Critical Influence™: Performance Management
How can employee performance be managed successfully?
Managing employee performance has always played a prominent role in the success of a business. With productivity and end results serving as a focal point for most organizations, the need to set clear expectations for employee performance is imperative. An effective system of performance management enables a company to ensure that each employee’s individual effort is aligned with the organization’s strategic goals.
Performance management systems vary by organization. New trends in workforce productivity and accountability often entice companies to evolve and incorporate an innovative approach to track results.
But what makes the process of performance management successful?
When we hear the words “performance management,” we often think about an annual performance review that companies conduct to check how each employee worked towards the successful attainment of results expected from them.
While this is partly true, it does not encompass the entire scope of a successful performance management process. A successful process is one that adds a structural framework to ensure consistency in how managers work with their direct reports, yet balances the ever increasing need for flexibility in annual plans due to changes in both the internal environment and external, competitive business landscape.
For instance, in top performing organizations, managers are held accountable for their employees’ success in transitioning to new ways of working. Employees are not left to fend for themselves in a new work environment.
When changing the physical office environment for employees, an organization may embark upon a comprehensive change management campaign, educating the workforce on how to work in new ways through communications and training events. Managing employee performance in this case entails leaders stepping up to model workplace behavior and taking the initiative to address employee actions straying far from what is expected from them.
This means that if the new workplace strategy involves employees having the autonomy and authority to select the workspaces right for the task at hand, an employee not being at their assigned workstations 100% of the time is not an excuse for managers to delay or forgo performance reviews. With on-campus mobility and greater flexibility in where work happens, managers should consider touching base with employees even more frequently.
As part of the 15 Critical Influences™, this page on Performance Management is integrated with actual content from the book Innovations in Office Design: The Critical Influence Approach to Effective Work Environments™ by SCG Founder Diane Stegmeier.
Barriers hindering the successful implementation of an appropriate performance management system
You might find formulating and implementing an appropriate performance management system the easy part of the equation, but barriers created by other Critical Influences™ can make the evaluation of employee performance difficult.
For example, in the field sales organization of a midsized service provider, the vice president of sales articulated to all regional sales representatives that each of them had to complete a quarterly sales plan that would identify their top sales pursuits for the upcoming 90 days and the dollar volume potential at stake, and specify any support they might need from others in the company for major presentations, contract negotiations, or other steps in the sales process. A customized, electronic template was user-friendly; the task could easily be completed in 30 to 45 minutes.
However, the top sales rep rebelled, stating that he hated paperwork and contending that completing the quarterly sales plan reduced selling time, and would negatively impact his sales results. Rather than enforce this process, which could have improved even this top performer’s results, the VP of sales made an exception for him. His justification was that the company needed to keep the rep “upbeat,” to prevent him leaving the company to go to the competition.
In this example, leadership behavior, rewards and consequences, and culture erected barriers to success in the field sales group’s performance management system. In addition, compensation also emerged as a Critical Influence™ on the top rep’s behavior.
Because the sales representatives were paid for individual results only, with no compensation for team performance, there was no motivation to focus on anything but their own goals. There were no consequences for noncompliance as well. This further contributed to a culture in the sales group that people were not treated equally, and the perception that the quarterly sales plan initiative would “go away” if enough people resisted it.
This strongly shows the need to consider other elements of the Critical Influence System™ when developing a performance management plan. When the goal is to enhance results through teamwork, the Critical Influences™ should work together in a way that enables employees to function as a solid team.
Performance management as an operational element in fostering innovative behavior
Aside from it being a simple way to align employee performance with the desired results, performance management is also an operational element that can foster innovative behavior in the workplace.
Closely linked to the concept of setting up a rewards system that motivates employees to participate in collaborative activities, the performance management system can be customized to include criteria promoting the achievement of team-based goals.
Some progressive organizations, in driving performance, are shifting to the use of metrics centered on measuring team results, with less emphasis on individual outcomes.
For instance, instead of employers simply handing out a list of annual goals and leaving the employees to figure it out on their own, it is much better to gather the team to discuss and develop more far-reaching goals. Not only does it enable a spirit of great teamwork and camaraderie, it also demonstrates a commendable leadership behavior wherein managers play an active part in steering collaboration in the workplace.
The connection between performance management and workplace strategy
An organization’s workplace strategy may also be a factor when executives and managers decide how to manage employee performance. Oftentimes, employee visibility is tied to better performance management because it is a conventional approach that organizations are used to.
This is the reason behind doubts and hesitation surrounding a telework strategy. Some opponents of remote work claim that letting individuals work out of their homes prevents managers from monitoring their staff’s performance.
The fact that a manager cannot see the minute-by-minute activities of an employee does not mean that he or she is unable to measure performance. It is the results that should be measured, not the minutiae of every task.
And if the employees cannot be trusted to complete their work, then managers may have the wrong employees onboard, or are using the wrong performance management system—one that measures activities, rather than results.
Consulting services to align your workplace strategy with your organization’s approach to performance management
The productivity of employees should not be negatively affected when introducing a new workplace strategy. It is the responsibility of senior leadership to develop a performance management system that harmonizes with the new ways of working.
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