Performance Management Program - Research Paper Example

Performance Management Program In the recent years, government organizations, non governmental organizations and parastatal organizations have been facing human resources problems. The human resources have been underperforming and not meeting the targets laid out therefore leading to criticism of the organizations from the public. Government organizations have been characterized by impersonification and non attendance of employees to their job places. Most of the employees attend to their family businesses rather than discharging their contractual obligations. Doctors have left the patients to die while they are busy making money out of private practice. Though the government has instilled rules and regulations to govern this, they got ways of escaping. Organizations with satellite offices are highly faced with this problem. Most of the employees don’t perform their duties as expected. They attend to their private duties and family businesses at the cost of the business or the organizations. The main purpose of this performance management program is to maximize on the output of the employees and thus that of the organization (McSween, 1995). Employees are the most precious capital resources of an organization therefore for an organization to progress, human capital resources have to be taken care of. Assessment These organizations have been facing problems in meeting their targets as well as increased public complains. The satellite offices employees have been performing duties without due respect of their contractual obligations. This has generated an outcry from the public. The public has launched complains through the contact us sections of the organizations website as well as through mails (Gilbert, 1996). It is only through the public responses that the executives of the organizations can be able to evaluate the performance of the employees in the satellite offices. The organizations also, after providing their services to the clients, give them a feedback form where they express the level of satisfaction they get from those services. These feedbacks from the clients have given an insight to the executive members on the performance of the employees during their time at the work place. The public has been very instrumental in creating awareness to the managerial organ of the organization in bringing into light what the employees rating is in discharging their duties. Also the managerial organs have their way of estimating the performance of their employees. One way is by analyzing the output of the employees with regard to time and the supposedly allocated time. Employees taking longer to deliver are presumed to be undertaking private duties and sidelining the organizations functions. To verify the claim, an investigation is carried out. Information about the same may also arise from fellow employee complains and may trigger the management looking into the issue. The main cause of this behavior is the need by the employees to make more cash. They have families to bring up therefore need for more funds. Most of the employees in the satellite offices are poorly paid and thus receive insufficient funds to sustain themselves. Most of the employees take up jobs without regard to their personal interests. It is apparent that in the contemporary society employees take up jobs because of the salary tag attached to it rather than job satisfaction. When they are employed, they are not at ease at the job place. They keep on complaining of bad work conditions but this is propelled by lack of job satisfaction. The other issue that generates this problem in job places is the lack of prerequisite skills and knowledge or employing of overqualified persons. Literature Review Performance management is the cyclic process aimed at performance improvement like achievement of business objectives. It includes activities to ensure goals are being met consistently, effectively and efficiently. It can focus on performance of the organization, process to build a product or service, employees and department. Performance management is mostly used on workplace but generally applies wherever people interact ranging from schools to governmental agencies (Aubrey, 2000). Performance management principles are needed wherever people interact to generate desired effects. Armstrong and Baron (1998) state that it is the strategic and integrated approach to increase the effectiveness of organizations by performance improvement of the people who work in them and by developing team capabilities and individual contributors. It is therefore possible for the employees to reconcile personal goals with organizational goals (Austin, Brethower & Dickinson, 2009). It is a possibility for one to turn any marginal business and increase productivity and profitability for any organization or business premise with the transparent and hidden forces embedded in this process. It can be applied by an organization, single department as well as an individual person. It is a natural self inspired performance and appropriately named as the self propelled performance process. The self propelled performance management is the fastest method for career promotion. It also is the fastest way to achieve career advancement and progress, the best ingredient for career path planning; and gives inspiration. This is because it gets people moving, makes them self-starters in utilizing own talents and initiative; fastest and surest way for increased motivation, growth, productivity, profitability and performance for both the individual and the organisation; best career builder and booster; best automated method for organizational change, performance, development, growth and profit; best integration of human behavior research findings, leadership, with the latest management and organizational development principles; and