MANAGING PERFORMANCE

 

Many believe that managing performance is a difficult business process to achieve.  Managing performance is not about producing a performance appraisal form at the end of a specific period.  Neither is it about hounding individuals 24/7.

Recruitment

The process begins at recruitment and requires knowledge of job output, competencies necessary to achieve the desired outcome, and designing your recruitment process to achieve the objective of securing “the best fit for the job”.  

Consideration must be given to the composition of the existing team, the values of the organisation and the level of complexity involved in performing that function.  Thus ensuring that the successful candidate is able to accomplish the deliverables for which they are hired.  Whereas, technical knowhow is important, assessing emotional intelligence is key, particularly in a supervisory or leadership role where getting results through people is essential. 

Culture

The culture and environment in which people are expected to work impacts there productivity.  Too often highly motivated, creative and intelligent people are brought into a workplace which does not value these attributes.  Instead,  it encourages them to leave their brains outside the door whilst strategies are employed to get them to perform exactly how the employer wants.  Such an environment does not engender an atmosphere where employees can contribute and produce to their full capacity. Innovation is also stifled which does not auger well for the growth of the individual or the organisation.

Employee engagement

Employee engagement is also important in Managing Performance. Some important practices are; Effective communication; communication is open and goes in both directions; feedback is provided on an ongoing basis; empathic listening skills are employed during the feedback process; employees are given an opportunity to express themselves; ensuring that individuals are aware of how their role contributes to achieving strategic objectives of the organisation; expectations of the job are clearly defined; Establishing mutual trust is also critical.   Trust is  important as a lack of trust comes at a cost,  when there is mistrust everything takes longer, the time spent on intrigue trying to determine what ulterior motives exist is counterproductive.

Goal Setting

It is important that goals are established in conjunction with the employee; yes, these can be stretched but remembers the SMART acronym.  For those of us who believe that our jobs cannot be measured I want to reference a text titled “How to Measure Anything” by Douglas W Hubbard.  

Do not overwhelm your team members with too many goals or objectives.  Determine what the Key Performance Indicators are. (KPI’s).  Information sharing will assist the employee with prioritizing.  Ensure that as a department there is a compelling scoreboard developed by the employees with your support, it’s their scoreboard not yours. Let employees determine the tasks that they will undertake to achieve the stated objective.  Ensure the tools, appropriate seating arrangement, heating/cooling, support/direction; necessary equipment is available to perform the job.  There are numerous electronic systems that can assist with the tracking of performance.

Employee Development

Provide the necessary training, coaching and mentoring following a skills gap analysis.  Ensure that objective systems of measuring performance exists e.g. use of a tool such as the balance scorecard which is flexible and addresses 4 dimensions of the job namely, the financial, internal or external customer service, learning and growth, and internal processes.  This tool assists in objectively measuring performance of your employees at an individual, department and organisational level.

Performance Management  

To ensure equity it is important that our system of measuring performance is tied to a matrix which is quantifiable. When an employee has clear knowledge of what is expected, receives ongoing feedback to ensure that there are no surprises at the end of the period this causes the system to be more acceptable. Ongoing constructive feedback allows employees an opportunity to upgrade their performance thus adding value to their organisation. 

Leadership

The quality of leadership is also of great importance to the process, as this speaks to the monitoring/review component.   Think of the type of leader you had when you were most productive, this should be your benchmark for how you lead.  Competence, Empathy, willingness to learn and share, firm and fair, creative, innovative, emotionally intelligent, excellent communicator, ability to challenge other, trustworthy, honest,  professional, personal integrity etc.  These are some of the desired competencies.

Performance Measurement

Having examined the various elements of the performance management process it is then left for us to measure.  How did the individual perform based on the expectations of the

job?  Again, the need for this part of the process to be as objective as possible.  It’s not about how you feel; it’s about what evidence you have of the specific performance or lack of performance that you are referring to.  The fact that interventions have taken place in the meantime is an opportunity to encourage the individual to look at next steps, how they can grow on the job, or how they can grow to move out of the job. Use the performance review as an opportunity to plan for growth and development of the individual.

Compensation

Reward sweetens labour this is a component of the process we cannot ignore.  It does not necessarily have to be monetary. How people are treated, the environment in which they work, how we celebrate success, is the organisation a learning organisation that facilitates learning and growth. These are all equally important.

The process is cyclical. I invite you to see your performance appraisal as a Developmental tool not as an “I catch you tool”.   Effective performance management is critical to the success of your business.

Thecla C. Deterville

Managing Director

Celestial Self Development Centre

Franchise Holder for: FanklinCovey East Caribbean

info@celestialsdc.com

https://www.celestialsdc.com