Leadership - 6 Essentials of Effective Performance Management
October 9, 2008
Take the 5 Day Trial Today and learn all about our membership options. Learn more about this Call Center VIP membership site now.
Great advice for any line of business not just Call Centers!
Performance management is often seen as some back office function run by highly technical people. Yet in reality, effective performance measurement plays a critical role in achieving business success. So what are the 6 essentials to transform performance management so that it becomes a key contributor to business success?
At the end of the day, you and your leadership team will be judged in terms of how successful you have been in achieving your business strategy. You need to measure the right things to establish whether you are on or off track in terms of achieving your strategy. You will only do this if your performance management system in clearly linked to your business strategy.
In every organisation there will be things that the business has to get right if it is to deliver the business strategy. These critical success factors are the key levers that need to be operating optimally if the desired results are to be achieved. As a leadership team, you need to be able to clearly define what those critical success factors are so that you can determine effective measures.
It is easy to believe that the more measures someone has the better the system is. The reality is somewhat different. One person can only really focus on between 5 and 9 measures at any one time. How many measures are you and your leadership and management teams focusing on right now? Would they meet the 5 to 9 measure criteria?
An excellent technique for establishing what measure you need or whether you have the right measure is to ask yourself what question you are trying to answer. If you use this as a reference point, it will be easier to see if you have the best measure. Another technique is to ask what action you cannot take without the measure.
Financial measures are the most common in many organisations. While they are important, they are generally what are regarded as lag measures. By that we mean measures that tell you after the event what you achieved. It is important to have a range of non financial measures in addition to the financial measures which focus on areas like customer satisfaction, productivity and innovation to name just a few.
As a leader, don't fall into the trap of developing performance measures in isolation. Often those closest to the delivery of the service or making the product have the greatest insights into what is most critical to success. Make sure you use that expertise to get results for the organisation.
At the end of the day, performance management can be a real contributor to organisation success. So what steps do you need to take in order to gain real benefits from your performance management system?
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with individuals, teams and organisations to develop their management and leadership capability.
With 25 years business experience in a range of sectors, he understands first hand the real challenges of managing and leading in the demanding business world.
Linking Employee Performance to Results - How it Works
August 13, 2008
Barbara Brown, PhD
You want your employees to consistently and continuously perform at high levels but they are not. You find that performance issues vary. Some employees do a great job of communicating with customers while other employees do better at managing time. In other instances, the same employees perform well in one area and not so well in another. As for inconsistency, that happens as well. You cannot always depend on the same employees to deliver the same level of performance on a continuous basis.
Unfortunately, your performance discussions are not effective. When you talk about performance improvement, employees become defensive. You even find yourself on the defensive as you try to explain the changes you want. So what do you do? You identify mutually positive reasons for improving performance by linking performance improvement to: results that are important to employees and to results that are important to the organization. Follow these three steps:
Step 1: Identify the Performance you Want
Start by identifying the areas where you want each employee to improve his or her performance. You may want some employees to stop doing certain things, while you may want others to start doing certain things. Or perhaps a small change is necessary. Consider the behaviors that are important to you and your organization.
For example, if your focus is communication, then determine specific communication behaviors. If your focus is teamwork, then determine specific teamwork behaviors. The operative word is specific. Employees cannot deliver the kind of performance you want if you are not clear about what you want.
Step 2: Identify Results of Performance
Once you have identified the performance you want, determine what happens if the employee performs satisfactorily or does not perform satisfactorily. For example, if an employee completes all assignments timely: he or she could receive an improved performance rating; other employees might be able to complete their assignments more timely; or the office might receive fewer complaints about product deliveries.
Go beyond the traditional results by thinking about who and/or what is impacted by employee performance. For instance, a change in performance could impact the organization mission, external customers, workplace accidents, team profits, internal departments, community groups, and others. Do not just consider what could happen to the employee or to his or her workload. Consider what could happen to other employees and to the organization as well.