the complete and sophisticated application of performance management (Austin & Carr, 2000). Performance management is an essential component of sound human resources practices and management. It improves organizational results and drives excellence in an organization. It helps the employees understand their individual contribution to the business objectives by aligning their skills and talents with the top priorities of the organization through clear performance commitments (Daniels, 1999). Performance management includes performance awards, ongoing communication and learning opportunities. Sound performance management helps employees realize their full potential resulting in strengthened accountability, improved output and better quality for the organization’s products. In this case, the performance management program will have four key phases: the joint planning for performance, ongoing performance feedback, data gathering and annual performance review. The phases will help improve the output of the employees and overall performance of the organisation. In the joint planning for performance phase, the performance goals are defined as well as developed. The annual plans and the ongoing accountabilities are laid out. The annual plans are collected from the employees, branch managers and the senior management personal objectives and goals. Skill assessment and plans, measures of quantity and quality and the organisations goals and plan are stipulated. In the second phase, that is ongoing performance feedback, there is performance observance, regular feedback, mid year review, immediate follow up on any performance improvements and analysis of the plan is carried out. In the data gathering phase, various data and information is collected in relation to the employee performance. The data collected include the employee and manager share and performance input from data, surveys, client or customer reviews. In the annual performance review phase, there is analysis of performance and skills, reviews, development for the job and for the future, skills planning and use assessment info for new goals. In the final phase, there is performance, training, succession, assignments and leadership development. This is a phase where the hardworking employees are recognized and empowered for future growth both for the organization as well to the employee’s personal benefits. The capacity management phase will rely on employees’ performance, skills and attributes and the learning and development plan.The diagrammatic representation of the program Joint planning for performance Ongoing performance feedback Data gathering Define and develop performance goals Measures of quality and quantity Ongoing accountabilities Skill assessment and plans Annual plans Plans and goals Observe performance Analyze/plan Mid year review Regular feedback Constant follow-up on performance improvements Manager share Performance input from data, surveys, client peers Employee share Capacity management Yearly review of performance Performance Leadership development Training Succession Performance and skills review Development for job and for future Skill planning Using assessment info for new goals Implementation In order for the full potential of the human capital resources to be realized, it takes the efforts of the various stakeholders. There has to be coordination between the management’s goals, employees’ goals and the organization’s objectives. The goals have to be harmonized in order to realize the objectives of the organization and for consistency of performance of duties. The implementation of the performance program involves a three tier system Role of the senior managers The role of the senior managers is to establish the organization’s strategies and directions and oversee the performance management program. It is the responsibility of the senior leaders to ensure that the performance management program takes place in a timely and effective manner. It’s the work of the senior leaders to monitor the process across all the satellite offices to ensure fairness and consistency. The senior management personnel should communicate the organizations strategies, performance plans, organizations objectives and the integrated resource plans to all the employees. They should also ensure that objectives and measures of the divisions, branches and departments of the organization are aligned with the organization’s strategies and plans and are communicated and considered in the development of individual performance management plans and goals. Role of the satellite office manager All the satellite managers have the responsibility for managing the satellite office employees and the responsibility of carrying out the management role in the organization. They have the responsibility of initiating the performance management program or process and communicate organization’s strategies, satellite offices’ plans and performance expectations. They have the sole responsibility of documenting individual performance management plans. They are to monitor performance, periodically review and update performance management plans as required during the year. They are expected to coach and define remedial action if need be as well as assess performance and recommend an overall evaluation and rating level. Role of the employee The employees are supposed to partner with the manager in establishing the performance plan. Although it is the manager’s or the senior management personnel’s responsibility to make assessments about performance, employees play a key role in analyzing how their actions and behaviors contributed to the achievement of the performance plan or program. The employees have the obligations to participate actively in establishing their performance plan. They should regularly assess their performance against their plans, goals and performance measures