adminMatthias Ruziwa HR Issues
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’. It should apply to all employees, not just managers, and to teams as much as individuals. It is a continuous process, not a one-off event”. It is debate less that the success or failure of organisations revolves around good performance management. Due to its magnitude within the strategic human resource management equation, it is of paramount importance that every employee in the organisation has clarity over what is meant by performance and an understanding of where the organisation needs to be in its performance culture — including a focus on how individual employees can play their part, and benefit, in the process.
Performance management has a significant role to play in enhancing organisational success, by ensuring that all individuals understand their expected contribution to business objectives and are motivated and equipped with the skills and support to achieve this. Key scholars in the human resource management field define performance management as “a process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance”.
As such, it is the writer’s view that it establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved and an approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved. Therefore performance management is “a strategy” which relates to every activity of the organisation set in the context of its human resource policies, culture, style and communications systems.
Overall, performance management is about establishing a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and of their own skills, behaviour and contributions. It is about sharing expectations. Managers can clarify what they expect individuals and teams to do; likewise individuals and teams can communicate their expectations of how they should be managed and what support and resources they need to do their jobs.
It follows that performance management is about maintaining and improving the quality of relationships — between managers and individuals, between managers and teams, between members of teams and so on — and is therefore a joint process. It is also about planning, through defining expectations expressed as objectives and in business plans, and about measurement.
Corporate strategic goals provide the starting point for business and departmental goals as part of the performance management approach, followed by agreement on performance and development priorities. This leads to the drawing up of plans between individuals and managers, with continuous performance monitoring and feedback regularly supported by formal reviews.
Many organisations set performance objectives for individuals, departments and the organisation over a period of time. These can be expressed as targets to be met (such as sales levels) or as tasks to be completed by specified dates.
They may be directly work-related, referring to results to be attained, or personal, taking the form of developmental objectives for individuals. Whatever their nature, objectives should relate to the overall purpose of the job, department and organisation. They should be agreed with the individuals or teams concerned, specific, observable and if possible, measured.
Alongside objectives are performance standards. They are used when it is not possible to set time — or volume-based targets, or when there is a continuing objective that does not change significantly from one review period to the next and is a standing feature of the job. These should be spelled out in quantitative terms if possible, for example, meeting defined standards of accuracy.
For performance to be managed effectively, individuals must know the basis on which their performance will be measured. Measures should be transparent and applied fairly across the organisation.
Many organisations operate performance appraisals regularly, usually annually, during which an individual’s manager assesses performance, potential and development. An alternative approach to traditional appraisal arrangements based on line manager assessment is the use of 360 degree feedback.
What is 360 Degree feedback?
This system is a form of performance appraisal based on the collection of performance data from a number of sources. 360 degree (or 3600) feedback, and sometimes simply called 360 feedback, is a performance appraisal system that gathers feedback on an individual from a number of sources, typically including colleagues, direct reports and customers.
Its supporters claim that this gives managers and individuals better information about skills and performance, as well as working relationships, compared with more traditional appraisal arrangements based on line managers’ assessment. With 360 degree feedback, typically eight to 10 people complete questionnaires describing the individual’s performance. Often individuals fill out a questionnaire for themselves too, assessing their own performance.
The rationale is that, in more complex organisations, managers may not always fully understand the contribution of the people they manage — as they may be part of many different teams and engage in autonomous or semi-autonomous relationships with customers or colleagues. There is therefore a strong argument for obtaining wide-ranging information to form an accurate picture of performance.
However, it must be noted that in organisations that do not have a tradition of open feedback or upward communication, it is likely that 360 degree feedback will be seen with greater levels of mistrust. More generally, an organisation may not be ready for 360 degree feedback at a time when it is undergoing a change programme that includes downsizing or restructuring, as the aims and objectives of the exercise might be misinterpreted. Conducted well, 360 degree feedback can significantly enhance the performance management process.
However, if is perceived to be in any way threatening, it can seriously damage both engagement and performance. In conclusion, I would like to point out that it is important that individual employees receive regular, honest feedback on their performance, as they need to understand how their role contributes to overall organisational aims and objectives and how they are performing against agreed criteria. 360 degree feedback can enhance this process by widening the scope for information from the line manager relationship to embrace a wider range of input.
Performance management has a significant role to play in enhancing organisational success towards attainment of its vision, mission and objectives.
Matthias Ruziwa is an experienced and progressing Strategic Human Resource Practitioner practicing in the Midlands Province, City of Kwekwe. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author You can contact Matthias at the following email address: [email protected] /whatsapp 0773 470 368.
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