Talent and Reward Management - Assignment Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Talent and Reward Management Question 1 Performance management is a process that is goal oriented that is aimed at ensuring the organizational processes are working appropriately to maximize employee’s productivity and that of the organization (Debrincat 12). Don’s performance management techniques employed in the firm is a one page form used annually to carry out the performance assessment. The form is applicable to all employees of Mercury regardless of their rank or areas of specialization. Don’s instrument entails employee rating scores using specific questions that cover various areas, the rating uses 1 to 5 where 5 is the best or highest rating or score and 1 is the poorest or worst. The aim of performance assessment standards is to accurately communicate the job expectations and to offer a benchmark that can be utilized by managers to evaluate the employees. Mercury Courier performance assessment tool is based on the human resources manager view on the achievements of the business adopting a simple assessment tool. In a highly competitive marketplace, Mercury Courier seeks a competitive advantage by ensuring employees are motivated hence focusing towards the achievement of organizational goals through performance appraisals that identifies performers and non-performers (Debrincat 31). After the assessment, the company gives $5000 bonus annually to the best performers enhancing job enrichment as an incentive or motivation tool that promotes commitment of the employees in performing their various perform. This instrument therefore helps improve employee productivity greatly despite the few complains from a few unsatisfied individuals. The performance instrument such as rating enables a simplistic and systematic process that evaluates individual employee work performance by scoring as well as their productivity against the established organization goals or expected performance. Question 2 The instrument employed by Mercury Courier management for performance assessment of the employees has strengths because it is an easy and straightforward approach. The method utilizes a rating questionnaire with questions that can easily be completed by the managers and supervisors without wasting so much time. The mode of assessment is thereafter used to establish the performers from non-performers and reward appropriately. Managers encounter issues at the workplace that demand solution and therefore they have to make efficient and effective decisions on performance assessment to overcome them (Dessler 18). Performance and productivity management of employees may be complex especially during critical moments but bold decisions on performance must be made through the use of assessment tools that are not complicated and can deliver towards realizing some insight on what should be done. Indeed, the approach used by Mercury Courier manager to arrive at some performance assessment decisions determines the outcomes of the evaluation outcomes, reliability, accuracy, validity, and fairness. Most performance evaluation involves the use of various tools that may be complicated, time consuming, and expensive. The recognition of the organizational needs enables managers to focus on the conscious commitment to implement the most appropriate instruments and tools that deliver and give important feedback towards performance improvement (Torrington, Laura and Stephen 26). The instrument is also suitable in a highly dynamic workplace environment where managers have to make decisions without wasting time to build successful businesses that remain sustainable in the face of uncertainty and highly competitive markets. Therefore, performance assessment in its wider perspective may integrate various perspectives that enhance the credibility of the outcomes; however, choosing a less complicated tool like Don reduces wastage of resources and achieves some degree of evaluation that can be used as the basis of talent retention and reward in an organization. The instrument focuses on simplicity and gaining an insight on the employee’s collective performance regardless of the rank or line of duty. Question 3 The instrument or ranking used by Mercury human resource manager is likely to compromise the validity, reliability, and fairness in a number of ways. The instrument entails numeric ranking to compare the employees performances with others which can potentially create challenges as evidenced by the case of Mercury Courier. Ranking brings about several challenges particularly because it lacks “real rating” because the scores of some employees can be altered in an attempt to create the expected scores distribution. This possibility makes the ranking unreliable and the whole performance management process suspicious to the employees. The results of ranking may also affect team work and its dynamics especially when the scores or rating is communicated to the employees leading to individual competitiveness which is not health to the organizational culture. The rating approach also discourages important actions such as sharing and coaching amongst the employees, this evidenced when the best performers fail to collaborate with others to retain their top positions. This behavior questions the validity of this approach of performance assessment and may in turn the process into a struggle for ratings as opposed to a tool that can promote improvement and growth in the organization. In fact, it makes employees shift their focus on the rating performance rather than