and their progress against their development action plans. They are to inform their mangers of their progress and seek help in solving their plans. They are also to participate and actively plan the annual performance review including discussions about their career development plans. It is the collective responsibility of the above named management levels that the objectives of the performance management program will be achieved. Evaluation The productivity and effectiveness of any organisational function can be measured by combination of time, cost, quality, quantity or human relation indices. Any measurement system adapted should foster productivity by focussing attention on issues important to the organization or the firm. In measuring performance, it should be done both at the individual as well as group levels. The managers’ performance can be measured by the efficiency and the effectiveness of the units they manage. In performance measurement, the key factor is not efficiency but effectiveness. Measures which are effective help motivate people and make them feel better about whatever task they are undertaking. The non performance and non attendance to work places by employees is an indication of a failing human resources department. For an organization to realize it’s goals and objectives, it has to utilize it is human capital resources efficiently and effectively. The function of the human resources department is to lead the organization in the acquisition, development, maintenance, supervision and measurement of the human assets and the results of their work in terms of quality, productivity and service. According to the Government of Canada (2007), the achievements of the performance management program measurement must include a combination of strategic and operational measures that reflect the efficiency and effectiveness of internal processes, customer satisfaction, innovation in the organization and cost effectiveness. Customers’ satisfaction can be shown by a decreased number of complaints from the clients. A reduction in the number complains and an increase of congratulatory messages signifies an improved level of services. The management should keep in close contact with the clients so as they can help in monitoring of the employees’ attendance and performance of their duties. There should be improved means for the clients to submit their queries to the management. Another way the management can use to measure the performance of their employees is through the employees output. The management should compare the output of various employees from the various satellite offices. If one of the employee’s outputs is considerably low, then an action should be taken according to the University of California (2009). The management may launch an investigation aimed at unveiling the reason behind the poor performance. Commitment of the employees to the organisation is highly indicated by the innovation and launching of new products. Failure to develop a new product or service from a certain satellite office and continued launching of new products from the other satellite offices indicates an underperformance in the office and an investigation should be launched immediately. Every duty to be performed has its due date. The employees should comply with the deadlines given for the smooth flow of the organisation’s activities and business operations. Continued failure to beat the deadlines shows an underperformance which may be a likely indicator of non attendance to work place by the employees. Reinforcers As earlier stated, the achievement of the objectives of the performance management program is the collective responsibilities of all the parties involved in delivering an output of the organisation. Failure or non participation of any of the parties leads to failure to achieve. Therefore the senior managers should ensure that all the objectives are well understood by the employees and the junior management and efforts geared towards achievement of the overall objectives. The managerial organ should synthesise the employees towards achievement of the organisational objectives. In the joint planning for performance, all the parties’ objectives are collected and harmonized in setting the annual plans. For the employees to work towards achievement of the organisation’s objectives, they have to have the feeling that their objectives have been integrated in the overall objectives. When the overall objectives of the organisation are a combination of the various employees’ contribution, this instils a sense of belonging to the employees and they will do anything possible towards the realization of the annual plans. In recruitment of the employees, the organisation should aim at absorbing only those with the prerequisite skills. It is very beneficial for the organisation to spend a lot of time and funds in recruiting the right candidate rather that recruiting the wrong person in less time and using minimal funds. If an overqualified candidate is recruited for the job, he will not be motivated to work more and when an under qualified is recruited then he/she will be demoralised as the tasks will be beyond his capabilities. The management as well as the employees should lay out a well defined process of achieving the annul plans. The plans and goals should be split into sections that are to be realized on a quarterly basis. The management should ensure that the best measures of quality and quantity are adopted at the earlier stages. There should also be assessment of performance as well as ongoing accountabilities both to the employees as well as the managerial persons. Various activities are involved in the ongoing performance feedback phase. The managerial officers should observe the performance of duties by the employees while discharging their duties. They should emphasize on regular feedback from the