subject: Common Tools Used In Employee Performance Management [print this page] To achieve the best from their employees and to make the process of human resource management truly useful, companies use various tools to manage the performance of employees. There are various areas of human resource management that are critical to the performance of the organization in general and neglecting these means that the company might never achieve its objectives.
Any new employee in an organization needs to be given enough training before being assigned tasks. While learning is crucial for new employees, it is equally important for old employees as changes in the way an organization is being run need to be understood by all employees. For this reason, any forward-looking company must have a system of continuous learning and human resource development in place.
The personnel appraisal factsheets is one of the many tools in performance management. These have key performance areas and the manager grades the performance of the employee on their performance in meeting the objectives as set out in the appraisal form. Use of appraisal forms as a performance management tool has been criticized as an irrelevant and time-consuming process which does not deliver the desired result of improving employee performance.
The performance appraisal factsheet however is still one of the most common performance management tools that is used by organizations. The appraisal, usually done once a year, involves the recording of an individuals performance and potential during the year by the manager or departmental head.
To make employee development really meaningful, one of the performance management tools used today is coaching. Through coaching, the employees skills are developed and his or her level of knowledge increased. This results in improved performance and aids in achieving the objectives of the organization.
Closely related to coaching is the use of learning and development to improve employee performance management. This involves getting the employee to understand the processes of the organization in detail. To make the process really meaningful, organizations try to make it as interactive as possible. By use of performance reviews, the employee is encouraged to suggest ways in which he or she would like to develop. Moreover, when drawing a personal development plan, discussions about salary and past performance are kept out of the personal development plan. This enables the employee to concentrate on developing a real plan while keeping everyday pressures away.
