Performance management

Performance management (PM) includes activities which ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product of service, as well as many other areas. PM is also known as a process by which organizations align their resources, systems and employees [1] to strategic objectives and priorities. Performance management as referenced on this page in a broad term coined by Dr. Aubrey Daniels in the late 1970s to describe a technology (i.e. science imbedded in applications methods) for managing both behavior and results, two critical elements of what is known as performance

Or
he process of motivating employees through setting goals, measuring progress, giving feedback, coaching for improved performance, and rewarding achievements.

Characteristics of an ideal performance management system [edit]

Strategic Congruence [edit]
The strategic goals of the organisation should be linked to the goals of individuals and teams.

Standardization [edit]
If your evaluation criteria and methods are not standardized, you cannot say that you use them to hold your employees to a "standard." The aspects of performance that you measure must be uniform, and you must strive to maintain a constant level of strictness. Varying your level of strictness or your methods will only lead to your employees lacking faith in their managers and in the system itself.

Validity and Conciseness [edit]

Performance management systems should only measure what is valid to the tasks at hand. Less is often more when it comes to selecting evaluation criteria. If you are evaluating customer-service representatives in a call center, do not evaluate them on their ability to operate heavy machinery.

Legality [edit]
Make sure that you are not evaluating your employees in an illegal manner. Consult an attorney before employing a questionable method of evaluation.

Due Process [edit]

As with criminal investigations, if employees receive sub-par evaluations, give them the chance to defend themselves. Make sure that management adequately informed them of expectations, that the company provided them with all necessary resources and that there is no mistake in the evaluation. Even in cases where employees are performing at an unacceptable level, allow for redemption and reform.

Proper Training for Evaluators [edit]

No performance management system can succeed when those carrying out evaluations are inadequately trained. Make sure that your evaluators fully understand the responsibilities of those whom they are evaluating. Have them work in that capacity for a short time if necessary. When possible, have those who have proven their ability to work well in that capacity perform the evaluations.

No Bias of Reward [edit]

Do not reward evaluators for finding negative or positive results, as this will skew their evaluations in either direction and lead to distrust between your employees.

The major objectives of performance management are discussed below:

To enable the employees towards achievement of superior standards of work performance. To help the employees in identifying the knowledge and skills required for performing the job
efficiently as this would drive their focus towards performing the right task in the right way.

Boosting the performance of the employees by encouraging employee empowerment, motivation and
implementation of an effective reward mechanism.

Promoting a two way system of communication between the supervisors and the employees for
clarifying expectations about the roles and accountabilities, communicating the functional and organizational goals, providing a regular and a transparent feedback for improving employee performance and continuous coaching.

Identifying the barriers to effective performance and resolving those barriers through constant
monitoring, coaching and development interventions.

Creating a basis for several administrative decisions strategic planning, succession planning,
promotions and performance based payment.

Promoting personal growth and advancement in the career of the employees by helping them in
acquiring the desired knowledge and skills.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Managers and the employees share a responsibility for the implementation and success of the PM system. As such they need to be fully aware of their respective roles and responsibilities in terms of the different stages of performance management:

STAGE Planning

1. The Managers Role

ROLE Know the process and the system Schedule a planning meeting and give the process the time and quality it deserves. Review all steps of the planning process. Share unit goals, objectives and projects and competencies. Review duties, responsibilities and objectives for each position. Establish and communicate performance standards. Review responsibilities and job standards with each staff member and mutually agree on performance and competency expectations. Revise Performance Agreement accordingly. Encourage employee input throughout the meeting. Make sure expectations for the future are clear and understood by both parties. Assess strengths and areas for development with each employee and plan training interventions for the year. Review employees Personal Development Plan

 Agree upon regular check-ins for coaching and feedback with employee Approve Performance Agreement and PDP online.

Monitoring

Provide frequent informal coaching. Point out the good work that the employee is doing. Help the employee whose performance is lagging to bring their work up to par. Monitor employee performance throughout the year via informal review sessions. Review performance plans for progress and agree on revisions as necessary. Gather input and performance data from all available sources. Document observations and interventions in a log. This will be useful during the assessment meeting. Acknowledge good performance through feedback. This will keep the employee motivated.

Developing

Initiate and facilitate personal development planning meetings with employees. Determine how to improve or develop knowledge, skills and abilities. Creatively plan and support learning opportunities. Link development plan to a performance plan for each staff member. Monitor adherence to the PDP.

