Performance management is a process that involves the effective managing of teams and individual performances in an effort to achieve high organizational performance level. A very important aspect of this process is the communication between the supervisor and the employee in order to fully understand the objectives of the organization, and know various ways that will help these employees work successfully towards achieving the organization’s objectives.
Performance Management Defined
Performance management has been further defined as:
1. The development of individual competencies.
2. The provision of guidance and support to employees to boost their commitment and motivate them to work towards shared objectives.
3. The systematic approach used in order to improve individual and team performance, as a means to achieve organizational objectives.
Its ultimate goal is to provide high performance by meeting and exceeding targets through quality, productivity, excellence, and service. Performance management aims to improve the performance standards of each team and individual, allows them to hone their skill sets and develop new ones, and ensures that managers and supervisors provide guidance and support to every person in their team so that they can develop their full potentials.
Day-to-Day Employee Performance
There is a saying that goes, “Great things come from small beginnings” and its meaning can be very well applied to employee performance management. Although the general idea is to elevate the performance level of employees by improving weak areas, it is imperative to focus on day-to-day employee performance.
Once a performance development session has taken place, the employee should already understand the things that are expected of him, his areas of responsibility, his current performance level, and the ways in which he can improve himself in terms of skills and competencies. During this session, developmental activities and action plans are clearly outlined, along with the expected timeframe for each one.
It is then the responsibility of the immediate supervisor to make daily monitoring of the employee’s progress. He needs to check outputs every day no matter how big or small the tasks are. It is through this that an accurate and comprehensive assessment can be made on whether or not the employee is doing his part to improve himself. Moreover, it is also a means by which the supervisor can provide mentoring and coaching sessions to the employee because there is constant observation done.
Setting Short Term and Long Term Goals
Managing performance is not the same for all employees. Just as people have different learning styles, there also needs to be different approaches for different employees, depending on their needs, learning styles, and personality.
In any case, there is a need to set short term and long term goals. Goals are motivating factors that will let any person see the bigger picture, and prepare himself for what needs to be done in order to attain success. Without clear goals, a person will have no direction; he will be most likely unsure of what he wants to do or where he is heading.
Performance management goals are made so that an organization can gain more profits and be successful. In order to set workable and effective goals, a strong knowledge of the business and human resource aspects is required from every manager.
Short-term goals include goals that can be achieved in a matter of days, weeks, or a few months. An example would be: “Increasing XYZ vacuum cleaner sales to 5 units per week by next month.”
On the other hand, long-term goals are those goals that take at least 6 months to accomplish. An example of a long-term goal would be: “Getting 3 more clients by the second quarter of 2011.” Long-term goals are generally bigger and more complex as compared to short-term ones.
Both short-term and long-term goals need to be set when managing employee performance. When doing so, see to it that each goal is written down and clearly explained so that the employee will completely understand and accept these goals as his own. Utilize the SMART Roadmap (Specific-Measurable-Appropriate-Relevant-Time Bound) for goal setting. Moreover, make sure that before the goal setting ends, the supervisor and the employee should already agree on the proposed action plans that will help the employee improve his performance.
