Is Performance Management Different from Performance Appraisal - Assignment Example

Running header: Performance Management Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission Performance management Introduction For organizations to achieve their goals, they must constantly promote and improve their employees’ effectiveness. This process must be continuous in a bid to ensure that the employees always have up to date skills that will enable them to always achieve the organizational goals. The process through which the management achieves this is referred as performance management. In other words, performance management is a continuous process that involves both the managers and employees working together in planning, monitoring and reviewing of employee’s work goals and objectives as well as their overall contribution to the organization. The sole aim of performance management is therefore to ensure continuous employee improvement and thereby improving the overall employee performance. This paper is aimed at revealing my understanding of what performance management is. In so doing, the paper first defines what performance management is. Then the paper details out what performance management is. The second section of the paper differentiates performance management and performance appraisal. Performance management James (2015) defines performance management as a systematic process through which the organization involves its staff members both as individuals and as members of the group in the improvement of organizational effectiveness in the achievement of organizational goals and mission. As such, performance management cantherefore be defined as the process throughwhich managersand members of staff collaborate in planning, monitoring and reviewing the worker’s work objectives as well as their contribution to the firm. Performance management is more than the normal yearly performance review. This is because it is a continuous process of objective setting, progress assessment as well as provision of ongoing coaching and feedback in a bid to ensure that the workers are able to meet their career goals and objectives. As such, for an organization to achieve its objectives, it needs to put in place an effective performance management system. Such a system should have a number of features including being job specific while covering a wide range of jobs in the firm. It should align the firm’s strategic direction and culture. Such a system should be practical and easy to understand while providing an accurate picture of the employee’s performance. As stated above, such a system should include a collaborative process of setting goals while reviewing performance on the basis of two way communication between the manager and the employee. An effective performance management system involves a number of processes which include the following; Planning The planning phase should be a collaborative process involving both the manager and the employee where they review the employee job description so as to determine whether it reflects the work the employee does. They also identify the links between the job description and his work plan and the organizational goals and objectives as well as the strategic plan. Then a working plan that outlines the deliverables, expected results and standards to be used in evaluating performance is developed. They then identify the areas that will be key performance objectives for the year (Ivy, 2012). in addition, they identify training objectives that would help the employees grow his skills and competencies. The plan is then signed by both the manager and the employee with each retaining a copy. Monitoring This involves continuous monitoring of employee progress and performance.During the phase, both the employee and the manager regularly meet to assess the employee progress towards achievement of the objectives identified in the planning stage. They identify barriers that prevent the achievement of the objectives and device strategy to overcome them. They also share feedback on the progress of the goals while identifying changes necessary that might have been triggered by changes within the organization .finally, they determine what extra support may be needed for the employee to achieve the goals identified above. Review During this process, the employee and the manager summarize the work that the worker has accomplished relative to the goals and objectives set at the beginning of the performance period. The challenges encountered during the period are documented and areas for training and development identified (Elaine, 2015). The unforeseen barriers to achieving of the objectives are also identified. As such, arising from the performance management process the organization is able to help the employees achieve the organizational objectives through continuous improvement. Is performance management different from performance appraisal? Both performance appraisal and performance management are employee evaluation methods which are both geared towards enhancing employee and hence organizational performance. However, the two evaluation methods differ greatly in a number of respects. As stated above, performance management involves identification,measurement, management and development of the performance of the human resources in the firm and is a continuous process that happens all year round. On the other hand, performance appraisal is basically the ongoing process of employee performance evaluation. It reviews the performance of the employee over time say at the end of the year and hence it is considered as a part of the performance management process (Stephen, 2011). Performance appraisal mainly aims at assessing