Assessing

At least twice a year formally review the performance of employees, and provide feedback. Set up formal meetings for assessment Know the employee being reviewed - think about the person; consider all aspects of performance and development. Use the meeting as an opportunity to talk about what went right and what went wrong, in a balanced way Exploring problem areas should be a joint problem-solving exercise, do not pre-judge, keep an open mind. Encourage employee input. Assess progress against each performance and development objective set for the year. Complete analysis and rate progress on each competency. Review assessment with second line manager as needed. Provide open, honest and constructive feedback to employee on performance. Always provide positive reinforcement. Complete final assessment and communicate final rating


1. The Employees Role

STAGE Planning

ROLE Review job profile. Consider special projects/assignments Share performance and professional development goals Mutually agree on performance expectations and competencies Actively participate in all aspects of the planning processes Complete draft Performance Agreement and Personal Development Plan online

Monitoring

Execute the performance agreement and PDP Monitor daily progress Make note of achievements and difficulties encountered. Retain feedback from others in the University who have commented positively on your performance. Prepare for informal progress meetings. Initiate these if the manager doesn't. Actively participate. Remain open and receptive to feedback. Periodically throughout the year, ask the manager for feedback on your performance. Consider the feedback received to be suggestions for improving performance, not personal criticisms. Try to follow through on suggestions for improvement and development of new skills. Talk to the manager about progress as well as any obstacles to improvement, so that the manager can help remove the barriers to good performance. Seek out coaching and informal update opportunities. Apply what is learnt. Take responsibility for performance and achievement of your PDP. Review performance plan for progress and recommend revisions as necessary to the manager.

Developing

Take responsibility for personal continuous performance improvement and development. Assess strengths and areas for development. Determine how to improve or develop knowledge, skills and abilities. Link development plan to performance agreement.

 Actively seek learning opportunities and bring them to the manager's attention. Become the primary driver for own development and learning.

Assessing

Prepare for the assessment discussion by collecting notes on performance. Participate in the assessment meeting by providing documentary evidence of accomplishments and by suggesting things that might help. Obtain feedback from peers and others when appropriate. Remain open and receptive to feedback. Attend and participate actively and cooperatively in partnership with the manager to improve performance.

Role of HR in Performance Management System

by KHURANA SHARMA on MARCH 10, 2011

There have been many queries on the role of HR in Performance Management System; some members bestow correct answers to such questions being raised, this is my take on the topic: WHAT IS THE ROLE OF HR IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. In most organisations, senior managers and directors detest conducting performance assessments, usually because they are uncomfortable and inexperienced in conducting them. They will be typically heard saying that appraisals dont work and are a waste of time. A similar approach then cascades down the line and fails the whole system of performance appraisal. Before we talk about the agenda here today, why not take a look at the traditional approach of HR in appraisals and then shift the discussion towards the

new strategic role of HR in managing employees performance. Basically, traditional HR performance appraisal system weighs how well a subordinate satisfies his boss or superior during the appraisal period. This degree of satisfaction may or may not be related to how well the employee contributed to corporate goals. Most of the time, it does not. For this reason, conventional performance appraisal has become a highly politicized, controversial, biased exercise that creates more dissonance than teamwork in the organization. New methods and HRs involvement in Strategic management have now changed the effects where HR appraises people on more relevant output performances like quality, productivity, internal and external customer satisfaction. If negative criteria is used, these become defects or rework, wastes, and internal and external customer complaints or returns. Strategic HR aims to change employee behavior and attitude by directly connecting his appraisal to what actually matters to corporate performance and customer satisfaction. It puts less weight on tenuous criteria like teamwork, attendance, Superiors satisfaction and attitude.

In contemporary epoch HR has to play a strategic role to develop capability, attitude and to initiate performance with quality into the product where the

HR has to collaborate with line managers to retain employees, which automatically affects the retention of customers because it is the driving force of customers. The goal of performance appraisal is to allow an employee the opportunity to progress to their full potential in order to meet organizational needs and his/her personal development goals. Through this process, true teamwork and maximum performance can be achieved. The foundation of the performance appraisal process is an improved communication between the employee and the supervisor. The Employee Relations/employee care/ Human Capital unit is available to assist managers, supervisors, and employees in utilizing the appraisal process and resolving workplace performance issues. Due to the paradigm shift and the Gen Y joining the workforce the major concern is not the ratings and hike, now employees are more concerned about the feedback and their Individual development plans. The HR department can now share the feedback with people, both negative and positive which not only increases the communication but also builds the trust of the employee in an organisation. HRs role in the Appraisals is not just related to the designing of the system but it has moved to a more substantial role of being a mentor, regulator and to

