Performance ManagementPerformance Management is the commumication between employee and manager about what needs to be done, how they did and what improvement could be made. To borrow from Thomas Gilbert The two greatest impdediments to "worthy performance" are the lack of direction and the lack of feedback. For some reason managers don't always give their staff enough direction and feedback. In one study I did for a professional services firm employees wanted the following from their managers:
41% wanted more direction; 51% wanted more feedback and 58% wanted help creating measurments of the employee's work that the employee could monitor.
Employees want direction and feedback. Managers should give them want they want!
Article: Basic Performance Communication and steps to follow when talking
with employees about performance improvement."When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back the rate of improvement accelerates." Thomas Monson
Article: How To Review Appraisals Written By Others--Managers who supervise other managers are seldom taught what they should be looking for when they review the performance appraisals their subordinate managers write. Because of this lack of guidance and the usual time crunch, they often give these appraisals a quick glance just to be sure the raing is ok. The process suffers when the reviewer does not acutually review his or her subordinate managers' appraisals.
Article: The Performance Appraisal Discussion Is Not An Interview (It is time for a discussion about performance not to find out what they did. Any true surprise to the employee is an example of a communication problem by the manager.)
Article: Questions Managers Often Have About Appraisals, With Answers.
Article: Perfomance Improvement Plans and Warnings. There will always be situations where employees don't do what we want them to. Keeping track of their performance is essential. Giving the employee FAST Feedback (Frequent, Accurate, Specific and Timely) on a form like the FAST Feedback form on the forms page is important. But feedback is not always sufficient. When a warning is needed there should be an improvement plan too, as you will see when you read the article.Samples: Manager Development Plan: This is a form for managers (or employees desiring to be managers) and their supervisors to assess the manager’s level of competency on the old standby, Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling skills needed to be a manager. Then depending on where the manager is, and the skills needed for the job, a development plan is jointly determined.
Samples: Eleven warning letters covering tardiness, attendance, inconsistent performance, negative attitude, disruptive behavior, manager not performing as expected and more. There is a second warning and a "last chance " warning. Many of the situations are sales related, but the problem behaviors are the sort that occur in any industry. **You should have Human Resources involved in writing or reviewing the warning!**
Samples: Discipline and Performance Improvement: Managers don't really discipline employees. Discipline (except in the union environment) is a code word for termination. When you have people who are not doing what you want them to it is a performance issue. This article includes a little about "discipline" as you would have in a "discipline policy" i.e., reasons for termination. Then it goes over the performance improvement process with some dos and don'ts and a sample "Last Chance" letter/warning. The context in which this was written was retail but the advice is applicable for any industry.
Samples: Performance Management Infopak: These 9 readings and activities cover the two essential skills needed to successfully influence performance-Direction and Feedback.
Barriers to Effective Performance Management: This is a brief self-test regarding common barriers to effective Performance Management.
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