Effective Performance Management - Example

Your Name Your Lecturer’s Name Course Name 17 April 2009 Effective Performance Management Introduction Performance management is regarded as a continuous process in which employers communicate with their employees in order to boost achievement of the company’s strategic objectives. Usually, the latter process entails goal setting, goal identification, clarification of one’s expectations, feedback and evaluation of employees’ results. A) Review of Starbuck’s approach to performance management Performance management can be reviewed under three major parameters within this respective organization i.e. planning, checking and assessment. (Deshpande and Webster 25) In the planning phase, there are a number of practical steps that need to be demonstrated by an effective organization. First of all, there should be a clear description of performance expectations through a combination of actions and results. This company has written down its performance expectations through its elaborate mission statement thus going a long way towards guiding its employees. In the end, the latter organization now has a platform that it can use to convey information about communication all year round. Effective performance management should also be illustrated through goal setting where specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely objectives should be selected. However, Starbucks may be having challenges in this arena because the company normally does very well when it comes to setting goals, however, providing feedback to employees or bridging gaps between actual and expected performance is yet to be done here. Goal setting ought to be coupled with standard setting where institutions lay out the references against which their performances will be rated. In the case of Starbucks, there are still some missing elements in its standard setting arena. First of all, it normally focuses on expressing performance standards in terms of quality rather than through other parameters. For instance, they normally specify that a cup of coffee should be made in a certain manner and its ingredients ought to be in a certain way. However, it is very difficult to find performance standards on effective resource usage at Starbucks. For instance, the company does not specify what amount of finance should be saved or which computer resources are applicable to certain departments. Consequently, employees lack the specifics that they need in order to carry out effective performance. In the planning phase, successful organizations are those ones who have the ability to create performance dimensions. In other words, these are those types of behaviors that employees should exhibit in order to meet job expectations. The Starbucks human resource team has been effective in doing this because the company often emphasizes issues such as teamwork, valuing diversity, decision making and customer oriented service every time it recruits new employees or when reviewing employee performance. (Starbucks par 9) In the second phase of checking, organizations need to dwell on feedback. Starbucks realizes that it has the responsibility of ensuring that its employees are performing well. This is usually done by doing regular feedbacks. However, there are a number of issues that are yet to be carried out with regard to this parameter. First of all, the company has not reinforced immediate feedback. Besides that, there should be ample use of coaching; a tool used in strengthening check in sessions. Starbucks has done its fair share of coaching. However, there is a need to look into alternative solutions during the coaching session. Above and beyond that, there should be ample time given to the process of recognizing any efforts made by their employees. Lastly, the performance management system within any company ought to have assessment parameters. One must therefore be in a position to ensure that all the issues revolving around a certain job are assessed regularly. Starbucks employees normally claim that the discussions held with their employer are non-threatening. Besides that, these very employees also assert that the company has been carrying out healthy discussions in which employees are allowed to give their contributions on the matter. However, upon visiting Starbucks blogs, one can find that not all employees are satisfied with the company’s assessment procedures as some of them tend to complain about the lack of effective mechanisms to deal with all their job challenges. B) Ways in which Starbucks displays the five characteristics Starbucks is the country’s top coffee retailer with one of the widest store networks within the country (established through its aggressive expansion program). It is an industry leader and one of the reasons behind this company’s success is its performance management scheme. This company believes that in order to remain competitive it cannot treat its business in a casual or regular manner. It usually examines what is required to make it in the coffee industry and then it builds this into its growth strategy. In other words, this is the foundation of their performance management. (Hammers par 8) The latter coffee retailer has gone out of its way to try and align organizational objectives with employee performance. This company’s major philosophy is to leave no individual behind. This is actually the reason why the company normally offers training to new employees about various job issues such as meeting consumers, serving them coffee and greeting