Issues Surrounding Management of High Performers - Literature review Example

Human Resources Management Name Institution Course Date Introduction It is debated that strategies meant to increase employee engagement and motivation are important in an organization (Macey and Schneider, 2008). Employees are very important in any workplace and have a high bargaining power and are concerned with their needs being satisfied. They will only stay in a company if they think their expectations are being taken into consideration or otherwise they would not hesitate to leave. Firms often look for ways to engage and retain employees who contribute positively to the stakeholders’ needs (Macey and Schneider, 2008). Therefore, the concepts such as performance management, human resource development (HRD) and reward management can be used to retain and engage high performance. This report is focuses on the use of performance management, human resource development and reward management in increasing the engagement of over-performer. The report will first explain the features of best practice in performance management and how it assists in enhancing employee engagement. It will also highlight the role of human resource development in managing over-performing employee. The paper will also establish the appropriate reward management system to be used in Coles. It will describe the issues surrounding the management of high performers and HRD, performance management and reward system can assist in addressing the issue. Issues Surrounding Management of High Performers High performers are often ambitious and goal-focussed driven by the desire to drive organizational success. These employees take charge and display leadership qualities that work in favour of an organization. According to Macey and Schneider (2008), high performers are more satisfied at wok compared to under performers and are less likely to leave their work. Nevertheless, the potential of these employees depend on how there are managed. The management of high performers is very crucial in their productivity and performance. High performers are the most contributor of profitability in any organization (Latham et al., 2005). At Coles Limited, the new employees is bored and not feeling challenged which indicates that he is not motivated enough and it is likely that he will leave the company. Lack of engagement among high performer is as result of lack of challenge and involvement in decision making and other important activities of an organization (Buchner, 2007). High performers are also less engaged due to lack of motivational factors such as poor pay, lack of proper reward strategy and poor performance management system. In order to engage and retain high performers, the company should work towards improving its human resource development strategies, strong performance management and effective reward management strategy. Performance Management Performance management can be termed as the strategy used to deliver sustained success to businesses through the improvement of performance and development of capabilities of individual contributors in the workplace. According to Moynihan (2008), performance management involves getting better results from employees by managing their performance by considering the goals and objectives of the organization. Through performance management framework, the strengths and weaknesses of the employees are identified, measured and developed (Kennerley and Neely, 2002). Through this framework, companies can evaluate its employees by considering their performance information and give feedback as a way of developing their abilities and expertise. The main goal of any performance management is to develop a high performance culture where employees can take responsibility for improvement of their contribution to organizational effectiveness (Lawrie, Cobbold and Marshall, 2004). There are several features of best practices of performance management. A combination of procedures and processes are used to evaluate job performance. An effective performance management system has different elements such as clear performance expectations, continual performance reporting, performance coaching, and feedback approach to performance improvement, performance appraisal and performance improvement planning (Lawrie, Cobbold and Marshall, 2004). For high performers within Coles to be engaged and achieve optimal performance, the managers should establish a clear expectation of their roles and responsibilities (Lawrie, Cobbold and Marshall, 2004). They can set benchmarks or targets for performance indicators to provide the workers with clear and measurable expectations. Also, an effective performance management should comprise of continual performance reporting. Managers should continually review how the employees are performing with regard to their key performance metrics (Endres and Mancheno-Smoak, 2008). With frequent performance reporting, there will be an easier view of how employees are performing and how they match with their performance targets. Also, another important practise of performance management is frequent performance coaching (Latham et al., 2005). The managers should establish a frequent performance coaching with each high performer where they can receive honest feedback about their performance. In addition, performance management system should involve a 360 degree feedback approach. It is important for each employee to receive a holistic view of their performance for the purpose of performance improvement (Buchner, 2007). 