by Performance Management systems set in line an organized and systematic way of progress review, goal setting, communication, recognizing and rewarding achievement, providing feedback for better performance and implementing employee development programs. It is a continuous process, which is carried out right from the time when an employee joins an organization till the time he or she leaves . Performance management in HR is aimed at improving the overall corporate performance by enhancing individual performance within the framework of a team. It pushes for optimum performance by setting the right expectations, communicating effectively, defining clear roles, and setting achievable objectives.
Various Components
Feedback on the Performance followed by personal counseling and performance facilitation: Feedback and counseling is given a lot of importance in the performance management process. This is the stage in which the employee acquires awareness from the appraiser about the areas of improvements and also information on whether the employee is contributing the expected levels of performance or not. The employee receives an open and a very transparent feedback and along with this the training and development needs of the employee is also identified. The appraiser adopts all the possible steps to ensure that the employee meets the expected outcomes for an organization through effective personal counseling and guidance, mentoring and representing the employee in training programmes which develop the competencies and improve the overall productivity.
Performance Appraisal and Reviewing: The appraisals are normally performed twice in a year in an organization in the form of mid reviews and annual reviews which is held in the end of the financial year. In this process, the appraisee first offers the self filled up ratings in the self appraisal form and also describes his/her achievements over a period of time in quantifiable terms. After the self appraisal, the final ratings are provided by the appraiser for the quantifiable and measurable achievements of the employee being appraised. The entire process of review seeks an active participation of both the employee and the appraiser for analyzing the causes of loopholes in the performance and how it can be overcome. This has been discussed in the performance feedback section.
Manager Reviews
A manager review is a process whereby an employee is asked to assess the performance of their managers, identifying potential coaching opportunities. This provides managers with the opportunity to receive constructive feedback from their employees about the core skills and competencies needed to lead a team effectively.
As HR, manager evaluations can also be used to identify areas that coincide with the organizational goals and objectives, and can help you identify which managers need more development support in their role.
Performance Improvement Plans: In this stage, fresh set of goals are established for an employee and new deadline is provided for accomplishing those objectives. The employee is clearly communicated about the areas in which the employee is expected to improve and a stipulated deadline is also assigned within which the employee must show this improvement. This plan is jointly developed by the appraisee and the appraiser and is mutually approved.
Engagement Surveys
Conducting engagement surveys is an effective way to gain insight into what matters most to your employees. As the name suggests, the primary reason for carrying out engagement surveys is to uncover if your employees are engaged or disengaged, and to provide inspiration for how to improve this.
There is no ‘right’ way to measure employee engagement, but some commonly assessed factors are: career advancement, recognition, pay & benefits, training & development opportunities, leadership, work environment, etc. Aside from measuring engagement and providing you with valuable insights, it has the added benefit of giving employees an opportunity to voice their concerns, and comment on what is being done well within the company. These results in-turn highlight areas for improvement and development.
Rewarding good performance: This is a very vital component as it will determine the work motivation of an employee. During this stage, an employee is publicly recognized for good performance and is rewarded. This stage is very sensitive for an employee as this may have a direct influence on the self esteem and achievement orientation. Any contributions duly recognized by an organization helps an employee in coping up with the failures successfully and satisfies the need for affection.
Potential Appraisal: Potential appraisal forms a basis for both lateral and vertical movement of employees. By implementing competency mapping and various assessment techniques, potential appraisal is performed. Potential appraisal provides crucial inputs for succession planning and job rotation.
Social Recognition
Social Recognition or simply ‘recognition’, is the process of providing employees with the tools to create meaningful relationships with each other. Such tools include feedback apps that empower employees and encourage them to celebrate the small successes and behaviours they experience each day with each other.
Performance Planning: Performance planning is the first crucial component of any performance management process which forms the basis of performance appraisals. Performance planning is jointly done by the appraisee and also the reviewee in the beginning of a performance session. During this period, the employees decide upon the targets and the key performance areas which can be performed over a year within the performance budget, which is finalized after a mutual agreement between the reporting officer and the employee.
