The performance management system

By Susan M. Heathfield for About.com Human Resources
Abridged and adapted by Ross Woods

Nobody really likes the old system of appraisals. People don’t like being evaluated becuase they don’t like to be told of their imperfections. The system that is intended to keep people on track is often a discouragement.

Most supervisors don’t want to face arguments and diminished morale that can result from the performance appraisals. They seem to think that their time all year long is not well-spent documenting proof to support their feedback, and the traditional appraisal process is too time consuming. Besides, the most important outputs of each employee’s job might not be defined or measurable in your current work system. It’s often even more difficult if the employee's salary increase is tied to a numeric rating.

 

A new kind of system

Performance management is not just appraisal. It is checking that performance objectives support organizational goals. It should create an environment where employees will do their best work. It is a whole system that starts when a job is defined and ends when an employee leaves your organization.

If the true goal of the performance appraisal is employee development and organizational improvement, place the focus on what you really want to create in your organization - performance management and development.

A performance management system needs to include the following:

• Choose the right people when hiring.
• Write clear job descriptions.
• Negotiate requirements and clear achievement goals and ways of measuring them.
• Giving effective induction and professional development with on-going coaching and feedback.
• Appraisals of the individual’s past performance. It is often done annually but can be done as often as three-monthly.
• A way of rewarding people for their contributions.
• A way of giving employees clear career pathways.
• Exit interviews that find out why valued employees leave the organization.