and rating employees and is hence part of the performance management review process discussed above. Performance appraisal also differs from performance management in that it is carried out by managers mostly on annual basis who play a greater role than the employee. On the other hand, performance management is continuous and allows the parties concerned (Manager and employee) to cooperate during the process for the sake of helping the employee improve performance (Sally, 2013). As such, performance appraisal can be considered a system while performance management can be considered a process. While performance management aims at developing a relationship between the manager and employee that is based on mutual respect, understanding and trust while performance appraisal is mainly based on a top down relationship. The two approaches also differ based on their outcomes. While performance management is considered forward looking due to its aim of enhancing relationship between employee and manager based on continuous coaching and development, Performance appraisal is considered retrogressive and as management by command. Based on the above reasons, it has can be said that though performance appraisal and performance management are methods of employee evaluation aimed at improving performance, they greatly differ. Conclusion, This paper has described what performance management is and what it entails. In addition, it has been stated that cooperation between the manager and the employee is important for the performance management system to serve its purpose. The processes of planning, monitoring and reviewing that are part of performance management have also been discussed. Finally, the essay has brought out the differences that exist between performance management and performance appraisal. Though the two processes are related, they greatly differ in a number of ways as explained above. References: James, K2015, Performance measurement and management, International journal of productivity and performance management, vol. 53, no. 4, pp.65-72. Ivy, J2012, Applied human resources management, London, Rutledge. Elaine, P2015, Performance management: A roadmap for developing, implementing and evaluating performance management systems, Retrieved on 12th April 2015, from; http://www.shrm.org/india/hr-topics-and-strategy/performance-management/creating- high-performance-culture/Documents/Performance%20Management.pdf Stephen, B2011, Performance management and appraisal systems, Sydney, Sage Publications. Sally, M2013, Essentials of human resources management, London, Rutledge. Manage people performance Brief background to Choice Supermarket Choice supermarket was established in the year 2005 in the outskirts of the Melbourne city. At its inception, the supermarket had only five employees who had been employed on permanent basis. Since then, the supermarket has grown to become one of the biggest supermarkets in the region thanks to the dedication of employees and hence the good quality of services offered at the supermarket. Currently, the supermarket employs 500 employees with twenty branches that are mainly found in the suburbs of the major cities in Australia. The supermarket’s strategic direction is pegged on its strategic priorities which including becoming a top ten supermarket in Australia known for the quality of product it offers. The company also aims at enhancing shareholders value while maintaining its track record of building new growth businesses and establishing enablers of new era of growth. This year, the supermarket targets to open five new stores in Sydney. With such an ambitious strategic direction, the supermarket views its people (employees) as vital in its achievement of strategic goals. As such, the supermarket has seen performance management as key to improving employees performance and hence its overall performance. As the human resources director, I will be instrumental in delivering this goal to the supermarket. Below I provide a plan of how I will manage the performance of employees within the firm. The alignment of strategic and operational objectives to performance management of individuals Performance management of employees at the supermarket aims at getting our employees to understand and execute their responsibilities with an aim of helping the supermarket achieve its goals. As such, I will put in place initiatives to help in this process which will include strong executive sponsorship, embracing open communication, change management as well as training . I will also ensure all aspects of employee performance management are aligned with things employees understand and are able to control. I will explain to them corporate objectives and help them own them so that they will own a stake in the supermarkets performance (Elaine, 2015). This will be achieved by explaining to them how the roles they play will contribute to achieving our operational and strategic goals hence meeting the organizational objectives. In addition, I will liaise with the management to ensure that the employees are provided with the necessary tools to help them play their part in achieving the organization’s objectives. How I would promote performance management in the work environment I will promote performance management in the supermarket by ensuring that achievement of the firm’s strategic objectives and direction is a joint effort by the management and the employees. My office will be involved in continuous employee development so as to equip them with the necessary tools and skills to achieve one’s career objectives and by extension those of the organization. At the beginning of the period, I will meet with each and every employee in