Here’s Your Quick Start Learning Guide to Performance Management
Want to understand the basics of performance management? Many writers and consultants are using the term as a substitution for the traditional appraisal system. You are encouraged to think of the term in this broader work system context instead. Performance management eliminates the need for performance appraisals, employee reviews, and employee evaluations.
Performance management is not an annual appraisal meeting. It is not preparing for that appraisal meeting nor is it a self-evaluation. It’s not a form nor is it a measuring tool although many organizations may use tools and forms to track goals and improvements, they are not the process of performance management.
Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities.
Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed. It ends when an employee leaves your organization.
Performance management defines your interaction with an employee at every step of the way in between these major life cycle occurrences. Performance management makes every interaction opportunity with an employee into a learning occasion.
Components of a Performance Management System
The performance management system may contain all of these components, but it is the overall system that matters, not the individual components. Many organizations have been able to develop effective performance management systems without all of the following practices.
A performance management system includes the following actions:
- Develop clear job descriptions using an employee recruitment plan that identifies the selection team.
- Recruit potential employees and select the most qualified to participate in interviews onsite.
- Conduct interviews to narrow down your pool of candidates.
- Hold multiple additional meetings, as needed, to get to know your candidates’ strengths, weaknesses, and abilities to contribute what you need. Use potential employee testing and assignments where they make sense for the position that you are filling.
- Select appropriate people using a comprehensive employee selection process to identify the most qualified candidate who has the best cultural fit and job fit that you need.
- Offer your selected candidate the job and negotiate the terms and conditions of employment including salary, benefits, paid time off, and other organizational perks.
- Welcome the new employee to your organization.
- Provide effective new employee orientation, assign a mentor, and integrate your new employee into the organization and its culture.
- Negotiate requirements and accomplishment-based performance standards, outcomes, and measures between the employee and his or her new manager.
- Provide ongoing education and training as needed.
- Provide on-going coaching and feedback.
- Conduct quarterly performance development planning discussions.
- Design effective compensation and recognition systems that reward people for their ongoing contributions.
- Provide promotional/career development opportunities including lateral moves, transfers, and job shadowing for staff.
- Assist with exit interviews to understand WHY valued employees leave the organization.
Learn More about Performance Management Quickly
The articles below offer information about how to master performance management quickly and efficiently and should be read in the presented order. For your best results in developing your performance management system.
This is the quick path to learning more about performance management and performance development planning. You can implement this system in your organization with great success.
- Performance Appraisals Don’t Work tells you why you want to move away from the traditional appraisal system.
- Performance Management Glossary Entry provides a basic definition of performance management.
- Performance Management Is Not an Annual Appraisal provides the components of a performance management system.
- Performance Management Process Checklist gives you the components of the performance management process.
- Performance Development Planning provides the steps for preparing and implementing performance development planning.
- Performance Development Planning Form is used to write out specific goals and measurements, to be updated quarterly.
- Goal Setting: Beyond Traditional SMART Goals discusses goal setting.
- Tips to Help Managers Improve Performance Appraisals provides concrete suggestions about how those of you who have to manage in a traditional performance appraisal culture can make them better—for both you and the employee.
- Common Problems With Performance Appraisals identifies the most common reasons why appraisals are not effective.
- Phrases for Approaching Performance Reviews and Difficult Conversations shares tips about successfully holding a comfortable appraisal meeting.
With all of these tips and tools to help you develop a performance management system, you’ll find it easy to put such a system together. Staying committed and making it work is the hard part. But, you can do it. Your managers and employees will see the utility.
For those of you who have little impact on the system used to review employee performance, the appraisal articles will help you work with what you have. Best wishes for your success.
Source: SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD – <https://www.thebalancecareers.com/performance-management-1918226> Accessed 17th Feb 2019