them. Additionally, the company’s is driven by a need to grow and expand. In order to include their employees in this growth objective, they have offered them stock options where they have the option of investing even close to 150 percent of their 401 K plans. (Starbucks par 5) Starbucks also uses its mission statement as a guiding principle for employee performance. Its mission statement centers on maintaining that personal touch even while continually growing. Employees are supposed to reflect this personal nature while buying the coffee beans, roasting it and also by delivering it. Also, the company expects is employees to submit mission reviews on a monthly basis. The company affirms that there are close to two hundred mission review statements that are offered. Perhaps the most important way in which Starbucks aligns its employee performance to its organizational objectives is by utilizing its employees to create a unique in store experience for their clientele. When customers leave a Starbucks store, they normally feel that the company values them and that the coffee served to them is made uniquely for their needs. This means that everything that the employee does within that store must contribute towards this ‘unique experience’. For instance, the way the employees welcome them, to the way they blend in their milk and coffee to suit the customers taste to the extra information that they give clients about coffee are all important. If any of these services is carried out in the wrong manner, then chances are that a client would blame the entire Starbucks Corporation rather than that one employee. Their performance is supposed to reflect on these objectives. Starbucks clearly articulates its work culture to its employees through several avenues. The first being through its strong brand; upon visiting its website, the company displays its mission which is to become a world leader in purveying coffee while at the same time adhering to their principles. This mission statement assists employees in knowing exactly what their company is trying to carry out and understanding the key elements that are required to make the company work. For example employees need to be aware of the pricing, visibility, atmosphere and team members that make up the work culture. (Reichfeld 203) This is precisely what the latter company has tried to carry out over the past few years. In terms of having a clear specification of the competencies and results that are expected within the company, this company is also doing relatively well in achieving this. For example, they have gone a long way towards articulating the requirements of each job position. This is usually done through a job description. Also, they have allocated leaders within those stores to ensure that the accurate results and competencies are adhered to. Aside from that, they usually do reports for each employee who is also expected to self - examine his or her own behavior. Management behavior and style within this company usually encourages discretionary efforts. This is mostly because employees must look for creative ways of giving customers that unique experience. In certain circumstances, it may come in the form of a putting in extra sugar or more coffee. In other situations, a customer may simply want quick service or welcoming retailers. Consequently, employees have been empowered to think of what kind of needs that their respective clients may have and then think of ways of meeting those needs. There are certain documents and processes that can go a long way in ensuring that this respective organization adheres to performance management principles. Usually, most fast food retailers have been embracing technology in their business practices. However, some of them have been having trouble combining the needs of their businesses to the different categories of technology. Nonetheless, this company has been doing a lot of planning through these technologies and has made them part of the performance management system within the company. Besides that, employees are expected to stay abreast of industry trends by observing what customers are looking for or by asking them. Also, when a leader within a particular department in the company discovers one thing, he or she is expected to spread it onto other departments thus propagating a culture of greater consumer insight. These are all simple elements that indicate the importance of performance management within this company. C) How to address some of the shortcomings at Starbucks While Starbucks may be one of the exemplary cases when it comes to performance management, there are still a number of issues that this respective company needs to address especially in light of its shortcomings. In the area of goal setting, this company needs to move beyond job descriptions since there are a range of job outcomes that must be covered in the job objectives. (Klein & Wiedner 140) For example, the company must be more prompt in enactment of feedbacks. Besides that, there are a number of pointers that could assist this company in creation of their objectives. In other words, if the objectives are not able to answer the following questions, then they should be abandoned for more effective strategies. What methods, processes and means are employees supposed to use? What organizational values must employees illustrate? What effects are jobs supposed to have to the entire company? How are employees supposed to act in front colleagues, supervisors and colleagues? What services or goods are expected from