Value adding performance management
It doesn’t matter how well designed a performance management system is, unless it is effectively applied it will add little to no value. What matters most is the approach people leaders take every day to getting the best from each person on their team.
Effective performance management requires three essential elements in order to have any real impact on the standard of contribution people make and the business results ultimately achieved:
- Clarity: ensuring your team understand …
- What is expected and accepted, important and a priority
- How they are performing relative to expectations
- Coaching
- Providing feedback, advice and guidance to influence approaches and enable results
- Commitment to the ongoing development of the character traits and capabilities needed to achieve immediate and longer-term objectives
- Accountability
- Delegating responsibilities and empowering people to do their jobs
- Appraising contributions against agreed standards
- Applying consequences – rewarding and recognising successes as well as taking remedial action to address under achievement or poor behaviour
As I share in my second book The People Managers Toolkit “for performance management to have any real impact on achieving your vision and objectives, every member of the team has a role to play. Shared accountability is crucial, with success resting with managers and staff alike” .
The non-negotiable roles and responsibilities of leaders include the need for business owners, CEOs and senior managers to:
- Make performance management matter; follow through and hold people accountable
- Demonstrate commitment and lead by example
- Communicate vision, goals, priorities and strategies that can be cascaded down through the organisation
- Invest in the development of leaders and their ability to manage performance well
The ‘to do list’ for managers includes:
- Encourage and inspire people to strive for success
- Communicate clear performance standards and expectations, linking them to the big picture
- Manage performance fairly, consistently and accurately
- Be courageous — take action, initiate the difficult conversations and apply consequences
- Be well informed of the individual’s progress through observation and obtaining feedback
- Provide and openly discuss feedback about how people are going and how they can improve
- Listen to the staff member’s views and openly discuss them
- Be open to both positive and negative feedback from the staff member
- Be sensitive and empathetic to the challenges people face
- Recognise and reward a job well done, both informally and formally
- Proactively develop the capabilities of individuals and the team
- Appropriately maintain confidentiality