360 degree feedback will assist high performers to understand their strength and improve their weaknesses. Performance appraisal is also an integral part of performance management. Managers should work towards evaluating each employee’s performance, giving coaching and developing feedback. Managers should also document the goals and actions of high performers in order to continually reference to keep performance goals on track (Elicker, Levy and Hall, 2006). Human Resource Development (HRD) According to Werner and DeSimone (2012), human development is a framework that assists employees to develop their skills, knowledge and abilities. It is made up of activities that provide employees with the opportunity to learn and develop expertise needed in meeting the job demands. Lack of engagement among high performer can be attributed to lack of effective human resource development. Human resource development is aimed at enhancing organizational performance by developing the skills of its employees (Garavan, 2007). Managers should ensure that employees have the skills and knowledge to execute their work. To ensure that Coles has the right employees who can drive competitive advantage, manages should develop human resource development that engages in training, learning and development. In order to carry out these activities, an organization should have the concept of performance management to determine the performance needs to be trained and developed within the workplace (Garavan, 2007). High performers are integral part of the organization and in order for them to achieve organizational performance, managers should they are capable of conducting their roles effective and of advancing their career (Zula and Chermack, 2007). To do this, human resource development advocate for training as a strategy to enhance staff expertise. Training involves modifying skills, expertise and knowledge to attain high performance. Training makes an individual believe the company is committed to their needs and motivates them to work harder and better (Garavan, 2007). Training will improve the knowledge and abilities of high performers and change their attitude toward their roles which will result in motivation and high commitment. Before starting working, high performers should undergo training in order to gain the necessary skills and abilities needed in the new position. One major function of HRD is to help businesses create an environment that supports learning that is important in developing employees to meet organizational objectives (Wang, Hutchins and Garavan, 2009). Learning is the ability of a person to cope with changes which is obtained through training and education. Coles can keep the high performers engaged by establishing HRD strategy that involves organizational culture that supports learning. Learning through interactions with colleagues and though experience can develop skills and prompt employees’ performance. Human resource development should also involve mentoring and development (Smith and Elliott, 2007). Managers should create good relationships with its employees in the earlier stage of their careers to convey technical, interpersonal and organizational skills. Coles can integrate Human resource development with performance management in order to obtain better performance results among high performers (Zulu and Chermack, 2007). Managers at Coles should combine the different aspects of performance management with the practices of human resource development in order to achieve a coherent approach to the development of employees. Integrating these two elements together will enhance talent management, organizational development as well as human capital management (Werner and SeSimone, 2012). Reward Management Strategy A reward is anything that a company gives to its employees as a pay for their work contribution. Rewards are divided into extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards include financial rewards, development rewards and social rewards while intrinsic rewards include task variety, responsibility and job challenge (Riketta, 2002). The reason for rewards is to maximize the contribution of employees to organizational effectiveness. There are three forms of monetary reward plans; base pay plans, benefits plans and performance-related pay. Base pay is a fixed component of employee salary made up of job-based, skill-based, competency-based pay. Job-based is payment according to the size of job position; skill-based pay is associated with skills of an employee while competency-based is embedded on the abilities and competencies like leadership, persistence and problem solving (Scott et al., 2008). Benefits plans on the other hand are divided into mandatory benefits meant for economic security and voluntary benefits meant to attract and retain employees. Performance-related pays are rewards given as recognition of performance (Scott, McMullen and Bowbin, 2007). Coles uses skilled-based pay and competency-based pay. Although Coles uses performance-related pay, the company has yet to enhance it to assist in retaining the high performers. According to Riketta (2002), an organization should implement a reward strategy that has the ability to attract, motivate and retain suitable employees. The type of reward used in an organization has the ability to motivate employees. Coles has majored its motivation on money related reward (Shield et al., 2009). However, high performers are more motivated by security driven rewards such as performance support, organizational culture and non-cash benefits. In addition to offering extrinsic rewards, Coles should work on modifying its reward management strategy by incorporating intrinsic rewards. Conclusion In summary, employees are important in driving organizational success. Companies should therefore work on ensuring that they are engaged and motivated in order to retain them. Coles has a major of modifications that need to take place in order to ensure the high performers are retained in the organization. Performance management, reward management and human resource development are important in ensuring employees’ development. Coles can use performance management to develop a high performance culture where employees can take responsibility for improvement of their contribution to organizational effectiveness. The strengths and weaknesses of the employees can be identified, measured and developed. On the other hand, human resource development can assist employees to develop their skills, knowledge and abilities through activities that provide them with the opportunity to learn and develop expertise needed in meeting the job demands. 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