Effective People Management - Example

Running Header: Effective people management Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Name & Code: Date of Submission: Introduction In order to develop and meet the major requirements of an organisation, managers should design an assessment form designed to evaluate employee’s performance regarding their level of understanding and the quality of their work. According to Bradford and Burke (2005) an annual performance appraisal is a management system that enables managers to set management objectives, processes and practices that ensure effective management, motivation and development of every member of the team. Performance appraisals build effective habits among members such as employees are able to clearly understand the organisational goals and identifying the best way forward to meeting these goals. Managers ensure that they evaluate the best process that will be able to improve the performance of their employees (Jones, 1997). In this process, managers should be capable of ensuring that the team members achieve their goals and objectives. Team members should also be improving constantly and developing in their skills to become in order to become a great asset to the organisation. Managers should ensure that the hindrances to improvement are addresses by having a personal conversation with team members and listening to every issue. The issues and concerns raised should be solved immediately and in the most effective manner in order to avoid major issues in the future. Managers should also be in a position of asking themselves whether their employees are achieving the desired expectations of the business and whether they have the potential to achieve these goals. Finally, managers should be able to gauge how much the employees have improved since the previous appraisal or the value they have added to their development since the manager started supervising. Processes of effective people management Once the above goals are well focused, then managing people will become an easy process. Kate (2011) describes that effective management include assessing the current situation of a team member, setting effective goals and working together to ensure that member achieves those goals. The first step in managing people is to have a clear vision. The managers should be able to be precise on the expected performance by analysing the role of every team member. These expectations should then be communicated to the team members informing them to be accountable of their activities. To have a list of the desired qualities of a team member, the manager should include knowledge, skills and attitudes possessed by a member. The second step of effective people management is to make the expectations clear to the team members. The objectives should be discussed in a positive way to the members and the manager should communicate the ongoing basis for the team member to know exactly what they have achieved and what is remaining to attain their target. The third step involves letting the team members be aware that their work is of value to the entire organisation. Kraiger and Kevin (1995) shows this involves a short brief to everyone reminding them of the purpose of the organisation, the purpose of the team and the benefits to other departments. Managers should make sure that the team members are aware that they play a major part in achieving the entire output of the organisation. This should be a continuous assessment that the supervisor has to show to their members. This makes the employees feel valued therefore making them motivated to performing better. The forth step involves getting to know each team member basing on their abilities, skills and personal behaviour. This will make you understand them well and it also improved mutual respect. Managers should therefore find extra time of bonding and the time should be equally spent because spending more time on someone makes the rest feel undervalued. The fifth step is to set achievable goals for the team and for every member in the team. The long term goals of the organisation should be well known to the employees. Supervisors should also be able to share their thoughts about the next step of development to prepare the members and improve their critical thinking (Richard, 1999). The strategic direction should be clear in a way that team members are aware of where they are from and where they are heading. Setting time checks is also necessary and having detailed goals in that once one goal is achieved it can be ticked out as more concentration is put in achieving the remaining. The other step involves having a frequent performance involving one to one meeting for effective management. The importance of the discussion is to show team members that their work is important and this stimulates growth. The meetings involve reviewing the past performances, the achievements and the employee contribution to improving output of the firm. Learning points are identified as the goals for the next level are formulated. Managers should also be capable of noticing excellent work and have a positive attitude towards each team member. Desired attitude and extra effort put should be praised openly and honestly as some individuals are sensitive to such praises. Managers should be able to understand that all the team members can not perform the same since they have different potentials. Individuals who take time to understand a procedure should be given much concentration and should not be treated as losers. They should be encouraged to instill self confidence and job satisfaction to influence them to grow in skills. Annual appraisal is therefore based on a review of employees’ past performance which is important in creating an opportunity to set objectives for achieving a continued professional