Step 3: Link Performance to Results
Here, you want to link the performance you want to the results that will be achieved if employees deliver the performance you want. For instance, improved time management could affect customer service, individual productivity, or office goals. The more results you can link to performance the better. Just make sure the results are meaningful to employees. That means if you link performance to goals in the organization strategic plan, employees need to know about the goals in the strategic plan. On a personal level, if employees are interested in more time off, offering opportunities to do more exciting work may not be very motivating.
Go For It!
You have identified areas for performance improvement, you have identified workplace results, and you have made meaningful links between performance improvement and workplace results. Now, you are ready to talk to your employee. This approach gives you a whole new way to handle that performance discussion. You have multiple ways to explain the importance of cooperation and contributions. So the discussion is not just about the performance you want. The discussion is about how the performance you want can lead to positive results for the employee and for the organization where the employee works. Go for it!
Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance. Handbook topics include Linking Time Management To Results, Linking Customer Service To Results, and others. Dr. Brown also offers E-Courses and E-Consulting as well as onsite training and consulting. Website: http://www.LinkToResults.net Email: Barbara@LinkToResults.net
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_Brown,_Ph.D.
Rewarding Performance Management
August 8, 2008
By Robert II Smith
Contingent pay is any form of financial reward that is added to the base rate or paid as a cash bonus and is related to performance, competence, skill or service. Contingent pay may be consolidated in base pay, in which case it forms the basis for allowances such as sick pay and for pension arrangements. Alternatively, schemes other than skill or service-related pay may provide for awards in the form of cash lump sum bonuses. The latter arrangement is called ‘variable pay’.
It is sometimes referred to as ‘pay as risk’, which has to be re-earned, as distinct from consolidated pay, which is usually regarded as continuing as long as the person remains in the job and performs it satisfactorily (Armstrong & Murlis 2004).
The most powerful argument for contingent pay is that it is right and proper to recognize achievement with a tangible reward rather than just paying people for ‘being there’ as happens in a service-related system. Pay should be related to contribution, who contributed more and who get more pay (Armstrong & Murlis 2004).
The other arguments commonly used in favor of contingent pay are that:
• It acts as a motivator
• It encourages and supports desired behaviors
• It delivers the message that performance, competence, contribution and skill are important
• It provides a means for defining and agreeing performance and competence expectations
• It can reinforce the organization’s value
• It can help to achieve culture change by, for example, assisting with the development of a performance culture
The extent to which contingent pay schemes motivate is questionable. The amounts available for distribution are usually so small that they cannot act as an incentive. The requirements for success as set out below are extracting and difficult to achieve.
Money can assist in the motivation process but it is a mistake to believe that by itself it will result in sustained motivation. As Kohn (1994) points out, money rarely acts in a crude, behaviorist, Pavlov’s dog manner. People react in widely different ways to any form of motivation. Contingent pay schemes can create more dissatisfaction than satisfaction if they are perceived to be unfair, inadequate or badly managed, as they often are.
The ‘line of sight’ criterion, as originated by Ed Lawler (1995), sums up the key requirement of any contingent pay scheme, especially one related to performance. This is that individuals and terms should have a clear line of sight between what they do and what they will get for doing it.
A line of sight model adapted from Lawler is shown below:
Effect—Performance—Result—Measures—Pay-out
A contingent pay scheme is more likely to motivate people if:
1. The reward is clearly and closely linked to accomplishment or effort people know what they will get if they achieve defined and agreed targets or standards and can track their performance against them.
2. Reward are meaningful
3. Fair and consistent means are available for measuring or assessing performance, competence, contribution or skill
4. People must be able to influence their performance by changing their behavior and they should be able to develop their competences and skills.
5. The reward should follow as closely as possible the accomplishment that generated it.
Article Source: http://www.leadershiparticles.net
Robert Smith was born in New York City in 1956. He has spent more than 12 years working as a professor of English at New York University. He is always ineterested in helping students writing essays and papers. Now he spends most of his time with his family and shares his experience in writing cheap term papers. He is a right person to ask about cheap reports.
