Companies want their employees to perform well. Many employees get an enormous sense of satisfaction from knowing they perform well. So why is there often such angst regarding the monitoring, acknowledgement and reward of performance? This is not just prevalent at performance review times but whenever a judgement is made regarding an employee’s performance. In response to this (rhetorical) question, you may hear; there is not enough clarity on what the performance expectations are; management of poor performers is handled badly, or acknowledgement of high performers is not sufficient. Or perhaps the perception may be that the performance management system is to blame? The technical platform, that has no analytical ability or judgement outside of what humans give it, is responsible for poor performance management across the organisation? How many organisations have decided that a new performance management system (PMS) is what will turn the organisation’s ability to manage the performance of employees around? Now, this is not to infer that PMSs are not useful , nor required, but surely there is more to it?
Performance Management is the continuous process of identifying, measuring and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organisation
So to put it into context, Performance Management is the “continuous process of identifying, measuring and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organisation” (Aguinis, 2009).
One of the key factors to creating a performance culture and having performance management motivate and empower employees (rather than making them slump and groan) is to ensure they care about the performance of the company. Simple concept, but often under-rated.
Think about this sequence of events:
- Employee cares about the performance of the company;
- Employee has access to information regarding the performance of the company;
- Employee understands how their individual performance contributes to the overall company success;
- Employee can measure and monitor accurately their individual performance as well as their team’s performance against agreed benchmarks;
- Managers are adept at having fair and consistent performance management conversations;
- Employee performance data is effectively managed;
- Realistic reward and recognition initiatives are consistently applied.
Logical – yes, easy – unfortunately not. There are so many mines that must be dodged through each step before you can pass to the next stage (note to software developers – possibility for computer game for HR nerds)? Tricky things to look out for include ineffective leadership style, “goal posts” that continue to move, really long and complicated performance rating processes, lack of link to career development opportunities…. the list goes on. And how do you know when you have made it?
The most powerful ways of engaging employees to assist in creating a high performance culture, are to ensure that they have clear individual goals, that they know the goals of the organisation and their impact on these goals and that they are given the opportunity to be recognised for their success in achieving those goals
Recapping the points listed above, the most powerful ways of engaging employees to assist in creating a high performance culture, are to ensure that they have clear individual goals, that they know the goals of the organisation and their impact on these goals and that they are given the opportunity to be recognised for their success in achieving those goals. Best practice approaches to assessing and developing the Performance Management piece incorporates these important factors as well assessing and integrating:
- the process;
- organisational preparedness including capability of managers, teams and individuals to review performance;
- access to valid organisational performance data;
- integration points with overall HR frameworks and the technology used to support the process.
A planned, structured approach that incorporates well researched practices and takes into account individual company nuances, doesn’t have to be a hard, dangerous journey. The end destination can be an environment where company performance is something that is revered and celebrated and that all employees are connected and engaged with. Performance management, no longer a dirty word, now an empowering driving force that is used to build the road to meeting all business objectives!
To discuss how your company can turn Performance Management into a positive, contact deliberatepractice on 1300 deliberate or visit our website at www.deliberatepractice.com.au