Managing People Performance: Ways to Improve Performance and Legislations

This report discusses the management of people performance in reference to Australian Hardware Ltd. It covers ways to improve performance excellence, procedures to monitor and coach individuals, relevant legislations applicable to performance management, counselling of employees, and relevant awards for employee's role. The report also highlights the importance of recognitions, feedback, and coaching in improving performance, as well as the role of internal and external sources for performance management advice.

Managing People
Performance

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Question 1........................................................................................................................................3
Ways in which performance excellence can be reinforced.........................................................3
Australian Hardware procedures to monitor and coach individuals...........................................4
QUESTION 2...................................................................................................................................5
Relevant legislations applicable to performance management...................................................5
Legislation which can help in managing performance in Australian Hardware.........................6
QUESTION 3...................................................................................................................................6
Position of internal source that could be approached for performance management advice......6
External source that could be approached for performance management advice.......................7
QUESTION 4...................................................................................................................................7
Counselling of employees...........................................................................................................7
Legislation most relevant in counselling.....................................................................................8
Relevant award for employee's role at Australian Hardware......................................................8
Support services that can be offered to employees.....................................................................9
QUESTION 5...................................................................................................................................9
Process of termination.................................................................................................................9
Relevant unlawful dismissal rules and process that must be followed.....................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Performance management is a continuous process which takes place in an organisation so
as to manage the work performance and efficiency of employees which help in achieving
organisational goals and objectives on time. It is a management tool which helps the managers to
evaluate the work efficiency of workers so that their skills and talents can be used effectively and
in the best possible manner so that highest quality of work is achieved. It is important that the
performance of employees align with the organisational goals and objectives so that the vision
and mission are reached while increasing company profits (Taylor, Doherty. and McGraw,
2015). In this report the management of people performance is discussed in reference to
Australian Hardware Ltd which is a public company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. The
company supplies hardware and home improvement products along with giving expert advices
on improving the house. In this report the ways in which performance of employees can be
improved, procedures of monitoring and coaching individuals etc. will be discussed. Further
legislations applicable on company so that employees are treated fairly and equally will be
discussed along with the process of termination and rules and procedures that are to be followed
by company.
Question 1
Ways in which performance excellence can be reinforced
To promote the development of employees in an organisation it is important that their
performance is improved continuously so that they can use their skills and talents in an efficient
manner which help in achieving company goals on time. There are various ways in which
excellence performance can be reinforced: Recognition: It is important that employees are recognised and praised for their
accomplishments so that their self-esteem can be strengthened and their loyalty towards
the company can be enhanced. This helps in improving their performance as their efforts
and hard work gets valued in company which also increases employee engagement which
is important in improving their performance. For example at Australian Hardware Ltd the
employees can be recognised on the basis of their performance on monthly basis which
helps in boosting up the confidence of employees thereby enhancing their performance.

 Feedback: It is important that employees are given feedbacks on their performance on a
regular basis so that their weak areas of performance can be improved by taking effective
measures. Through continuous observation of the performance of employees the manager
can know about the strengths and weaknesses of each employee. This can help them in
giving guidance as to how their weaknesses can be eliminated and their work
performance can be improved on a continuous basis. At Australian Hardware it is
important that on-going and regular feedback is given to employees so that they can
improve their performance and better customer relations can be established (Karatepe,
2013).
Australian Hardware procedures to monitor and coach individuals
There are various procedures that are use by Australian Hardware so that the individuals
of company who are poor performers can be efficiently monitored and coached so that their
performance can be improved. Following are the procedures which help in monitoring individual
performance:
 The company carries out biannual formal performance review discussions so that the
individuals who are performing better and the ones who are not good performers can be
identified. The good performers are awarded while the poor performers are coached and
monitored so that their performance can be improved gradually (Massingham, P., 2014)..
 The managers of company also monitor individual performance throughout the year
while paying special attention on key events so that their performance can be monitored
which can help in identifying both positive and negative performance.
 The managers of company also ensure that employees complete their responsibilities in
accordance with the standards of performance of company so that organisational goals
can be achieved.
 The company also provide employees with coaching so that their efficiency with which
they do work can be improved which helps in improving their performance. This also
help in making the poor performer of company efficient with their work as during the
coaching they learn on how tasks can be performed in a better and efficient manner.
 The company also try to set challenging goals so that the employees improve their
performance which help them in reaching to these goals. Challenging goals encourage the

