Relevance Of Performance Management Course Of Action & Very Best Practices To Optimize Monitoring Ef

How does your organization prepare supervisors to manage employee performance

?

What tools does your organization provide to make performance management part of a supervisor's daily routine?

How much emphasis does your organization place on performance management?

If you were able to quickly and easily answer these questions, it's likely that you have made a priority of helping supervisors understand and embrace the importance of being performance managers. If you had to think twice about your answers or if your answers were immediately on the negative side, it's likely that the day-to-day management of employee performance has not been made a priority in your organization.

Performance management, the process of providing direction, feedback, and recognition to employees, contributes to workplace culture. It defines what is important to employees and communicates day-to-day expectations. However, many organizations, public and private sector alike, have become distracted by the crisis of the day and overlook this important managerial function.

When the management of employee performance is not a priority, employers are likely to see reduced levels of employee engagement and commitment. A recent study by Watson Wyatt, 2005/2006 Communications ROI Study, found that clear communication leads to greater levels of engagement and higher levels of retention. The study found that most organizations expect supervisors to take on a greater share of the communication responsibilities, but few organizations are providing the tools that supervisors need to communicate more effectively with employees. This study, and probably your own experience, leads us to the conclusion that supervisors need help in managing the performance of their employees. Supervisory training and development programs play a critical role in helping supervisors become performance managers. The purpose of this article is to provide five tools that will lead supervisors to become better managers of employee performance.

Tool #1: Help supervisors see the cyclical, constant nature of performance management, using the performance management cycle.

In many organizations, performance management is thought about once a year--at performance evaluation time. We know it shouldn't be a once a year activity although many Human Resources departments foster that approach. The performance management cycle, illustrated below, is a sound model to communicate the cyclical, on-going nature of managing employee performance.

If messages about employee performance management are issued only once a year, the result will likely be surprised, angry employees and/or unmet expectations. If the Human Resources department "talks up" performance management on a regular basis by reminding supervisors to address performance concerns immediately, maintain complete and frequent documentation, and have regular, informal conversations with employees about performance, these important activities will remain a point of focus for everyone. If the topic is brought up just once a year, employees will only focus on it once a year.

The performance management cycle can also be used as an outline around which to structure performance management training sessions. Each of the stages in the cycle calls for at least one learning objective and warrants discussion and practice.

Likewise, the cycle provides a roadmap for organizations looking to reinforce effective performance management behaviors throughout the year. One approach is to send monthly or quarterly emails or newsletters to supervisors to remind them of individual steps in the cycle. For example, one month a performance management note may be sent that gives a few tips related to effective documentation techniques. The next month the performance management note might share the importance of having regular and frequent conversations with employees about performance.

The performance management cycle provides a sound structure around which to organize communications about performance management.

Tool #2: Help supervisors clarify their performance expectations.

When asked, "What do you expect of employees?" many supervisors return a blank stare. Though employees are asking this question daily in a million different ways, supervisors often struggle with articulating the answer. Performance management training should help supervisors identify and describe performance expectations so that the expectations can be clearly understood by employees. Here is an exercise you can use to help supervisors articulate their expectations.

First, ask supervisors to write down the behaviors of an ideal employee. These can be general behaviors or specific job tasks. Using the "ideal" as a template, ask supervisors to write a list of their "must have" behaviors on the job. Even though the job description defines the essential functions of the job, each supervisor has his/her own expectations and visions for performance. These expectations often separate the good from the great performers. For example, a common behavior that a supervisor might expect is timeliness. One supervisor said he expected that everyone on the team would be on time and prepared for meetings. When a new employee joined the work unit, the supervisor gave the employee a copy of his written expectations, which included the need to be on time and prepared for meetings. Rarely did this supervisor have a problem with late-starting meetings or unprepared employees.

These kinds of expectations may seem obvious, but when stated clearly by the supervisor, in writing, they become easier to address and reward. performance management training should provide supervisors with practical tools for articulating expectations clearly.

by: Elmer Mende

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