my department and explain to them what the organization’s operational plan for the year is in a bid to ensure that they own it. Then we will go through their job descriptions and roles together in a bid to ensure they are aligned to our strategic and operational objective (Sally, 2013). We will then set goals together and plan on how the employee will achieve their career objectives that year. We will identify the resources necessary for this and where training is required, this will be availed. We will then constantly monitor and review the employee’s performance with together with an aim of ensuring where that discrepancies they are addressed. This way, I will have played my role in promoting performance management in the work environment. How I will develop work plans in accordance with operational plans Work plans will develop in corroboration with the employees in a bid to ensure their alignment with operational plans and hence strategic objectives as well as their successful implementation. This will be done as follows; i) I will start with establishing the goal of the plan and writing it down. In other words, what does the organization aim at accomplishing in the period. ii) I will then break down the goal into smaller steps which will entail all the tasks needed for the accomplishment of the goal (James, 2015). iii) I will arrange the tasks in a proper order before breaking them even further. iv) I will then assign dates to individual tasks. I will then prepare a schedule showing the daily and weekly plan of how all the tasks identified in the work plan will be accomplished. Practical and detailed guidelines on how I will; a) Allocate work to staff i) I will analyze the organization’s work structure and objectives before identifying and discussing the working targets together with the concerned employees ii) I will then identify and define the tasks and activities necessary for accomplishing the identified tasks while considering the standards and level of expected performance for the tasks. In so doing, I will also identify the skills and strategies necessary for the tasks accomplishment. iii) I will then ensure that the requirements of the tasks are in line with the resources available to the employees. I will also identify capabilities and talents for individual employees which are exclusively useful in the tasks accomplishment. In addition, I will consider the level and scope of individual employee competencies in regard to the tasks to be accomplished. iv) I will then identify the ability of certain employees to undertake certain tasks identified and then draft tasks and responsibilities to be assigned to individual employees in accordance with their skills and competence. This will be done in consultation with the employee to ensure their cooperation in achieving organizational goals. b) Establish performance standards i) I would review the job description with the concerned employee in a bid to discuss the measurable goals the employee ought to set. For instance increase in revenue. ii) I would perform analysis of historical data available on the set performance goals with an aim of creating performance goals based on the data. Using monthly averages, I would create the numbers to begin with. iii) I would determine the kind of progress I would like to see the employee achieve before placing a number on the target. For instance 10 percent increase in sales in the period. iv) I would then apply the increase to the average numbers before developing per month schedule of standards based on the data. I will ensure this reflects the cyclical nature of supermarkets operations since some months perform better than others. v) I would then implement the performance standard and I ensure I schedule a meeting at the beginning of every month to discuss the standards. This will help me offer advice to the concerned employee on ways of improving performance. c) Assess staff performance I would compare the employee’s work objectives vis-à-vis his/her performance indicators/standards. For each of the objectives, I would determine whether there is a clear evidence of success based on the standards in a bid to establish the extent to which the employee succeeded in playing a role to ensure the company’s success. I would also review the core competencies to determine the consistency with which the employee demonstrates effective behavior in performing his tasks. After the employees’ performance based on core competencies and work objectives have been established, I will then determine a rating for the objectives and competencies. The ratings should help me in discussing the performance with the employee. d) Provide appropriate feedback i) I would state the purpose of the feedback to the employee on what I am concerned about regarding his/her performance. ii) I would then describe specifically my observations regarding certain events I observed that would need to be improved upon. iii) I would then what I feel about the employee’s performance and the consequences and how others have been affected by the performance. iv) I would then give the employee time to respond on what they think about their performance v) I would then offer specific suggestion regarding how the employee could improve his performance. e) Prepare and initiate learning and development plans i) After conducting performance assessment and from the employee’s job description, I will identify the training and development needs for the employee. ii) I will also develop a good understanding of the knowledge and skills and abilities the company needs in future from the company’s operational and strategic plans and share this with the staff. iii) I will also identify learning