paper on performance management

Performance Management

Performance management is a strategy used by employers to ensure that employees’ efforts and outputs contribute to the organization’s goals. This method necessitates knowing what tasks and outputs are required, noting when they occur, and responding to help employees achieve their goals. Managers and employees can classify performance problems and implement solutions while receiving feedback. This article discusses success assessment as an important component of human resource management. It will explain the goal of performance management, the steps in the process, and the procedure for evaluating performance.

Organizations and Performance Management

Organizations institute performance management systems in order to cater to three common purposes. These are strategic, developmental, administrative purposes.

Strategic Purpose of Performance Management

Strategic purpose implies that successful performance management assists the organization to attain its business goals (McGuire, Garavan & Dooley, 2012). It does this by assisting to connect workers’ behavior with the goals of the organization. Performance management begins with classifying what the organization anticipates from each worker. It evaluates each worker’s performance to ascertain when those anticipations are and are not catered for. This ensures that the organization takes corrective measure, like discipline, training, and or incentives (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2014). Performance management can perhaps attain its strategic purpose only when evaluations are accurately associated with the aims and when the objectives and feedback with regards to the performance are communicated to the workers.

Administrative Purpose of Performance Management

The administrative aim of a performance management system entails the ways through which organization employs the system to offer information for daily decisions concerning benefit, salary, and recognition plans (Dessler, 2000). Performance management can also aid in decision-making concerning worker retention, dismissal for bad behavior, and recruitment or terminations. Due to the fact that performance management aids these administrative decisions, the information in a performance evaluation can perhaps influence the future of workers (Noe, et al., 2014).

Developmental Purpose of Performance Management

Developmental purpose of performance management implies that it acts as a foundation for advancing workers’ skills and knowledge. Workers who meet expectations can perhaps turn out to be more appreciated when they learn and deliberate on performance feedback (Noe, et al., 2014). Successful performance response enables the workers to know their strengths and weaknesses. Deliberating on the areas that the workers fall short can perhaps assist them to discover the source of issues and make out the steps for perfection and advancement. Despite the fact that discussing the areas of weakness may perhaps appear uncomfortable, it is vital at a time when performance management has a purpose of development (Taylor, 2014).

The Process Steps of Performance Management

Defining performance results

The initial step in the process of performance management entails recognizing what the organization is attempting to achieve and establishing worker objectives and activities to attain these results.

Developing the goals and actions of the employees

Usually, the results are beneficial to the team members, the organization, and the customers. The objectives and actions must be quantifiable and become part and parcel of worker’s job description (Noe, et al., 2014).

Provide support and organizational performance

This third step entails offering organizational support to the workers in terms of training, vital tools and resources, and constant feedback between the worker and the manager that aims on attainments and problems and challenges that impact performance (McGuire, Garavan & Dooley, 2012). Successful performance management is where the worker and the manager gives importance to feedback and utilizes it on a daily basis. The manager is also required to offer constant feedback to the worker and get to understand the manner in which to give and obtain it.

Evaluate performance

This fourth step entails measuring performance. This is when the manager and the worker negotiate and compare intended objectives and supporting behavior with the real outcomes. It entails the yearly formal performance appraisal.

Identifying necessary improvements

This step of performance management entails both the manager and the worker pinpointing what the worker can perhaps do in order to take advantage of the performance strengths and tackle weaknesses. It also includes offering outcomes for attaining performance results like bonuses, wage increases, and action programs (Taylor, 2014).

Providing outcomes for performance results

This is the final step in the process of performance management. It entails classifying training requirements, modifying the type of feedback that the manager offers to the worker, illustrating, adjusting performance results, and deliberating on activities and behaviors that necessitate improvements (McGuire, Garavan & Dooley, 2012). In order to be successful, the whole performance management procedure must be reviewed yearly in order to ascertain that what is being evaluated at the worker level is strategically in line with the organizational objectives (Noe, et al., 2014).

Methods for Measuring Performance

Organizations have established various techniques for evaluating performance. Some techniques rank every worker to match workers’ performance. Other techniques break-down the measurement into ratings of workers attributes, results, and behaviors (Noe, et al., 2014). A number of organizations employ evaluation system, which entails various measures like in the case of total quality management.

Making Comparisons

This performance measurement technique may necessitate the rater to match one worker’s performance with that of others (McGuire, Garavan & Dooley, 2012). It entails some kind of ranking whereby some workers are ranked best, some are ranked poor, and others are ranked average. The normal methods for establishing comparisons are paired comparison, forced distribution, as well as simple ranking.

The simple ranking method needs managers to rank workers in their group from the best to the worst performer. On the other hand, with forced-distribution technique, the manager allocates a specific percentage of workers to each class in a set of groups (Noe, et al., 2014). For instance, the organization might perhaps institute the following categories and percentages: Exceptional is given 5 percent, exceeding normal standards is given 25 percent, meeting standards is given 55 percent, room for improvement is accorded 10 percent, while the not acceptable group is given 5 percent (Noe, et al., 2014).