employees as well as the clients. There should be mid year review aimed at ensuring that all the parties involved are working towards the achievement of the stipulated annual plans. The managerial organ should analyze the work done by the employees in regard to the achievement of the annual plans, goals and objectives. It is the obligation of the managers to carry out an in depth analysis of the already completed work of the satellite office employees. The managers should pay special attention to detail and authenticity of the work. In case there is underperformance of the employees, there should be an immediate follow up aimed at ensuring performance improvements. The follow up should be carried out in a charismatic way not to demoralise the employees. It should be a form of motivation for the employees. In the data gathering phase, the manager should ensure they collect the right information from their satellite offices. The data can be from surveys as well as client peers. The data should be aimed to determine the employees share as well as the manager share. There should be an annual performance review for work carried out throughout the year. Performance of duties should correspond to the skills of the employees. Johnson, Mawhinney and Redmon (2001) state that the management should ensure that employees discharge their duties in the best possible way. The management should ensure that employees always give best quality products and services. It is always necessary that the management prepare the employees for job development and for future. The management should ensure that employees improve their skills both for the current job requirements as well as for the future. It is the obligation of the employee as well as the management to ensure that the employees are well equipped with skills for the best performance of their duties. The management should ensure the best possible skills plan is adapted for the organisation. The assessment information collected should be integrated in order to set and realise new goals. The capacity management phase is aimed at rewarding those who are performing and improving the skills of the employees. The employees are indulged in training sessions in which the organisation meets the expenses (Cokins, 2009). It is the argument of most of employers to train their employees to suit a certain job rather than recruit a new employee. The employees feel appreciated and motivate them to deliver more. It is also necessary for the management to indulge the employees into leadership development and succession programmes. This is to prepare future leaders and managers of the organisation. This motivates the employees to be responsible and accountable leading to the improvement of the organisation performance (Brache & Rummler 1995). The management can set a well known criterion to be used when selecting those to join the succession and leadership programmes. A clear set criterion will ensure corruption free system is employed in developing new leaders. The management should also integrate a system of pay increment to the employees who perform. The management should also engage in surprise checks in the satellite offices and work places to ensure the employees always attend to their duties. Summary In precise the performance management program stipulates the problems found in the human resources department of an organisation with satellite offices and branches and how we can reduce them. The program analyses the problems, cause of the problems and how we can improve human resource functions by eliminating or reducing the problems identified. In order to realise the benefits of the program all must adhere to the common goals and objectives realization. The stipulated process will enhance increased accountability, productivity of the employees and quality services and products of the organization. Conclusion This program if followed will increase the level of accountability of all the parties involved. It will ensure that employees attend to their duties at the right time and in the right way. There will quality service delivery to the clients and will enhance self motivation in the work place. This approach can be adapted by other organisations such as parastatals and non governmental organisations. The problems of each organisation should be established first and this program be customised for their use. References Aubrey C. D. (2000) Bringing out the best in people: how to apply the astonishing power of positive reinforcement(illustrated, 2nd edition), Columbus, McGraw-Hill Austin J., Brethower D, Dickinson A. (2009) Organizational Behavior Management Network, www.obmnetwork.com. 2009. Austin J. & Carr J. E. (2000).Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis, Context Press. Brache A. P. & Rummler G. A.(1995)Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space in the Organization Chart (2nd edition),. Jossey-Bass Cokins G. (2009). Performance Management - Integrating Strategy Execution, Methodologies, Risk, and Analytics. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Daniels A. C. (1999) Bringing out the Best in People(2nd edition) New York, McGraw-Hill Gilbert T. F. (1996) Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance, Pfeiffer Government of Canada (2007) Policy on the Management of Executives retrieved on 18th June 2010 from http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12572§ion=text Johnson C. M., Mawhinney T. C. & Redmon W. K. (2001) Handbook of Organizational Performance, Florence, Routledge McSween T. E.. (1995) The Values-Based Safety Process: Improving Your Safety Culture with Behavior-Based Safety, New York, John Wiley & Sons University of California, Berkeley (2009) Guide to Managing Human Resources retrieved on 19th June 2010 from http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/guide/performance.htm Read More