Manager’s, Employee’s Responsibility in Performance Planning Mechanics and Documentation

Role of Top Managers in Performance Management

The top managers play a lead in the entire process by setting trends for the lower rung and acting as role models for the employees. Their responsibility is to design policies which ensure an efficient management of performance in an organization and to define and act upon the core values relating to performance. Top management plays a vital role in convincing the line managers that performance management can be instrumental in the achievement of business goals and thus ensure that they take this aspect seriously in their work front for maximizing employee satisfaction and productivity.

Top managers are expected to develop a high performance culture in an organization by ensuring the following:

• By communicating an organization’s mission and values to its customers and employees.
• By clearly defining the work expectations and communicating to everyone for ensuring success in the achievement of business goals and facilitating an overall performance improvement.
• By keeping the employees informed about their progress towards the achievement of goals and suggesting corrective actions for non-achievement of performance.
• By establishing a shared belief amongst the employees regarding the importance of continuous improvement in performance.

Managing your employees, helping to develop their skill sets and growing their productivity in a meaningful way is no easy task! Fortunately, there are some excellent tools available today to make it all a lot easier.

Orientation

It sounds pretty basic but we’ve seen time and again that Managers get the following wrong! Simply put, managers should provide each new employee with a copy of their specific job description.

Ideally, candidates get a copy of their job description during the recruitment and selection process. A manager’s primary role is to provide new employees, as well as seasoned employees with the tools necessary to perform their job functions. Identifying key KPIs sets the stage for ongoing performance evaluation and ensures accountability within the workforce.

Managers also are responsible for workforce planning as it relates to performance evaluation workforce planning matches the right job assignments and tasks with employee skills, qualifications, and interests.

Training

We believe that an enormously important part of the performance evaluation process includes employee training and development, which are within the purview of an HR and management role.

Although managers may use the talent of experienced, long-term employees to assist with skills training, the ultimate responsibility for training rests on the shoulders of the department manager. In addition to developing the skills and capabilities of their employees, managers identify employees who have high potential. Such employees are distinguishable from high performing employees. Managers use their own skills and talent to select employees who demonstrate aptitude and promise.

Feedback

Managers are responsible for providing employees with constructive feedback on a regular basis.

Throughout the evaluation period, managers give their employees ongoing support, feedback and counseling on performance issues and, when necessary, disciplinary and corrective action. When employee performance suffers, managers are the first ones to observe the decline. It’s their responsibility to address performance issues and determine whether an employee needs skills training or corrective action to return her to an acceptable performance level.

Appraisal

The culminating stage in the performance review is the actual performance appraisal. Managers complete leadership training that enables them to understand the importance of performance management and evaluation, as well as how to prepare for and conduct an annual performance appraisal. Preparing for an appraisal requires that managers know how to rate employees; their duty is to rate employees according to the company’s expectations and performance standards. Therefore, a manager’s role includes observation and assessment. It’s up to the manager to conduct an appraisal meeting that employees look forward to and one that encourages employees to achieve their goals year after year.

As a manager, you are expected to:

