Performance Management in the Workplace

Introduction
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to raise management personnel’s awareness of good people
performance management in the workplace and in all areas of life. Along with formal training
sessions, the report is intended to aid managers in communicating with and managing staff
performance. It is a tool all managers need to consider in their leadership roles.
Scope
The report was based on research and investegation of the most up to date documented
information on performance management systems. Several main areas were covered including a
definition of performance management, competencies for leaders, managing your people, analysing
and interpreting staff performance.
Methodology
Primary sources used were discussions with management performance consultants and creators of
performance management systems. Secondary sources included textbooks and web references.
Limitations There were no limitations in compiling this report.
2.
3. Lead your team
What does it mean to lead your team? What is involved in this process and how can it be
implemented. Performance management is crucial to good leadership.
What is Performance Management (PM)?
As a manager, it’s your job to design and conduct performance management as well as train your
staff to follow the process. To do this, you need a basic understanding of what exactly PM is.
Performance management focuses on the various processes and everyday actions that lead you and
your employees to the results you want.
What is PM all about?
Generally speaking PM encompasses all activities accomplished to ensure the goals of an
organisation, department, process or person are consistently met in an efficient, effective way.
How does PM work in a business sense?
The PM process involves aligning systems, resources and people with strategic objectives and
priorities.
How does PM work on a practical level?

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Quality PM means opening up day-to-day conversations between you and your employees about
your expectations of each other and checking you’re all delivering on those expectations.
Are PM and managing underperformance the same thing?
No. Managing underperformance involves formal processes which are part of PM.
A true PM system works all the time, not just when there’s a problem.
What’s a performance management system?
When designing performance management and review processes, make sure they’re consistent with
organisational objectives and policies.
A good PM system combines and controls various processes which you should be aware of, even if
you’re not directly responsible for them (Pollitt, 2018).
1. Developing an operational plan linked to strategic goals.
2. Collaborating with colleagues on initiatives and projects.
3. Allocating resources to these initiatives and projects to create departmental budgets.
4. Assessing initiatives and projects to select the best ones.
5. Putting these in a plan that everyone agrees with.
6. Tracking how these initiatives are being implemented.
7. Warning relevant people when actions aren’t finished within their timeframes or having the
expected results.
8. Proposing and agreeing to changes to get the original plan back on track.
9. Adjusting budgets, informing relevant people of the changes.
What are the benefits of PM?
Performance management is of huge strategic importance to any organisation.
Performance management systems:
 integrate clear expectations through the whole business, so they become an obvious part of
the organisational culture.
 maximise the potential of each employee, so the organisation can reach its strategic goals.
 recognise and acknowledge employees’ talents and support their improvement and
development.
 become employers of choice, which attract and retain highly qualified staff.
 create a stronger workforce that is more engaged, flexible and goal-orientated.
How does PM benefit employees?
Most people understand how performance managment benefits businesses, but what about staff?
How relevant is it to them?
For PM to work, employees must understand the process and buy into it. This requires familiarising
them with your organisation’s PM cycle, explaining what happens at each stage and making sure
they know why the whole process is important.
What are your PM responsibilities?
You may be a manager responsible for full-time and part-time employees who are permanent,
temporary or casual.
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You may also be an employee who’s managed by someone else.
Understanding your ‘dual responsibilities’ helps you:
 Train your staff in performance management processes.
 Manage your staff’s performance better.
 Enable your manager to manage your performance better.
Employee responsibilities
What’s an employee’s responsibility when it comes to performance management? Responsibility
includes the following:
 To let my manager know what I need to be the best I can be.
 To ask for clarification if I don’t understand something.
 It’s hard to do sometimes, but it’s my responsibility to give my manager feedback on how
they’re doing as a manager.
 My responsibility? Discussing my professional development with my manager and really
making a commitment to improving myself.
 To speak to my manager about the challenges of my job and how best to face them.
Manager’s responsibilities
What’s a manager’s responsibility when it comes to performance management? A manager’s
responsibility includes the following:
 To have good quality conversations with my employees about their performance.
 To let staff know what I expect in the three key areas of work: behaviour, work itself, skills
and knowledge.
 To explain how I can support team members in reaching their full potential.
What’s a performance cycle?
For performance management to be successfull, you must conduct it in accordance with your
organisation’s protocols. The forms to fill out, types of appraisals to conduct, timelines and other
specifics of performance cycles vary from business to business. However, there’s a structure
common to most workplaces.
Performance planning conversations
Most organisations schedule performance planning conversations for the beginning of the cycle.
These discussions give managers and employees the chance to talk about and understand what they
both need to achieve at work, what’s going well and how they could do better.
This conversation is not just about clarifying expectations the manager has of the employee! It’s also
about clarifying the expectations the employee has of the manager. You’ll learn more about this
soon.
Mid-cycle review conversations

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Most organisations schedule a mid-year or mid-cycle review discussion or performance appraisal to
reflect on what’s been going on, what worked and what didn’t.
These discussions give managers and employees another chance to talk about and understand what
they both need to achieve at work, what’s going well and how they could do better.
End-cycle review conversations
Most organisations schedule an end of year or end-cycle review discussion to wrap up the cycle.
This discussion is another appraisal which often leads into another performance planning
conversation: yet another chance to clarify expectations and improve.
Everyday performance conversations
These conversations can happen anytime as part of your normal day at work, either in passing or in a
more formal meeting. They can be about anything: expectations, feedback, or specific issues that
need to be addressed (Brendan Parsons).
These are a way of monitoring, evaluating and providing feedback on performance on a continuous
basis as well as giving informal coaching.
What is a review or performance appraisal?
It’s a process of observing and evaluating an employee’s performence in relation to their job
requirements over a period of time (usually six to 12 months).
It’s a formal, structured system of measuring job-related behaviours and the employee’s
contribution towards organisational goals.
The employee and their manager complete an appraisal tool or questionnaire which guides the
process and forms the basis of assessment.
 The employee evaluates their own performance.
 The manager evaluates the employee’s performance.
 HR departments organise the appraisal system and tool.
 The employee and manager complete the appraisal tool prior to the appraisal.
 The employee and manager meet to discuss and compare results. This is known as the
appraisal interview. It can last up to two hours.
All areas of the employee’s performance are discussed and generally given a rating.
The employee has the opportunity to discuss and address training needs, future goals and
aspirations within the company, suggestions for improvements and any issues they may have in their
current job.
How do you document performance?
You don’t necessarily need to keep notes on your informal, everyday performance conversations
that happen just in passing. However, if you had a meeting, you probably did so for a reason! It’s
always a good idea to record discussions like these in minutes so you can both refer to them.
You should keep records and formally document performance plans and mid- and end-cycle review
discussions in accordance with your organisation’s performance management system. Use whatever
templates or forms your business has created for this purpose.
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