development. Strengths and weaknesses of appraisal reports Various ongoing debates show that employee performance appraisals have advantages and disadvantages. On one hand performance appraisals are effective since they mould individuals to become better and professional people in an organisation. On the other hand, appraisals tend to be very sensitive to personal employee issues. Roger (2009) describes that the performance appraisal process evaluates the performance of a particular employee over a given period say six or three months. It may also show an annual report card of how an employee has been performing during that year. There are various reasons why organisations do performance appraisals. Some conduct appraisals in order to fulfill their obligation, some others do it to fill a report in their file but the successful organisations understand the benefits of appraisals which are to strategically manage performance of employees. There are many advantages of conducting a performance appraisal in an organisation. One is that the process provides a record of individual performance recorded over a given period of time. The other one is that managers have an opportunity of meeting with every employee and discussion their issues together. The employees are provides with feedback about their conduct and what they should improve in to achieve their targets. The employees also have an opportunity to present their issues to the manager which may be hindering them from performing better. The process gives every one an opportunity to reflect on future development and how to meet one’s expectations. Appraisals give one an opportunity to focus on future goals through identifying the underlying issues and correcting them to attain better results in the future which benefits both the employee and the organisation. Motivation and satisfaction Appraisals may have a major effect on the level of motivation of an employee since employees are able to recognise their work efforts. They also recognise their social well being and how they re supposed to relate with every members. Generally people would always want to be recognised and would even prefer negative recognition rather than no recognition. Existence of appraisal program indicates that the organisation is interested in every individuals performance and this enables employees to feel valued and of belonging to the entire organisation. The process also reduces absenteeism and turnover rates. The performance appraisals are also motivational since some organisations acknowledge good performance by issuing rewards (Smith, 1998). Training and development Performance appraisal process offers both the supervisor and the employee an opportunity to identify and come at an agreement regarding personal training and development needs. During performance appraisal meetings, employees are cautioned on the need for training and the supervisors enable them to understand it in order to develop their career aspirations. Training needs can be provided by appraisals once an audit is carried out for the organisation. Recruitment and induction Performance appraisals are effective and can show whether some processes were of help to the organisation such as recruitment process. William and Keith (1998) describes that managers can monitor the success of employees who for example were hired a year ago and this enables to determine the change they have brought to the business. Appraisal data can also be used by managers in monitoring the various changes occurring or that should be implemented in order to achieve successful employees. By analysing the annual appraisal report, managers can determine whether the quality of workforce is improving, reducing or is stable and therefore strategies for improving or maintain the position are able to be determined. Employee evaluation Employee appraisal is also important since management is able to evaluate employees basing on their personal attributes. Though some organizations feel that it is their duty to evaluate and judge their employees, some think the idea is not right for the employees as many of them feel demoralised therefore the whole process seems as a source of anxiety and distress to them. Various researchers state that the appraisal can only serve the needs of either development of employees or evaluation but not both of them though a balance can be set where both needs are satisfied at the same time. Weaknesses of appraisal reports Wendell and Ceci (2000) argue that though appraisals are taken as a source of improvement by many organizations, they also have some setbacks. If the process is not appropriately conducted, employees may view the idea as a negative experience meant to evaluate and demoralise them. The other disadvantage is that they consume a lot of business time especially in an organisation which has many employees. This is because appraisals need to be carried out to every employee one by one and analysis is done which may take a lot of time. The performance appraisals are based on human evaluation and assessment and therefore are subject to errors or some managers get biased therefore equation to wrong reports. Performance appraisals should also be correctly done in order to achieve the benefits that come with it but if this is not done well then it will be a waste of time for the entire business. The other disadvantage that comes with performance appraisal is that they are very stressful to both the employees and the employers. This is because employees may feel as if the meeting dehumanise or demoralise them by analysing some negative characteristics of employees. The employers also feel stressed by the process since they have to take one employee at a time and analyse their performance. Employers also have to keep records of the employees’ performance for the period of about one