Managing Performance

I hope with this short article I can broaden your paradigm about what is performance management.  Generally, I find performance management is thought of as the annual performance appraisal cycle and/or those discussions that are had to address some aspect of underperformance or behaviour we consider misguided.  I recently rediscovered the following definition of performance management which I propose is adopted.

“Performance management is creating a workplace that brings out the best in people while generating the highest value for the organisation.”[1]

This does not suggest the performance appraisal cycle or those performance discussions are not important. It is just they are only a part of a much more encompassing system that needs to be considered when we are managing performance. We need to consider the factors that influence people to act the way they do. This includes factors  such as skills, training, technology, leadership, policy, peer pressure and of course what we started with  in this edition, culture. It also needs to consider the consequences for the person if they behave (perform) in a certain way. And not just the consequences from the organisation, but from the broader environment including their peers reaction, their workload, their income, their identity and esteem. All these factor influence performance, and that is what we are here to lead and manage. That’s right, we have methods to assist in the analysis of these factors and improve the performance of your organisation, be it of the team or the organisation.

[1] Daniels and Daniels, Performance Management, page 7