From For Your Benefit: Winter (March) 2004

Managing Performance Management

Let's face it: performance management isn't always easy. It isn't easy for the supervisor when he or she needs to provide coaching or corrective guidance, and it isn't easy for the staff members when they are not sure of how well they are doing in the eyes of their supervisors.

But, done well, performance management can provide opportunities for staff to review their accomplishments with pride, and for supervisors to thank them for a job well done. Even when staff need to improve in an area, constructive and skillful performance feedback-the heart of performance management-can be positive, forward-looking, and energizing.

Most supervisors and staff think of performance management as a one-time event that happens every year when they sit down together with a performance dialogue form, which either one or both of them have completed, and formally review the staff person's performance. Indeed, this is a very important process, and at the minimum supervisors themselves should be appraised on whether they give yearly performance appraisals to their staff or not. However, this annual meeting does not take full advantage of the positive impact regular communication regarding performance can have-for the staff member and for the organization.
Performance management is meant to be an ongoing process of communication that gives staff and super-visors the chance to step back from the day-to-day activities and to assess what's been done and plan for what's ahead. Dialogues about performance give staff a chance to voice their hopes and dreams for their job success as well as their frustrations and obstacles.

Similarly, supervisors have the chance to sketch out where they see their department or unit going, and what they see as the future role of the staff member in that vision. In a good performance management system, staff always know the expectations and responsibilities of their job and have a sense of how they are fulfilling them. If needed, performance management gives staff members and supervisors the platform for changing direction and emphasis.

Effective performance management is based on five principles:

1. Staff should know what is expected of them;
   
2. Position responsibilities should be aligned with the competencies (skills, talents, and attributes) needed to perform those functions;
   
3. Staff should receive regular feedback on their performance; concerns and praise should not
   be "saved up" but rather shared when the information can be used to improve or sustain performance;
   
4. Compensation and other rewards should be linked to performance, and staff should understand the connection;
   
5. Managers and supervisors should model the competencies and behaviors they expect from their staff.

The checklists in the article Preparing for the Annual Performance Dialogue include some of the tools used in successful performance management, whether one is preparing for the annual performance dialogue or for the longer term. Organizational Development Services also offers courses in the Guide to Workshops that address various aspects of performance management.