Ensures surveys produce valid, reliable, and actionable insights on engagement, inclusion, and organizational health.
Converts findings into clear, data-driven recommendations for HR leadership, senior leaders, and the CHRO.
Oversees survey timing and integration to maintain strong participation and minimize fatigue.
Workday Performance & Listening Platform Oversight: Serves as the primary functional owner of Workday Performance and related talent modules, partnering with CWS Technology to configure, optimize, and maintain system workflows, templates, and evaluation forms.
Ensures data integrity across performance records, ratings, and goal-tracking in Workday.
Supports or leads the evaluation, selection, and implementation of engagement survey platforms and listening tools.
Drives HR and manager adoption through enablement, training, and user experience optimization.
Performance & Engagement Analytics and Insights: Builds and maintains dashboards, executive reports, and analytics that track performance distribution, rating trends, goal attainment, engagement scores, and year-over-year progress.
Translates complex data into clear, actionable insights for senior leaders.
Partners with People Analytics to integrate performance and engagement data with broader workforce intelligence, identifying correlations with retention, productivity, and organizational agility.
Develops predictive metrics that connect performance and engagement trends to business outcomes and talent risk.
Continuous Improvement & Innovation: Continuously benchmarks CDW’s performance and engagement approaches against industry best practices, emerging research, and leading-edge technology—including AI-enabled performance tools, skills intelligence platforms, and natural language processing applications for feedback analysis.
Identifies and leads targeted enhancements to program design, technology, and processes to increase impact, efficiency, and manager/coworker experience.
Builds scalable, repeatable frameworks that endure organizational change and leadership transitions.