employees to utilise their skills in the best possible manner so that the challenge can be
achieved.
 The managers of company also encourage the employees to participate in activities and
tasks which can help in their personal and professional development which boosts their
confidence. This helps in improving their performance so that they can grow and develop
in person and profession.
QUESTION 2
Relevant legislations applicable to performance management
Employment legislations must be followed by the company so that the employees are
treated legally which help in boosting their confidence and their trust for company which is
important for improving their performance. Following are the legislations which must be adopted
by Australian Hardware so that individual performance can be improved: Equal employment opportunity: As per the Fair work Act, 2009 it is important that all
the employees are given equal and fair opportunities to get employed so that they can use
their skills to meet the goals of Australian Hardware. This law also ensures that any
candidate can apply in an organisation irrespective of factors such as sex, religion, caste
etc. This improves employee performance as the candidates who are talented and skilled
are given fair and equal chance to participate in a task which help in boosting their
confidence and they try to give their best (Kim, Lim. and Brymer, 2015). Privacy: As per the Privacy Act, 1988 the data and information that is collected by
companies regarding their suppliers, customers, employees etc. must be used only for the
purpose for which it is collected. This act helps in protecting information of stakeholders
to be misused which can affect their financial, mental, physical health. This improves
employee performance as they know that their information is safe with company and is
only used for legal and ethical purpose which increase their trust in company and also
enhance their performance (Cinquini. and et. al, 2013).
 Health and safety: According to the Work Health and Safety Act, 2011 it is the
responsibility of organisation to provide a safe and healthy working environment for its
employees. These conditions are important so that the employees can perform their work
in an efficient manner which help the company to achieve its goals.

Legislation which can help in managing performance in Australian Hardware
For improving the performance of employees in Australian Hardware the legislation
which can also be included in the company is the Privacy Act, 1988 which will ensure that the
data and information of stakeholders of company are used in an ethical manner. It helps in
protecting the data of company from being misused which is important so that the trust of
workers in company can be strengthened. This is important to boost their performance as they
will be confident that they are working under the legal framework of country. Ethical use of
information is also important to boost the performance of employees so that company goals are
efficiently achieved.
QUESTION 3
Position of internal source that could be approached for performance management advice
In order to gain an advice on improving performance the employees in Australian
Hardware Ltd can approach the HR manager of company so that they can guide them efficiently
and coach them on improving their performance. Motivation and coaching from the internal
sources are required so that the employees can be reviewed and monitored on a regular basis
which can help in keeping a review record about the employees (Griffin. and Moorhead, 2014).
HR manager of company can help in contributing towards improving the performance of
employees to a great extent by conducting regular training and development programmes,
through performance appraisals, rewards and recognition etc. which help in boosting the
confidence of employees so that they can perform better. It is important that HR manager of
Australian Hardware perform its roles and responsibilities in an efficient manner so that all the
individuals of company can be monitored and controlled effectively. Regular performance
review through observation needs to be done so that the strengths and weaknesses of employees
can be evaluated which also help in delegation of task in accordance with their capabilities which
is important to perform the task efficiently.
The HR manager also help in improving the performance of employees by giving them
advice so that the set performance standards can be met. Also they give regular advice regarding
how a work can be done in an easier manner so that high quality results can be achieved which
improves overall quality of company (Ceylan, 2013).