• Use the performance management process as a valuable tool for supporting employee development and improvement.
• If your employees sense a lack of interest on your part, they’ll lose interest too.
• When talking with your team about the process, be sure to emphasize its benefits, and encourage employees to take ownership of their own performance and development.
• Determine an appropriate schedule for regular performance conversations with those you manage directly.
• Conduct short, regular meetings to discuss and record milestones, accomplishments, successes and challenges as they occur, when details are fresh in both your minds. This will allow you to better monitor progress on goals, and provide coaching as required. Plus, these short meetings reduce the effort it takes to prepare for and conduct your annual performance reviews because you’ve tracked progress and performance and provided the needed feedback when it was most valuable.
• Use the annual performance review meeting to review the achievements, setbacks, development and training that have already been discussed throughout the year — and then use this information to establish goals and a development plan for the coming year.
• Deliver regular positive and constructive feedback.
• Give employees feedback during one-on-one meetings and informally as regularly as possible.
• Commend your employee in front of their peers.
• Make performance notes about each employee in the period between conversations, so that come conversation time, you have concrete examples to share.
• Remember that the goal of feedback is to describe desired behaviors and expectations, not to dwell on undesirable behaviors.
• Check-in on goal progress
• Regularly check in with employees on their progress on goals; offer coaching or assistance, or revise goals as necessary.
• Communicate and revisit performance expectations.
• Communicate your organizations’ performance standards and expectations to your employees. This will help your employees differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and results and reduce any misunderstandings.
• Gather feedback on employee performance from multiple sources. Use a 360-degree feedback or survey tool to complete and validate your own observations and perceptions.
• Improve your management and leadership skills.
• Take the time to learn how to be a better manager and coach. Invest in your own development!
• Acquaint yourself with the different management needs of the different generations.
• Employees from the Millennial generation may have different needs and different expectations of managers. Research tells us they require constant feedback and recognition, and expect quick career advancement. Workers from other generations have different needs. Learn what motivates each employee, and adjust your management approach accordingly.
• Coach your employees in a way that strengthens two-way communication and reinforces desired behaviors.
• Coach when you want to focus attention on a specific aspect of the employee’s performance.
• Advise the employee ahead of time of issues you want to discuss.
• Focus on describing your expectations and the desired behaviors rather than describing the gaps.
• Take the time to understand why their performance is what it is, and get them to take ownership for performance improvements.
• Support your employees’ professional and career development while making them accountable for it.
• Regularly ask employees about their career aspirations and help them identify areas they may wish to improve or develop, as well as resources available.
• Ensure each employee has a well-defined job description and understands the skills and competencies they must develop in order to progress up the career ladder.
• Give your employees the time and flexibility they need to complete learning and development activities.
• Ensure development is having an impact on performance.
• Submit your completed employee reviews by the designated deadline.
• Failing to complete your formal performance review documentation on time sends your employees the message that recognition of their success and support for their development is not your top priority. It may also delay any pay for performance/ merit increases or bonuses your organization allocates to employees based on their performance ratings.
• Understand and correctly use your organization’s rating scale.
• Be objective and have quantitative/qualitative facts ready to substantiate the ratings you give.
• Provide details on how the employee demonstrated the core and job specific competencies you are rating them on.
• Provide details on how they accomplished their goals, the milestones they met and work products they delivered.
• Assign each employee a development plan to help them improve their performance and support the organization’s success.

Employees’ responsibilities

• Work towards achieving your individual goals, which help the organization reach its objectives.
• You and your manager should have set these goals collaboratively as part of your performance management activities.
• Keep track of your progress on your goals and regularly communicate their status to your manager, especially if you’re facing challenges that could prevent you from achieving your goals.
• Take responsibility for your own professional and career development.
• Be clear about how you would like to grow professionally.
• Know what knowledge, skills and experience you want and need to develop.
• Actively seek opportunities for professional and career development, both in the organization or through external learning resources.
• Be open to feedback
• Accept constructive feedback and take the initiative to improve.
• Complete any development plans assigned to you and apply the learning to improve your performance.
• Seek support as required
• Work to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with your manager.
• Ask your manager for feedback and guidance, especially when you encounter challenges.
• Solicit feedback and guidance on your performance from others you work with.
• Keep a record of your performance achievements, successes and challenges.
• Keep a performance journal and share things like your successes, and the feedback and recognition you receive from others with your manager.
• Give others feedback.
• Just as you need feedback and recognition to improve your performance, your co-workers need it too. Give feedback verbally, as well as using online communication and social collaboration tools available to you. And don’t be afraid to copy managers on your written feedback so they can gain more insight into their employees’ performance.
• Complete your self-appraisal by the specified deadline.
• Reacquaint yourself with your job description, critical competencies for the role and performance expectations as defined by the organization.
• Understand and correctly use the organization’s rating scale.
• Be honest about your performance but don’t underestimate your abilities.
• Be objective and have quantitative/qualitative facts ready to substantiate the ratings you give yourself.
• Provide details on how you demonstrated the core and job specific competencies you are being rated on.
• Provide details on how you accomplished your goals, the milestones you met and work products you delivered.
• Consider your current knowledge, skills and abilities as well as your career aspirations and identify learning activities that could benefit you and your organization.
• Draft your goals for the coming period, making sure they in some way contribute to the organization’s goals, and are appropriate for your role.