year which might seem difficult for some managers who are quite busy (William and Keith 1998). How performance appraisal can be used to address poor performance According to Richard et al. (2009) poor performance is a subject that worries many managers and employees at the same time. This is a major concern to managers since it shows how effectively the organisation is being managed. Poor performance should therefore be tackled in the right manner sensitive issue that may affect the performance of the entire organisation. Poor performance should be addressed since it reduces productivity this low output. Though some managers feel uncomfortable raising the agenda and end up ignoring it, tackling poor performance is a necessity to every business. The process however has a negative effect on employee motivation and retention. Poor performance involves various employee behaviours that do not contribute to achieving organizational goals. These include absenteeism, lateness, attitude or laziness (Kate, 2011). Other aspects that are identified with poor performance include misconduct, job design, output measures target, sickness or other personal circumstances and finally work attitude, capability and behaviour of employees. Poor performance may result to work overload or failure to have a clear under standing of objectives or targets. Lack of changes in the work environment may also lead to poor performing employees. Other causes of poor performance include personal problems such as domestic issues or health. Poor performance can then be said as a state where employees’ performance and behaviour is below the expected standards. In order to deal with poor performance, employees should be capable of understanding what constitutes an acceptable performance. Employers should be capable of analysing whether the employee is poor as compared to other best performers. Employees may also be absolute in that their performance is against the stipulated standard of the business. Employees may cross the line and display unacceptable performance probably due to lack of capability to perform better or it may due to inappropriate behaviour. Poor performance can be tackled in an organisation in several ways. One is by ensuring that the selection process is critically analysed in order to avoid recruiting employees who have no capability to perform according to the objectives of the firm. However every organisation should implement an overall method used to tackle poor performance unless the organisation’s aim is to do away with the employee. Performance appraisal can be used to deal with poor performers where employers introduce a developmental approach meant to improve overall performance. Managers’ intervention on training and development of employees instills motivation among employees. Strebler (2004) says a particular mnemonic was introduced which enable managers to tackle poor performance. This stated that dealing with poor performers was like turning on the TAPS. ‘T’ stands for timely and early showing employees that the problems of employees should be dealt with early to avoid major damages and therefore managers do not have to wait for a performance appraisal. ‘A’ stands for appropriate management style and response to be used in managing poor performance rather than just removing the employee. ‘P’ stands for private in that poor performance should be dealt with privately without involving other parties but one on one discussion. ‘S’ stands for specific showing that performance appraisals should be specifically deal with employee performance and other factual issues rather that personal aspects of the employees. Poor performance review can be discouraging to most employees but it should be taken as a stepping stone to improve and achieve career aspirations. Employees should therefore prepare a feedback to the managers by composing themselves in order to be prepared to turning the negative comments to positive. One of the proactive steps to be taken by employees is to gather information regarding their achievements and the challenges they have faced after a given period. Employees should also review with the manager on the places which were said to be below standards. According to Weisbord (1997) with enough information, an employee will be able to base their characters comparing to what the manager has said at the appraisal meeting. Employees should also accept responsibility by creating a list of responsibilities as this enables them to develop and learn. Disputes should be avoided as they may lead to more tension which may then lead to dismissal. After the poor performance review, the managers and the employees should sit together in order to formulate a plan for improving performance. Employees should have the attitude of moving forward and developing their career rather than wallowing about poor performance results. Communication is also important in order to discuss the issues raised in the appraisal. Opening up to sensitive discussion also makes the manager feels that the employee is ready to change and improve. Role of appraisal systems in helping an organisation to achieve its' stated objectives Performance appraisal systems are meant for evaluating employee performance basing on the present standards of the organisation. The mean reason of carrying out appraisals is to enable managers to effectively analyse the company’s human resources. If the process is well done, it serves the purpose of enabling employees improve their performance in order to achieve organisations stated objectives. The appraisals also set goals for employees whereby employees aim at achieving a particular level of standard according to the vision of the firm. Appraisals also help the organizational managers assess their workers effectiveness. The managers are able to make decisions regarding