Performance Management (Blog 6)

What is Performance Management…?

Performance management is a process by which managers and employees in work environment work together to plan, monitor and review objectives and overall contribution enabling perform the best of their abilities to the organization. According to Radnor and McGuire (2004), there has been a revolution in performance management and measurements over the past years. The concept of performance expressed by Brumbrach (1988) was ‘Performance means both behaviours and results. Behaviours emanate from the performer and transform performance from abstraction to action. Not just the instruments for results, behaviours are also outcomes in their own right – the product of mental and physical effort applied to tasks – and can be judged apart from results’.

Performance management is the continuous process of setting objectives, assessing progress and providing on-going coaching and feedback to ensure that employees are meeting their objectives and career goals.

Principles of Performance Management

           
            (Figure 1: Principles of Performance)

Brethower (1972) explains the principles that are helpful in the design and implementation of effective performance management systems as follows.

“…Through a Performance Improvement Analysis, one measures present performance, establishes standards, specifies why behavior is deficient, calculates the net economic value of improvement after the cost of solutions, and places them in priority order.

Being Specific, describe and communicate desired performances and the standards for judging them in terms that are measurable, observable and objective. For any performance shown by the analysis to have sufficient economic value to an organization, measure the frequency of the performance against the desired standards. Provide feedback on performance to the individual involved and to the individual's manager, supervisor, or group leader, rapidly-preferably immediately-with sufficient information to allow for self-correction. Deliver to each individual positive consequence immediately after completion of the performance of the desired behaviors and outputs...”

mba skool.com (2011) introduce Performance Appraisal Process as;

Performance Appraisal Process is defined as the series of steps which are undertaken in an organization (or Employer) to evaluate an employee on a set of pre-defined performance goals. Performance appraisal usually starts with goal setting which is initiated by the employee to set benchmarks or clear objectives on which he/she would like to contribute in the coming appraisal cycle. The performance goals can also be set by the employer in addition to the employee defined goals.

The image below summarizes the basic steps in the performance appraisal process:

(Figure 2: performance appraisal process)

OSCAR principles Performance Management as stated in Free management books (2003);

(Figure 3: OSCAR Principles of Performance Management)

As a manager there are certain things you can do within the appraisal process to help you maximize engagement and encourage your team to attain high levels of performance:

• Be Objective and fair in how you assess your staff at all times, regardless of your personal feelings.
• Set your staff SMART goals that will develop each person to their maximum potential.
• When observing your staff, assess them on the Competencies they display according to the responsibilities of their role.
• Assess individuals based on the role and tasks as outlined in their job description.
• When you Review an individual you should also assess their performance based on the role's contribution to the organization. It is vital that you check that the person has a clear understanding of how their input contributes to the organization's success.

References

• Brethower, D. (1972) ‘Behavior Analysis in Business and Industry: A Total Performance System’. Kalamazoo, MI: Behaviordelia Press.

• Brumbach, G. B. (1988) ‘Some ideas, issues and predictions about performance management’, Public Personnel Management, Winter, pp. 387–402.

• freemanagementbooks (2003), [Online] available at: http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/faqap/perfman-02.htm [Accessed on: 04 September 2018].

• mba skool.com (2011), [Online] available at: https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/human-resources-hr-terms/17494-performance-appraisal-process.html [Accessed on: 04 September 2018].

• Radnor and McGuire, (2004) ‘Performance management in the public sector: fact or fiction?’ International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 53 Iss: 3, pp. 245 – 260.

• Figure 1: Pformacademy (2013) Principles of Performance Management:, [Online] Available at: https://pformacademy.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/performance-management-and-kpis/ [Accessed on: 04 September 2018]. 

• Figure 2: mba skool.com (2011) [Online] available at: https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/human-resources-hr-terms/17494-performance-appraisal-process.html [Accessed on: 04 September 2018].

• Figure 3: freemanagementbooks (2003) OSCAR Principles of Performance Management: , [Online] available at: http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/faqap/perfman-02.htm [Accessed on: 04 September 2018].