How To Deal With Problem Staff And Poor Performance
July 5, 2008
By Iain Mackintosh
Poor staff performance and 'problem workers' are some of the trickiest things to be dealt with in the office. It's difficult to balance morale and productivity in the optimum way for office success, and as a result I often hear of managers turning a blind eye to poor staff performance, fearing that drawing attention to it will cause problems in the atmosphere and work environment.
The truth is that avoiding dealing with problem staff is often the worst thing you can do. If you turn a blind eye, the rot can spread to the other apples. If a member of staff is consistently late, for example, and nothing is seen to be done about it, then why should other staff members keep up high standards of timeliness? Inevitably, a rot sets in around the office and poor staff performance becomes the rule rather than the exception!
Even if it is something that others are unaware of, like plummeting productivity, it is still something that should be dealt with as soon as you become aware of the issue - intervening in a timely manner will hit the problem on the head early on, and prevent it from spreading and causing resentment and ill feeling. After all, problem employees may not realise they are doing anything wrong unless you intervene, and doing this early can act as a wake-up call to improve staff performance before it's too late!
So the first step of dealing with problem staff or poor performance is to inform them of the problem. Naturally this should be done in private to avoid shaming them in front of the others (this will cause major resentment), and the issue should be explained clearly so there is no grounds for misunderstanding. If they have a reasonable excuse for a drop in form (severe illness in the family or problems at home) then you should endeavour to be understanding and come up with a compassionate solution - see how you can help the employee return to standard.
If they have no reason, you need to reiterate (or in some cases, iterate) clearly what your expectations are from them - after all, if they don't know what they are it can be impossible for them to be met! If you have a problem employee, you don't want to wait until their annual review to tell them what goals they should have met!
The next phase is actually helping them to meet your outlined expectations. In the case of something like consistent lateness this is easy to monitor, but with something more abstract - like quantity and quality of work, it's harder for both you and the employee to keep an eye on things. For this reason, you may need to consider the following things when managing poor performance in your staff:
Plenty of Feedback
Positive, constructive feedback is a good idea to give your employee an idea of whether they're heading in the right direction or not. Let them know clearly what's improved and what still needs to be tightened - it should be specific, detailed and timely.
Possible Supervision
Problem employees often require direction and for employers to work closely with them in order for them to reach their potential. Both parties should understand that this hands on approach to managing poor performance is with the ultimate goal of the employee working competently independently of constant supervision.
Additional Training
In some (but by no means all) situations, the employees underperformance may be through no fault of their own, and they may as a result require extra training in order to reach the standard of skills and competency stipulated in their goals.
Checklists
Depending on the type of problem employee you have, you may find checklists to be of use. These are particularly useful for problem staff who struggle with their timekeeping and priorities, it allows them to stay focused on each task and organize their workload.
Positive Reinforcement
Having already been highlighted for doing something wrong, it is essential you redress the balance when the employee's performance improves. Positive reinforcement - telling the employee you're pleased with their work can make someone's day, improve their happiness at a company and - most importantly - make them more likely to deliver a repeat performance. Let them know that this is the sort of thing you've been hoping for.
Set a Period of Evaluation
One of the most important areas of dealing with problem staff is setting a period of evaluation. Put in writing the problem, the improvements you hope to see made, and the timeline for this. Close with the disciplinary actions that will be taken if things are not improved (and maintained) - all the way up to dismissal if there is no improvement.
Whatever you do, don't just make firing your employees your automatic response to poor staff performance! You need to work with the employees to try and resolve issues, and give them fair warning that their job is in danger, otherwise you are leaving yourself wide open for litigation. It may seem a lot of work, and easier just to let it slide initially, but failure to act early will cause the problem to get worse and worse, and potentially for discontent to spread within the office environment. Follow this procedure when managing poor performance, and there's no reason why your productivity shouldn't recover from the slight dip!
Iain Mackintosh is the managing director of Simply-Docs. The firm provides over 1100 legal documents and small business templates covering all aspects of business from holiday entitlement to managing poor performance. By providing these legal documents (with content provided by leading commercial lawyers, HR and health & safety consultants) at an affordable price, the company intends to help small businesses avoid costly breaches of regulation and legal action.