look into the details of why a persons performance is below par. In this new role, HR department also organizes mid term reviews to control the lows and increases the highs with timely checks on a regular basis, in fact it does not remain as a system The evaluation of ones performance can be utilized for TNI &A, and it helps designing the career plan for the employees. Training and development are better where HR plays an important role in PMS also. On a lighter note, the HR plays a better role than what is mentioned belowread them and have a good laugh but do not sit back while the management decides the rating of performance appraisals this year.take things in your hand and let them not give the following remarks..:) A keen analyst: Thoroughly confused. Alert to company developments: An office gossip. Consults with co-workers often: Indecisive, confused, and clueless. Displays excellent intuitive judgement: Knows when to disappear. Excels in the effective application of skills: Makes a good cup of coffee. He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve.

performance planning
A total approach to managing people and performance. Involving setting performance aims and expectations for the organization, departments and individuals employees.

What Are the Barriers to Effective Performance Appraisals?planning:

Ignoring Interaction
According to workplace consultant Robert Bacal writing on business resource site Work 911, managers and employees can sometimes get too caught up in the forms and the process of a performance appraisal and leave out the interactive portion. In order for a performance appraisal to be productive for the employee and the manager, it's important that both parties give input and work together to create the final evaluation. By ignoring the interactive aspect of the appraisal, the opportunity for the manager and employee to both feel involved in the employee's career is lost.

Generalizing
The Ohio State University Extension Human Resources department refers to generalizing during the appraisal process as the "halo effect." This means that the manager assumes an employee is proficient at a task because the employee shows proficiency in a related activity. For example, since the employee is effective at communicating with his peers, a manager may assume that he is also good at communicating with customers. This can reduce the performance appraisal to a set of assumptions on good or bad performance that may not be accurate. To create an effective performance review, all aspects of an employee's performance must be taken into account separately.

Lack of Preparation
An employee and a manager need to spend time preparing for a performance appraisal. According to career skill and improvement resource site Mind Tools, managers should spend time reviewing the job duties of the employee they will be reviewing as set forth in the human resources job description. Compare the employee's performance to their job duties and review past job evaluations to see if the employee has made any progress toward stated goals. Employees should spend time completing their self-assessment and keep notes throughout the year that they can bring to the appraisal meeting. Lack of preparation by either side, or both sides, can lead to an ineffective review.

Performance Management Process

Cornell is striving to standardize administrative processes and tools across campus to create efficiencies and to increase effectiveness. Consistent performance management processes, assessment tools, ratings, and development plans help increase the effectiveness of supervisors and employees within and across units.

An Effective Performance Management Process (PMP):

Maximizes staff engagement, development, and performance

Is consistent across units to enhance full development and utilization of talent Remains flexible, efficient, measurable, fair, transparent Provides better alignment of staff roles and goals with the universitys mission Promotes on-going and proactive succession management Cornells Performance Management Philosophy: Addresses the relationship of employees to the institution, from the time they are recruited, through their growth and development, to the time they depart Engages and develops employees throughout the year Establishes goals and measures performance to those goals Depends on the supervisor giving clear, developmental feedback Includes a review of past performance and goals and focuses on future development opportunities that are aligned to individual, unit, and university goals

The Performance Management Process Model

performance appraisal
The process by which a manager or consultant (1) examines and evaluates an employee's work behavior by comparing it with preset standards, (2) documents the results of the comparison, and (3) uses the results to provide feedback to the employee to show where improvements are needed and why. Performance appraisals are employed to determine who needs what training, and who will be promoted, demoted, retained, or fired.

Objectives of Performance Appraisal System:

1. To create and maintain a satisfactory level of performance. 2. To contribute to the employee growth and development through training, self and management development programmes. Tata Power aims at employee development 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. through performance appraisal. To help the superiors to have a proper understanding about their subordinates to guide the job changes with the help to continuous ranking To facilitate fair and equitable compensation based on performance. To facilitate for testing and validating selection tests, interview techniques through comparing their scores with performance appraisal ranks. to prove information for making decisions regarding lay off, retrenchment etc as in the case of Hyundai Engineering

360 Degree Performance Appraisals

360 degree feedback, also known as 'multi-rater feedback', is the most comprehensive appraisal where the feedback about the employees performance comes from all the sources that come in contact with the employee on his job. 360 degree respondents for an employee can be his/her peers, managers (i.e. superior), subordinates, team members, customers, suppliers/ vendors anyone who comes into contact with the employee and can provide valuable insights and information or feedback regarding the "on-the-job" performance of the employee. 360 1. 2. 3. 4. degree appraisal has Self Superiors Subordinates Peer four integral components: appraisal appraisal appraisal appraisal.