External source that could be approached for performance management advice
Apart from the internal sources there are various external sources which can be
approached by Australian Hardware in order to improve the performance of its employees so that
company can achieve its goals efficiently and on time. This also help the company in improving
relations with its employees and customers so that strong brand image of company can be
developed. Individual professionals, consultancy firms or government can be used by the
company so as to receive advices on how it can improve the performance of its employees.
Individual professionals can help in giving expert advice on how the quality of work of
employees can be improved which help in increasing the output in comparison to their inputs.
Consultancy firms can also be approached so that they can advice on how the company structure
and culture can be modified so as to improve the work performance of poor performers. The
government can also be approached so that legal standards can be set for measuring performance
which will help in improving the efficiency of workers at company. This can help in managing
poor performance as the employees who will not be able to meet the required standards can be
eliminated which will help in improving overall company performance (Saunila, Tikkamäki. and
Ukko, 2015).
QUESTION 4
Counselling of employees
Employee counselling is related to the process of providing assistance to employees who
are facing problems while working in the company. It is important that employees are given the
facility of counselling so that they can freely and openly share their opinions and problems in
company which is important in improving their performance. Through counselling appropriate
advices can be given to employees regarding solving problems and dealing with issues in
company so that they can boost their efficiency to perform work given to them. Following are
the steps which can be followed in Australian Hardware so that employees can be counselled:
 Investigate the matter: It is important that the matter where employee is failing to
perform in an appropriate manner is investigated so that the reasons can be identified.
This help in identification of core reasons due to which employees are unable to perform
in a set manner.

 Private meeting with employee: The counsellor then must meet the poor performing
employee personally so that employee’s performance can be reviewed and feedbacks can
be given to them. This will help the employees in knowing about their weak areas which
need to be improved so that they can perform better and also advice can be given on how
their problems can be eliminated while improving their performance (Gallo. and
Mihalcová, 2016Kitada. and Ölçer, 2015).
 Develop a performance management plan: It is a document which outlines the goals
that an employer expects to achieve within a certain period of time so that benchmarks
can be set so that employee performance can be improved.
 Follow up: It is important that after counselling the performance of workers are followed
up so that their improvement can be measured which will help in determining the worth
of counselling for employees.
Legislation most relevant in counselling
The anti-discrimination legislation is the most relevant with respect of counselling the
employees as as per this law the employees cannot be discriminated based on their age, sex,
caste, disability etc. Counselling can be given to employees if they are facing issues related to
discrimination which help in improving their performance. Discrimination can affect the morale
of employees which affect their ability to perform work in an efficient manner. Thus under this
legislation proper counselling can be given to workers so that their performance can be improved
and problems can be eliminated in an efficient manner. Thus under this legislation Australian
hardware can improve the performance of poor performing employee Kim Smith so that better
customer service is given which will help in enhancing the customer satisfaction (Blackman. and
et. al, 2019).
Relevant award for employee's role at Australian Hardware
In order to improve the performance of employees it is important that they are recognised
in company for their achievements so that their hard work is valued. This help in boosting their
confidence which is important for improving their work performance and efficiency so that the
results that are achieved are of desired quality. In the case of Australian Hardware, Kim Smith
who is customer service and sales representative is unable to meet the performance expectations
which is affecting company sales. In order to improve her performance company can give
awards so that she can be encouraged to make her performance better. The relevant award which

company can give her so that performance can be improved is best sales representative of month
award which can help in motivating her positively. This award can help in making her more
confident about her performance so that she can perform better in order to achieve that award.
Support services that can be offered to employees
There are various support services which can be offered by company to employees so that
their performance can be improved and they can be made more confident to perform their work.
These support services can help in making their work easier and also the working environment
can be made more friendly and free which will help them in discussing about their problems
freely so that they can give their maximum effort in completing the task (Mobius and et. al,
2014). The support services that can be given at Australian Hardware to its employees are
coaching services, training and development, counselling, conflict resolution etc. so that the
performance of employees can be improved. Coaching services can help the managers in timely
identifying the areas where employees face problems so that they can be coached as to how they
can deal with the problems and work in an efficient manner. Training and development
programmes must be regularly conducted so that employees can be trained on specific skills and
talents which can help them in completing their work with full efficiency. Conflict resolution is
also important so that the conflicts among workers can be managed which help in eliminating
tensions among them and boosting their performance.
QUESTION 5
Process of termination
The process of termination which is followed in Australian Hardware follows the
following 5 steps:
 First the employee who has been identified of conducting poor behaviour is counselled
verbally so that they can be made understood about their inappropriate behaviour and
how it can be improved in future.
 At this step if employee again executes poor behaviour then feedback and counselling is
give so that reasons for their poor behaviour is identified along with advising them about
how it can be improved. This time a note is written so that a record can be maintained
about their inappropriate behaviour.

