Performance management

Performance management (PM) includes activities which ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product of service, as well as many other areas.

PM is also known as a process by which organizations align their resources, systems and employees to strategic objectives and priorities.^[1]

Performance management originated as a broad term coined by Dr. Aubrey Daniels in the late 1970s to describe a technology (i.e. science imbedded in applications methods) for managing both behavior and results, two critical elements of what is known as performance.^[2] A formal definition of performance management, according to Daniels' is "a scientifically based, data-oriented management system. It consists of three primary elements-measurement, feedback and positive reinforcement." ^[3]

Application

This is used most often in the workplace, can apply wherever people interact — schools, churches, community meetings, sports teams, health setting, governmental agencies,social events and even political settings - anywhere in the world people interact with their environments to produce desired effects. Armstrong and Baron (1998) defined it as a “strategic and integrated approach to increase the effectiveness of companies by improving the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors.”

It may be possible to get all employees to reconcile personal goals with organizational goals and increase productivity and profitability of an organization using this process.^[4] It can be applied by organizations or a single department or section inside an organization, as well as an individual person. The performance process is appropriately named the self-propelled performance process (SPPP).^{[citation needed]}

First, a commitment analysis must be done where a job mission statement is drawn up for each job. The job mission statement is a job definition in terms of purpose, customers, product and scope. The aim with this analysis is to determine the continuous key objectives and performance standards for each job position.

Following the commitment analysis is the work analysis of a particular job in terms of the reporting structure and job description. If a job description is not available, then a systems analysis can be done to draw up a job description. The aim with this analysis is to determine the continuous critical objectives and performance standards for each job.

Benefits

Managing employee or system performance and aligning their objectives facilitates the effective delivery of strategic and operational goals. Some proponents argue that there is a clear and immediate correlation between using performance management programs or software and improved business and organizational results. ^{[citation needed]} In the public sector, the effects of performance management systems have differed from positive to negative, suggesting that differences in the characteristics of performance management systems and the contexts into which they are implemented play an important role to the success or failure of performance management.^[5]^[6]

For employee performance management, using integrated software, rather than a spreadsheet based recording system, may deliver a significant return on investment through a range of direct and indirect sales benefits, operational efficiency benefits and by unlocking the latent potential in every employees work day (i.e. the time they spend not actually doing their job). Benefits may include:

Direct financial gain,

Grow sales
Reduce costs in the organization
Stop project overruns
Aligns the organization directly behind the CEO's goals
Decreases the time it takes to create strategic or operational changes by communicating the changes through a new set of goals

Motivated workforce

Optimizes incentive plans to specific goals for over achievement, not just business as usual
Improves employee engagement because everyone understands how they are directly contributing to the organizations high level goals
Create transparency in achievement of goals
High confidence in bonus payment process
Professional development programs are better aligned directly to achieving business level goals

Improved management control

Flexible, responsive to management needs
Displays data relationships
Helps audit / comply with legislative requirement
Simplifies communication of strategic goals scenario planning
Provides well documented and communicated process documentation

Organizational development

In organizational development (OD), performance can be thought of as Actual Results vs Desired Results. Any discrepancy, where Actual is less than Desired, could constitute the performance improvement zone. Performance management and improvement can be thought of as a cycle:

Performance planning where goals and objectives are established
Performance coaching where a manager intervenes to give feedback and adjust performance
Performance appraisal where individual performance is formally documented and feedback delivered

A performance problem is any gap between Desired Results and Actual Results. Performance improvement is any effort targeted at closing the gap between Actual Results and Desired Results.

Other organizational development definitions are slightly different. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) indicates that Performance Management consists of a system or process whereby:

Work is planned and expectations are set
Performance of work is monitored
Staff ability to perform is developed and enhanced
Performance is rated or measured and the ratings summarized
Top performance is rewarded^[7]

Implementation

Erica Olsen notes that "Many businesses, even those with well-made plans, fail to implement their strategy. Their problem lies in ineffectively managing their employees once their plan is in place. Sure, they've conducted surveys, collected data, gone on management retreats to decide on their organization's direction-- even purchased expensive software to manage their process-- but somewhere their plan fails." ^[8]

Performance management and performance appraisals have a significant overlap.^{[citation needed]} In general, there are three type of performance management: long-cycle, short-cycle, and micro.^{[citation needed]}

Long-cycle performance management

Long-cycle performance management is usually done on an annual, every 6 months, or quarterly basis.^{[citation needed]} From implementations standpoint, this area is the one that has traditionally received the most attention.^{[citation needed]} This is so for historical reasons, as most performance management techniques/styles predate use of computers.^{[citation needed]}

Short-cycle performance management

Short-cycle performance management (which overlaps with principles of [Agile Software Development]) is usually done on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.^{[citation needed]} From the implementation standpoint, this sort of management is industry-specific.^{[citation needed]}

Micro performance management

Micro performance management is generally done on a by-minute/hour/day basis.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Olsen, Erica. "Performance management". M3 Planning.
^ Daniels, Aubrey (July 2004). Performance Management: Changing Behavior that Drives Organizational Effectiveness (4th ed.).
^ http://aubreydaniels.com/pmezine/what-performance-management-interview-aubrey-daniels
^ Zaffron, Logan, Steve, David (Feb 2009). Performance Management: The Three Laws of Performance: Rewriting the Future of Your Organization and Your Life (1st ed.).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Nielsen, Poul A. 2013. Performance Management, Managerial Authority, and Public Service Performance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. Published electronically on June 2. doi:10.1093/jopart/mut025.
^ Swiss, James E. 2005. A framework for assessing incentives in results-based management. Public Administration Review 65:592–602.
^ A Handbook for Measuring Employee Performance, by the US Office of Personnel Management
^ Olsen, Erica. "Performance Management Software". M3 PLanning.