the job? If the company considers all these questions in all its objectives, then employees will have a much clearer picture of the company’s expectations from their jobs. Besides the latter matter, the company needs to realize that overemphasis on objectives rather than standards can create some problems to that respective institution. (Oldham and Hackman 36) First of all, Starbucks may be dwelling too much on annual or long term results; consequently, employees may ignore day to day challenges of their jobs. A little reinforcement of standards in line with objectives could deal with such a challenge instantly. Besides the latter disadvantage, Starbucks overemphasis on objectives is also making them quite inflexible. As a result, they need to be more dynamic by dwelling on prevailing circumstances rather than merely dealing with the issue without looking into some of the challenges that could be facing these respective institutions. On top of the latter matter, the company needs to look for ways in which it can offer a more integrated system. It should be noted that the process of goal setting can be quite time consuming. Consequently, the company needs to dedicate numerous resources towards offering a more integrated system of objectives. When it comes to standard setting, Starbucks needs to look for more parameters against which to gauge their employees’ performance. There are a number of ways in which it can address these shortcomings. For example, it could ensure that job objectives are linked to responsibilities. For example for barristers, the company could set standards on assisting customers. They should be expected to do any of the following; Offer different beverages available Answer questions on how snacks were prepared Explain the specials (if any) Suggest possible food combinations All these can be regarded as effective objectives that are also linked to specific job outcomes thus making them more relevant. When it comes to the checking phase, there are a number of changes that need to be addressed by this respective organization. First of all, its coaching sessions need to be enhanced be improving on communication between employees and their supervisors. In the past, Starbucks was well known for this approach, however, some employees are not happy with the way their supervisors coordinate with them owing to the fact that their side may not be as highly valued as the company itself claims. Besides this, there must be a focus on what the company can do towards boosting objective or standard attainment by employees. Starbucks has largely been dwelling on their employees’ tasks but very few questions have been asked about what the institution can do for them. It is a known fact that the higher the amount of support from this respective organization, the more motivated employees will be and the greater their outcomes. Feedback within the checking process needs to be characterized by strategies that can boost employee commitment. For example, the company could expand the amount of stock options available to members of the organization. They could also offer more activities that might boost more commitment to the organization i.e. through charitable events. (Rousseau & Cooke 249) There are also several ways in which the company can boost employee self esteem. For instance, it could treat all the suggestions given by employees in a mature manner. Also, the company needs to offer greater support. It should be noted that Starbucks is doing relatively way in terms of coaching but there are still a number of pointers that the company could adopt in order to stay ahead of its competitors. For instance, coaching should be done only when there are certain aspects of employment that have to be dealt with. Additionally, supervisors ought to look for ways in which they can offer immediate feedback after making observations. Employees need to be advised by their managers about a certain issue even before performance coaching is done. The issue of alternative solutions is particularly pressing in Starbucks as mentioned by several employees. Consequently, the company needs to look for ways in which it can agree with its employees about the way forward and what needs to be done. Conclusion Starbucks is one of the best employers within the fast food industry as it has been seen above in its approach to performance management. However, the company needs to boost its goal setting process, assessment and check in phases. This can be done by balancing objectives with standards, offering immediate feedbacks, boosting employee commitment by encouraging group activities and charitable events. Lastly, the company can enhance performance management by supporting employees and looking for alternative solutions to problems. References Oldham, Lillian and Hackman, Terrence. Understanding Performance Management. New York: Prentice Hall. 2007. Reichfeld, Fiona. Hidden forces behind growth. Boston: Harvard University Press. 2004. Deshpande, Richard and Webster, Ellen. Marketing and Organizational Culture. Marketing Jorunal,53 (1), 3-15. 2004 Klein, Arnold & Wiedner, Calvin. Perceptions of Quality in Organizations. Journal of Group and Organization Management, 20, 2 (2005): 140. Rousseau, Donald & Cooke, Rita. Assessing performance. Journal of Group & Organization Studies, 13, 2 (2002), 249. Hammers, Maryann. Starbucks is pleasing employees and sustaining profits. 17 Apr 2009 retrieved http://www.workforce.com/index.html Starbucks. Home page, Retrieved 17 Apr 2009 http://www.starbucks.com/ Read More