PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT-
REVIEWING ISSUES
REVIEWING THE MAIN ISSUES
1 FACED IN PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
OBJECTIVES
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF
2 TOP MANAGEMENT
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF
3
HR IN PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
THE ISSUES
1 Lack of commitment and support from top management.
1
Over-engineered complex systems designed by HR that demand more
2
from line managers than they can reasonably be expected to do.
Over-emphasis on setting quantified ‘SMART’ objectives and not
3 1
aligning individual objectives to the organization’s goals.
Focus on the dishonest annual ritual of a once-a-year performance
4
review or appraisal meeting, thus neglecting the essential feature of
performance management – that it is an on-going process that should
take place throughout the year.
Reliance on ratings and, in some cases, forced rankings that only
5 serve to demotivate people.
THE ISSUES
The stated or implicit belief that performance management only
6
1
exists to generate ratings that inform performance-related pay
decisions.
Insufficient emphasis on development and linking performance
7
management to talent management.
1
Little attention given to the education and training of managers in
8
why performance management is important and their role in
implementing it.
9 Poor implementation.
10 Inadequate evaluation
Role of Top
Management
Commitment and Support
The chief executive, with the support of the top
management team, sets goals, formulates strategies to
achieve the goals and ensures that these strategies are
implemented. The whole top management team is
there to create and maintain a high performance
culture, one in which the values, norms and practices of
an organization combine to create a climate in which
the achievement of high levels of performance is a way
of life.
Complexity
Too much complexity is built into the system when
performance reviews are expected to fulfil numerous
functions including performance improvement,
feedback, coaching, goal setting, skill development,
the identification of potential, pay determination and
the identification of under-performers
Objectives
Three Issues relating to Setting Objectives:
Over- Linking
Use of
Individual and
emphasis on SMART
Organizational
Quantification acronym Objectives
Annual Performance
Reviews
Replacing the annual review with more frequent
feedback conversations during the course of the year
has been perhaps the biggest change made by
organizations that have reinvented their performance
management systems.
Rating and Forced Ranking
Rating involves the assessment by a reviewer of the
level of performance of an employee expressed on a
scale, frequently alphabetic or numerical.
Forced ranking requires managers to place their staff
in order, from best to worst. The rank order is divided
into predetermined categories expressed as
percentiles that are defined as a hierarchy of
performance grades.
Performance
Management and
Performance-related Pay
It is often assumed the performance-related pay
schemes can only function when there is a rating
process that determines the size of the increase. It is
true that most organizations with performance pay
base it on ratings, but 20 per cent of the respondents
to the e-reward performance management survey
(2014) did not and there are ways in which pay
decisions can be made without them
Employee Development and
Talent Management
The prime concern of performance management is
the development of people to perform even better in
the future and to advance their careers.
Performance management can support the two key
talent management activities of identifying talent and
developing talent. It is necessary to ensure that line
managers are aware of the part they should play in
these activities and are given guidance in carrying out
that role.
Line Managers
Line managers are often blamed for the failure of
performance management but the real blame should
be attached to those who expect too much of them in
handling over-complex systems and fail to provide
them with the training, guidance and help they need
to develop and apply the demanding skills required.
Implementing Performance
Management
Organizations introducing performance
management or amending an existing
scheme start with good intentions. They
know what they want to achieve and believe
they have the answer to the question ‘how
should it be achieved’.
Evaluating Performance
Management
A process as demanding and complex as
performance management needs to be evaluated
regularly to check that it is functioning as planned
and to identify any actions required to improve its
effectiveness.
The Role of HR
HR specialists work alongside line managers, helping them as
necessary to develop their skills, encouraging them to carry out
their performance management responsibilities and providing
guidance on such matters as preparing role profiles, including
knowledge, skills and competency analysis. They assemble
teams of committed and experienced managers who can act as
coaches and mentors and stimulate the creation of communities
of practice, ensuring that performance management is on the
agenda.
THANK
YOU