Finally, another variation on rankings involves the paired-comparison technique. This method entails matching up each worker with each other worker to determine rankings. The manager will then calculate the points for every worker. The worker with higher points is regarded as the top-ranked (McGuire, Garavan & Dooley, 2012).

Rating Individuals

Rather than aiming at arranging a category of workers from the best to the worst, performance evaluation can perhaps focus on every worker’s performance with regards to set guidelines (Noe, et al., 2014). The evaluation may measure workers in terms of traits or attributes that are perceived to be appropriate. The evaluation may also classify whether workers have conducted themselves in certain ways like completing tasks. The most commonly employed technique for rating attributes is the graphic rating scale. This is where the manager lists characteristics and offers a rating scale for each feature (Noe, et al., 2014). The manager utilizes the scale to demonstrate the level at which the worker being rated shows the traits. On the other hand, rating behaviors is a way of overcoming the shortcomings of rating, which is through evaluating the behavior of the workers. In order to rate behaviors, the organization starts with outlining which behaviors are linked to effectiveness on the job.

Measuring Results

This is another method for measuring performance. Performance evaluation aims at managing outcomes of a task or objective (Taylor, 2014). Results might perhaps include productivity, sales, and costs, among several possible evaluations. Two of the most common techniques for evaluating outcomes are management by objectives and evaluation of productivity.

Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management offers techniques for performance management and evaluation (Dessler, 2000). This method is different from performance evaluation because it evaluates both personal performance and the system where the employee works. This measurement is a procedure by which workers and their consumers work in unison to establish standards and gauge performance with the complete aim of improving consumer satisfaction. The feedback is intended to assist workers to constantly improve the satisfaction of their consumers. The determination on constantly improving consumer satisfaction is aimed to evade the drawback of rating workers on outcomes like profits or sales where employees do not possess entire control over (Taylor, 2014).

Carrying out Random Checks

This is another method for evaluating performance management. Depending on the nature of the organization or company, it is important to take into consideration adopting random checks against quality standards (Agarwal, 2014). This technique may perhaps entail assessing project meetings, telephone calls, and reviewing records. As soon as the workers understand this policy, the random nature of checks can perhaps encourage them to ensure a steady performance (Mehrens, 2005).

Performance Management Method in my Previous Job Role

There are several techniques that can perhaps be employed to manage performance. My previous job role involved working in a small scale construction organization. The following are a number of formal methods that was used by the firm:

Management by Objectives (MBO)

The management by objectives outlines objectives and prospective targets by discussions (Taylor, 2014). For instance, future assignments, productivity, and behavior are negotiated between the employer and the worker, and a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based strategy is established in order that both the employer and the worker understands what should be attained, when to attain, and to what extent (Mehrens, 2005). This was the most common method used by my previous company where employees were results-oriented, and where the construction company utilized a formal procedure to manage performance.

360-Degree Assessment

This method was taken by the company as the best practice to manage performance. It was in most instances employed by managers to collect feedback from workers in order to offer an all-inclusive representation of performance. It offers significant understanding into how the worker conducts himself or herself, and how the behavior is perceived by several other company stakeholders (Dessler, 2000). The method was appropriate for the small scale firm in that it is best where time, funding, and effort is available. It is also useful where it is significant to obtain a number of viewpoints on an employee’s performance.

Self-assessment

This method is where every employee of the organization evaluates his or her own performance based on established criteria (Agarwal, 2014). It was suitable for the construction company in that it was employed in order to pinpoint the employees’ standpoint and the firm’s viewpoint of performance. The method was suitable with the interview technique of performance management.

Competency-based Evaluations

This is where the elements of competency are evaluated. Though competency can be difficult to outline in jobs with increased degree of uncertainty, or where results are not evidently classifiable like managing relationship with customers or employees, this method was used by the company to measure performance (Mehrens, 2005). It was useful for the construction company in that it is best used where abilities and skills can perhaps be quantified and classified.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in order to ensure the success of any organization, progress should be evaluated and acted upon. If a performance evaluation is absent, periodic measurement take place in order to make sure that advancement is being made. Performance evaluation is suitable in determining whether or not the plan of action is operational. In this case, therefore, I would not hesitate to alter a plan if performance evaluation indicates that no advancement is being attained. In order to improve the performance management method, I would also employ exemplary programs to act as guides for those programs that have not been used by the organization.

References

Agarwal, P. (2014). Make Performance-management Systems Work for your Company. Human Resource Management International Digest, 22(4), 33-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/hrmid-07-2014-0086

Dessler, G. (2000). Human Resource Management (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

McGuire, D., Garavan, T., & Dooley, L. (2012). Fundamentals of Human Resource Development (1st ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.

Mehrens, W. (2005). Using Performance Assessment for Accountability Purposes. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 11(1), 3-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3992.1992.tb00220.x

Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2014). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (5th ed.). New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Education.

Taylor, J. (2014). Organizational Culture and the Paradox of Performance Management. Public Performance & Management Review, 38(1), 7-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/pmr1530-9576380101