Self appraisal gives a chance to the employee to look at his/her strengths and weaknesses, his

achievements, and judge his own performance. Superiors appraisal forms t he traditional part of the 360 degree performance appraisal where the employees responsibilities and actual performance is rated by the superior. Subordinates appraisal gives a chance to judge the employee on the parameters like

communication and motivating abilities, superiors ability to delegate the work, leadership qualities etc. Also known as internal customers, the correct feedback given by peers can help to find employees abilities to work in a team, co -operation and sensitivity towards others.

Self assessment is an indispensable part of 360 degree appraisals and therefore 360 degree Performance appraisal have high employee involvement and also have the strongest impact on behavior and performance. It provides a "360-degree review" of the employees performance and is considered to be one of the most credible performance appraisal methods.

360 degree performance appraisal is also a powerful developmental tool because when conducted at regular intervals (say yearly) it helps to keep a track of the changes others perceptions about the employees. A 360 degree appraisal is generally found more suitable for the managers as it helps to assess their leadership and managing styles. This technique is being effectively used across the globe for performance appraisals. Some of the organizations following it are Wipro, Infosys, and Reliance Industries etc.
What is the definition of "monitoring"? The process of checking whether or not employees are on track to meet their goals and giving them feedback on their progress.

Definition Save to FavoritesSee Examples

Supervising activities in progress to ensure they are on-course and on-schedule in meeting the objectives and performance targets.

Why Is Monitoring Performance Important?

Monitoring perfomance is important to an organisation because it helps to generate data that can be used to judge the success and mprovement in performance can only be realistically achieved when management is properly informed about current performance

Strategic Performance Management

he Strategic Performance Management programme will help you successfully implement your strategy and validate its contribution to the organisations success. You will practice success mapping and learn how it can be used as a tool to compliment your Balanced Scorecard, building understanding and commitment across the organisation. You will learn about measurement and the different roles it takes, especially how you use the feedback to validate strategy and strategic assumptions.or

The 10 Key Steps in developing an effective performance management strategy: 1. Define what's driving the need for a performance management solution. Like the financial institution mentioned above, is the goal of the program to put in place a succession plan? Is it turning around a poorly performing institution such as the case in Baltimore? 2. Determine your strategy for moving forward. For example, when Boeing realized that it was losing ground to chief rival Airbus, the Chicago-based company looked at the way its employees were organized. It saw that beating Airbus meant Boeing would have to tap its extended enterprisestrategic partners outside the company, in the same way that Airbus did. Boeing's selfexamination led to its strategy. 3. Align your business units with your strategy. In banking, mergers and acquisitions happen at a frenetic pace. If your company has many business units, and some of these are the result of newly acquired entities, then alignment becomes critical. 4. Agree on what kind of people you have in the company and what kind of people you need. Don't take it for granted that you know your employees' skill sets. A discussion with five different managers about an employee will lead to five different opinions about his or her capabilities. 5. Evaluate employees on consistent criteria. If the rules by which you measure success change, then you'll never establish a baseline for employee performance. And if you don't have that, you can't measure progress. 6. Close the loop and give workers a sense of how they fit into the company's strategy, or don't. Create an open line of communication about the performance management framework you've built. If you have a company intranet, use its home page to discuss progress and strategy. If your workforce doesn't have access to computers, consider a direct-mail campaign that highlights progress. Schedule time with your direct reports to explain to them how their individual contributions are affecting a goal of, say, increased sales or improved customer service. 7. Give employees an opportunity for career growth. Once you've crafted your strategy, aligned your business units and begun communicating goals to workers, think about the opportunities this creates. As workers get excited about knowing the company's overall strategy and their part in it, they'll want to know what they can do to advance themselves professionally. Chart a path for workers to use to assume the roles and responsibilities of the people they work for. Build their confidence with developmental opportunities. 8. Link workers' skills to the job roles. Look at not only the level of skill your employees and managers possess but also the type of skills they have. For instance, you may have a very competent accountant in your company who also possesses fine writing skills. With an understanding of both finance and writing, she might make an excellent addition to an investor relations department. 9. Encourage people to behave in a way that will carry the company's goals forward. Training will teach people the skills they need, but it won't change behavior. That happens when leaders within an organization show that they believe in a performance management framework and they live it themselves. 10. Identify gaps and monitor these over time. Identify ways to coach and mentor. And create a sense of accountability across your employees. Change unsettles many people, but you can mitigate that uneasiness by putting in place a strategy that demands that managers become engaged in the development of their charges. Make your managers mentors, not disciplinarians. When performance gaps arise, see this as a chance to build a stronger team, and not chastise someone for a shortcoming