the given feedback which can helpful towards improvements. Corporate knowledge is also impacted negatively, especially in situations where poor performers may be fired who stand a chance for improvement. The approach may also lead to increased employee turnover due to demoralization; such employees may just be requiring some motivation to boost their performance. Mercury Courier management expects validity issues on the performance assessment outcomes related to bias as evidenced by the complaints raised by some employees. The organization should have conducted a needs assessment in order to devise appropriate interventions through human resource development programs that focus on effective performance assessment methods (Torrington, Laura and Stephen 23). The process should be through careful planning at Mercury Courier before making investments to ensure the desired performance improvements are targeted in the broader plan and the poor and average performers are motivated. This will consequently translate into greater impacts and greater value to the Mercury Courier. The tools should have also established an effective evaluation plan and development as well as in order to monitoring to ensure the benefits of the human resource assessment interventions are long term, sustainable, and effective to effect the desired changes. In addition, the instruments failed to adequately deliver the expected outcomes of assessment raising concerns clearly showing the inadequacies in the reliability of the tools. Question 4 The performance assessment strategy at Mercury Courier and instruments can be improved to cover all the important areas that critically evaluate the performance of an employee appropriately. This is because organizational success is dependent on the ability to motivate the employees to consistently, enthusiastically, and creatively working towards the achievement of an organization's goals sustainably. Motivated employees through reliable performance assessment results are often productive which is also reflected in their personal success. Economically, improved employee commitment and motivation increases the level of a person’s efficiency leading to better results and hence improved productivity. This can only be achieved if an employee enjoys and survives through a perfect balance between his or her ability and commitment to deliver. In fact, when such balance is realized, performance increases lowering the overall operational costs of an organization and improving the efficiency levels. Employee motivation, therefore, presents a greater opportunity of meeting the organizational goals efficiently and at reduced operational costs and proper resource management at all levels. Motivations should, as a result, be a continuous process that is based on unlimited and changing need of a highly dynamic workforce. Mercury Courier can therefore seek to get input or feedback from multiple sources to help support and improve differentiated ratings. Multiple rating provides managers and the staff a broader view on the overall performance which can help the top leaders and managers to come up with the most appropriate rating. Performance assessment should be aimed at getting the most objective assessment that ensures fairness and consistency. Additionally, Mercury Courier human resource manager must identify, reward, and ensure continuous career development for the top performers to ensure their retention in the company. To improve the whole process and plan effectively for the future, establishing a succession plan with pools of talent would help the high performers work towards career advancement which promotes value addition to the company with increases productivity and performance sustainably. Additionally, Don’s management philosophies must acknowledge some facts that characterize the rapidly evolving business world impacting on areas of human resource management greatly. The performance assessment is not an exception because the needs of employees have also changed and so is the motivational approaches, traditional methods are no longer applicable. Organizations must seek fair, reliable, non-discriminatory, valid assessment tools are utilized, and performance appraisal conducted through careful consideration of the outcomes and consistency without bias to meet the goals of employee performance assessment effectively (Dessler 16). Using different objective instruments is important because some are more effective compared to others hence delivering more effectively. Mercury Courier must also identify the underlying factors that ensure the effectiveness of the performance assessment which include the ability of the chosen instrument to focus on what is important in a given area of evaluation through a logical, objective, and consistent approach. This enables the integration of both objective and subjective thoughts in addition to blending both the analytical and intuitive perspectives in the evaluation process. Another factor to consider for improvement involves the gathering and analysis of all available information in assessing a particular employee in order to make an informed opinion depending on the outcomes of the assessment. Works Cited Debrincat, Grace. The Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal Systems: Employee Relations and Human Resource Management. , 2015. Internet resource. Dessler, Gary. Human Resource Management. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print. Torrington, Derek, Laura Hall, and Stephen Taylor. Human Resource Management. , 2017. Internet resource. Read More