various processes of the firm such as promotions, demotions, training, compensation, job transfers and terminations. According to McGregor (1996) long ago, performance appraisals had been used for administrative purposes for example in making promotions or in determining employees’ salaries. Recently, most organizations stress the importance of conducting appraisals either after three or six months. This is because they help in motivating employees as well as helping to achieve the purpose of the business. Most companies use performance appraisal as a tool for maximizing effectiveness of all the activities of the firm which include development, production and customer service. The changes seen in performance appraisal are as a result of changes in organizational behaviour and the management strategies. These appraisals benefit the entire business because personal needs of employees are identified. The organisation is able to know what working conditions are effective for all employees and changing where applicable and this enable the firm achieve the set objectives. Cultural influences are also recognised and how they affect every individual in the organisation, for example Christian working in a Muslims firm may not be performing as expected on Sundays because it is their day for worship. If these cultural effects are recognised and changed early enough, then the organisation will be able to attain its objectives. Appraisals should involve employee participation for them to benefit from the criticisms or praise raised regarding their performance. Performance appraisal systems have three major functions to the organisation which include informative function, administrative and motivational (Kennedy, 1999). The administrative role is well served through facilitation of forming an orderly manner of determining employees salaries or when rewarding them according to their performance. It is also applicable while delegating responsibilities or in choosing leaders. The informative role is applied where the appraisal system supplies information about employees’ strengths and weaknesses. The third function, which is the motivational function, is applied where the organisation creates a working environment where employees can be motivated to develop skills that improve their performance. Gary and Kenneth (2004) argue that both the managers and the employees benefit from the appraisal systems. Managers are able to identify and analyse the trends in which their employees are following and whether there is any improvement. Managers can also compare subordinates performance by the help of appraisal reports which enables then understand employees’ needs and expectations. The information from appraisal reports can assist managers formulate long-term and short-term goals as well as setting objectives for the entire organisation. Conclusion The major benefits that apply to the entire organisation include; improved communication between managers and their employees therefore leading to improved cooperation and therefore effective decision-making process. The other benefit to the entire organisation is it develops staff motivation therefore building a productive workforce which enables the organisation focus on comprehensive goals. The organisation also achieves a more creative method of division of labour among workers. Appraisal systems also develop training and education programs. Performance appraisal systems tend to eliminate biasness and irrelevant information about employees. It also proposes an effective method of compensation and rewarding better performers. Performance appraisals have various benefits to the employees, employer and the entire organisation. Performance management is therefore good as the performance management process but should not be done just for the sake of it since it would be a waste of time. It should therefore be strategically linked to performance management and should be seen as a strategic plan meant to achieve business objectives. References Bradford, D. & Burke, W. (2005). Reinventing organization development. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Gary, P. & Kenneth, N. (2004). Increasing productivity through performance appraisal. 2nd ed. MA: Addison-Wesley. Jones, B. (1997). How am I Doing? Management Review, 4(2), 78-97. Kate, T. (2011). People management. Effective tips on managing people. Retrieved March 24, 2011 Kennedy, M. (1999). The case for performance appraisals. Across the board, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall. Kraiger, K. & Kevin, F. (1995). A meta-analysis of rat race effects in performance ratings, Journal of Applied Psychology. 5(1), 56-78. McGregor, D. (1996). The human side of enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill. Richard et al. (2009). Measuring organizational performance: Towards methodological best practice. Journal of Management. 25(2), 49-56. Richard, B. (1999). Organization development. Strategies and models. Reading, Mass.: Addison- Wesley. Roger, L. (2009). Quick guide to employee performance management: Managing performance through planning, appraisal and development. New York: Goodyear Publication Company. Smith, A. (1998), Training and development in Australia. (2nd ed.). Sydney: Butterworths. Strebler, M. (2004). Tackling poor performance. Report (406). New York: Institute for Employment Studies. Weisbord, M. (1997). Productive workplace: Organizing and managing for dignity, meaning and community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Wendell, L. & Ceci, B. (2000). Organization development. Behavioral science interventions for organization improvement. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.  William, B. & Keith, D. (1998). Human resources and personnel management. (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More