Reward management
Reward management is concerned with the formulation and implementation of strategies and policies that aim to reward people fairly, [1] equitably and consistently in accordance with their value to the organization. Reward management consists of analysing and controlling employee remuneration and all of the other benefits for the employees. Reward management aims to create and efficiently operate a reward structure for an organisation. Reward structure usually consists of pay policy and practices, [1] salary and payroll administration, total reward, minimum wage, executive pay and team reward.

Four Total Reward Components

Companies must provide the workforce with an effective value proposition that involves the four total reward components outlined below. Companies can either balance the four components or emphasize one over the others, but they must provide a total reward package that attracts the type of talent they need and want. For example, some companies may be weak in positive workplace but have very strong total pay to make up for the difficult work environment. Other companies may have weaker total pay but develop people, provide a positive workplace, and have a compelling future that people want to support and be a part of. Use this worksheet to identify your companys strengths, neutrals, and weaknesses on each element in the four total reward components. How does you company size up? Does each component have a strength? Is there a balance among components? Are there enough strengths to make up for the weaknesses? What are the areas for improvement over the shorter term and longer term? Pay People Right! provides a roadmap to help you take positive action based on your evaluation of your company. Current Strength (+), Neutral (=), or Weakness (-)

Total Reward Component

Element

Individual Growth

Investment in people Development and training Performance management Career enhancement

Compelling Future

Vision and values Company growth and success Company image and reputation Stakeholdership Win-win over time People focus Leadership Colleagues Work itself Involvement Trust and commitment Open communications

Positive Workplace

Total Pay

Base pay Variable pay (cash and stock) Benefits or indirect pay Recognition and celebration

Performance Counseling
Performance Counseling: The process of improving employee performance and productivity by providing the employee with feedback regarding areas where he or she is doing well and areas that may require improvement.
Counselling Skills Why are these important skills now? The speed and complexity of modern life continue to increase as do people's expectations from it. Coping well requires autonomous and flexible thinking and clear decisions. Unfortunately most of us have been conditioned to conform, not think for ourselves. Counselling skills help people to change as they learn to think things through for themselves and make their own decisions, free of the effects of past conditioning. What is counselling for? When we seek, or accept, help with an issue we have been unable to resolve on our own, there is often an emotional component in the situation. We often feel bad about needing help. The problem may itself cause confusing feelings "I like my boss but she/he drives me mad doing X, dare I level with her/him?". In the latter case feelings of liking, irritation and anxiety are present together. It is extremely difficult to think clearly when we are feeling strong feelings whether good or bad. The primary function of counselling is to help people think clearly when feelings are present. The feelings can arise from an experience in the present. Hearing "Your job is redundant" would obviously generate negative feelings in most people. Someone who got into trouble with head teachers at school might equally find meeting a senior administrator intimidating. This would remind that person of the earlier painful experience. He or she would then find it hard to think. What are counselling skills? The counsellor's job is to help the other person, the client, help him/her self. If the client is to feel safe enough to be open about her/his thoughts and feelings, he/she needs to feel safe, respected and understood. I list some skills below.

The counsellor must Listen Not judge Pay attention Accept the client's feelings Understand the client's world and feelings, put yourself in the client's shoes. Express that understanding. Think about the client The counsellor may Ask questions Summarise

So that the client can Develop his/her thinking Feel safe and respected Know you care Know he/she is not being judged Know you are with him/her

Get the best help possible So that the client can Develop her/his own thinking Hear her/his thoughts and know she/he is understood.

Ask the client to try new behaviour in the counselling session Counsellors should not Argue Dwell on their own difficulties Solve the problem for the client Give advice Belittle the clients' concern Avoid painful areas

Release blocking emotion such as. unexpressed anger or sadness. This will make the client Defensive Withdraw Dependant Dependant or hostile Withdraw or attack Be frustrated