opportunities in everyday activities arising for instance from incidences with clients that employees can learn from iv) I will then develop a training and development plan and explain the employee development process and encourage the employees to develop individual development plans v) I will offer support to staff whenever they identify learning activities to make them the company’s assets both currently and in the future. The process I will undertake in assessing risk associated with people performance In assessing risk associated with people performance, I will look at the company’s strategic and operational plans with the aim of identifying potential risks that might hinder their achievement. I will look at employees’ jobs description to identify potential areas of risk. I will then visit the work areas to identify potential risks. I will also talk to the employees about what they consider potential threats and risks to their performance (Ivy, 2012). From this, I would prepare a risk assessment plan detailing the name and nature of risk, their probability of occurrence and how dangerous the risks will be both to the employees and the organization if they do occur. After this, I will prepare a risk mitigation plan in order to reduce their chances of occurrence. Mechanisms for career development The following mechanisms will be available for the employees in the company. i) On the job experience – this will entail employees learning from one another, as well as field trips aimed at enhancing employees’ performance ii) Relationships and feedbacks – this will entail coaching, mentoring, networking and performance appraisal iii) Classroom training – my office will organize courses, seminars and workshops in a bid to enhance employees performance iv) Off the job training – the company will offer support for employees willing to pursue knowledge from institutions of learning. The process for: a) Review i) As a manager, I will organize for a meeting with individual employees in a bid to review their performance for the period ii) Together with the employee, we will summarize the work that has been accomplished during the previous period Vis avis the goals that we set at the beginning of the period. This will also involve capturing of key results, shortfalls and accomplishments for each of the objectives iii) We will then document the challenges the employee encountered during the year while identifying areas that need training and development iv) Then we will discuss any unforeseen barriers to the achievement of the objectives b) Evaluation i) Based on the employee’s job description, I would prepare two evaluation forms ii) I will first ask the employee to self-evaluate to provide their perspective and a starting point for the evaluation iii) I will seek feedback from core-workers to give a full picture of interactions iv) I will consider the degree of difficulty in assignments and gauge whether the employees work has expanded in scope and responsibility v) I will judge the employee performance or actual results as opposed to potential vi) I will review successful attainment of positive results and contributions during the period being evaluated (Stephen, 2011) vii) I will review the entire cycles performance viii) I will review each of the objectives set in the planning stage independently ix) Based on the below steps, I would rate the employee’s performance and give my recommendations. c) Grievance i) Any employee dissatisfied with the performance review will be given a chance to communicate their disagreement with my office in form of writing ii) I will hold a meeting with the concerned employee to establish what the employee feels should have been the right assessment. iii) Depending on whether I am satisfied with the explanation given, I will perform a new assessment and evaluation. iv) If the employee is still not satisfied with the new rating, I will subject the new grievance to the organizations peer review system. This involves a small review group composed of a few employees and higher level of management to hear the employee’s grievance v) The peer review will then issue a new rating and review which will be the final review for the employee. Conclusion This paper has looked at various issues pertaining to performance management at Choice supermarket. In a bid to ensure that the supermarket achieves its strategic goals, I as the human resources manager have put in place an elaborate performance management system. It is my hope that strict adherence to the performance management guidelines outlined above will lead to continuous improvement of the company’s employees. In turn, this will help the company achieve its strategic objective of becoming a top ten supermarket in Australia. As stated above, a sound performance management system is essential for ensuring continuous improvement in employees’ performance as well as equipping them with the necessary skills continuously so as to help the organization achieve its objectives. References: James, K2015, Performance measurement and management, International journal of productivity and performance management, vol. 53, no. 4, pp.65-72. Ivy, J2012, Applied human resources management, London, Rutledge. Elaine, P2015, Performance management: A roadmap for developing, implementing and evaluating performance management systems, Retrieved on 12th April 2015, from; http://www.shrm.org/india/hr-topics-and-strategy/performance-management/creating- high-performance-culture/Documents/Performance%20Management.pdf Stephen, B2011, Performance management and appraisal systems, Sydney, Sage Publications. Sally, M2013, Essentials of human resources management, London, Rutledge. References: Read More