 At this step clear indication is given about serious consequences like redeployment or
termination if the poor behaviour is not corrected.
 At this step feedback and confrontation on issues that remain unresolved is given to the
employee so that the actions which must be taken by employee to improve their
performance are told in written form.
 Feedback on the failure to resolve issues is given to employee resulting into final
termination or redeployment.
In this way the poor performing employees are terminated in Australian Hardware if they
ignore the continuous warnings that are given to them by company. This process is legal and
ethical which means that employees are not terminated on any discrimination basis but the basis
of their performance.
Relevant unlawful dismissal rules and process that must be followed
The Australian Government Fair work ombudsman maintains that an employee is said to
be dismissed unlawfully if they are dismissed harshly and on unjust or unreasonable facts. If the
businesses are small then they must follow Small business fair dismissal code before dismissing
an employee. There are some points where employees are said to be unfairly dismissed:
 No valid reason for the dismissal that relates to employee's conduct or ability to do their
job.
 If the employee was notified about the reason of dismissal along with opportunity given
to respond?
 Was there a warning given to employee in case of unsatisfactory performance?
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that it is important to manage the performance
of employees of company so that they can use their skills and talents in an effective manner
which will help in achieving organisational goals on time. It is also important to boost the
confidence of employees so that they can stay loyal towards company and give their best to
maximise company profits. It is also important that company follows employee legislations so
that it treats its employee fairly and equally. The company cannot dismiss employees on any
other discriminatory grounds which can affect company's image and also affect the performance
of workers.

REFRENCES
Books and journals
Blackman, D. A. and et. al, 2019. Managing expectations to create high performance
government. Review of Public Personnel Administration .39(2). pp.185-208.
Ceylan, C., 2013. Commitment-based HR practices, different types of innovation activities and
firm innovation performance. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management. 24(1). pp.208-226.
Cinquini, L. and et. al, A., 2013. Methodologies for managing performance measurement. The
Routledge companion to cost management, pp.360-380.
Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R. and Yuthas, K., 2015. Managing social, environmental and
financial performance simultaneously. Long range planning. 48(1). pp.35-45.
Gallo, P. and Mihalcová, B., 2016. Models of Evaluation of Managing People in Companies.
Calitatea. 17(155). p.116.
Griffin, R. W. and Moorhead, G., 2014. Managing People In Organization. South-Western: USA.
Karatepe, O. M., 2013. High-performance work practices and hotel employee performance: The
mediation of work engagement. International Journal of Hospitality Management.. 32.
pp.132-140.
Kim, W. G., Lim, H. and Brymer, R. A., 2015. The effectiveness of managing social media on
hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 44. pp.165-171.
Kitada, M. and Ölçer, A., 2015. Managing people and technology: The challenges in CSR and
energy efficient shipping. Research in transportation business & management. 17.
pp.36-40.
Massingham, P., 2014. An evaluation of knowledge management tools: Part 1–managing
knowledge resources. Journal of Knowledge Management.
Mobius, M. M. and et. al, 2014. Managing Self-Confidence .∗
Saunila, M., Tikkamäki, K. and Ukko, J., 2015. Managing performance and learning through
reflective practices. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance.
Taylor, T., Doherty, A. and McGraw, P., 2015. Managing people in sport organizations: A
strategic human resource management perspective. Routledge.
1