The People Bulletin

Doug Crawford demonstrates how to create a supportive performance management process which has genuine impact

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Most organisations have a performance management or appraisal process of some form or another but few organisations can say that their process really makes a positive difference, in terms of having an enduring impact on the organisation’s results and performance. This article sets out some of the main reasons why organisations fail to get the most from their performance management or appraisal processes and offers some suggestions as to how to remedy this situation.

Appreciate the importance of commitment

There is a wealth of research which shows that engaged or committed employees deliver significantly more value, whether in terms of higher productivity, better service, more discretionary effort or more collaborative working relationships (technically ‘commitment’ and ‘engagement’ are slightly different but for the purposes of this article the terms are used interchangeably). It therefore follows that if a performance management or appraisal process is to deliver the goods, it can only do so if it helps engender commitment in employees and motivates them to give of their best. But commitment is a choice people make – you cannot ‘force’ someone to be committed and hence managers need to create the environment that encourages individuals to ‘make the right choice’.

Solution

1. Ensure that employees understand how the process can benefit them; in terms of helping them make a more meaningful contribution, support learning and facilitate personal growth and development. People are more committed to something they co-create so ensure that employees feel a sense of ownership for the objectives and outcomes that result from the performance discussion.
2. Recognise that performance management / appraisal is but one tool that managers have at their disposal and that for it to deliver full value it needs to be embedded in a culture that encourages employees to choose to be committed and engaged.
3. Understand what motivates individuals and the extent to which the things that matter most to them are being delivered by the organisation and address the gaps.

Recognise the fallacy of attempting to ‘manage performance’

Given that people have a choice as to whether or not they are going to be fully committed and hence perform to the best of their abilities, or simply give the appearance of being committed, it follows that managers cannot, for any sustained period of time, actually ‘manage performance’. The role of the managers is therefore to ‘enable’ the individual to be successful by facilitating the provision of an environment that enables the individual to give of their best. This means that many managers may have to fundamentally rethink their approach to managing and increase their awareness of how their actions and behaviours may inhibit their people from giving of their best.

Solution

1. Refocus managers mindsets to help them better understand their role in creating high performance in others.
2. Develop managers skills as coaches and facilitators and help them to recognise how best to enable their teams to be successful.
3. Provide managers with insights into the impact of their style of management and how it encourages or inhibits commitment and performance in others.

Adopt a sound model of performance

Most processes focus on the ‘what’ of performance (i.e. objectives) and in some cases the ‘how’ (ie competencies or behaviours). However performance management processes are seldom underpinned by a coherent ‘model’ of performance which managers and staff can relate to. Such a model needs to embrace clarity as to the contribution that an individual is expected to make, build the skills and abilities required to successfully deliver the required contribution, provide constructive feedback, allow the appropriate levels of freedom and autonomy, ensure adequate provision of information and other tools required to do the job and provide the factors required by the individual to motivate them to perform.

Solution

1. Not all jobs lend themselves to SMART ¹ objectives so agree a ‘contribution’ that is meaningful for the role and the individual, both in terms of tangible outputs and behaviours.
2. Acknowledge that people are motivated by different things and that it is important for a manager to understand what energises different members of their team and how to provide the appropriate motivational stimulus.
3. Recognise that most people crave constructive feedback to help them learn and improve but that few people either give or receive feedback well – so spend time building a culture where feedback becomes the norm.
4. Help managers to recognise that what is motivational for them may not be the same for others so don’t assume that what works for them will necessarily work for everyone else.
5. Ensure that the appropriate conditions for success are established (particularly autonomy and open disclosure of relevant information) and guard against ‘micro management’ unless absolutely necessary.
6. Recognise that personal growth, learning and career advancement are important considerations for many (but not all) people – allow sufficient time to explore these issues fully and don’t relegate them to the ‘last five minutes’ of the discussion.

Focus on conversations, not forms

Most processes place too much emphasis on the mechanics – design of forms, rating scales, timetables etc. Whilst these are important considerations they will of themselves never deliver performance; this only comes about as a result of the quality of conversations that takes place between an individual and their manager, but all too many revamps of performance management processes fail to build the capability and confidence required for these conversations to take place. It is also important to recognise that the nature of many conversations that take place between boss and subordinate during the course of a performance management discussion only serves to foster dependency (parent – child relationship) and does not create the conditions which are conducive to encouraging commitment, and hence performance.

Solution

1. Put more emphasis on training managers and their reports in how to have performance conversations that are engaging and meaningful and less emphasis on ‘redesigning the process’
2. Encourage genuine and honest dialogue and mutual / shared accountability for success by clarifying not only what the individual’s expected contribution is but also what the manager’s accountability is for enabling the individual to be successful – and hold the manager accountable!

The importance of trust and relationships

The final piece of the performance management jigsaw is to recognise that truly high performance can only be realised where trust based relationships exist. Trust, both between manager and employee, between colleagues and with senior leadership, is a vital ingredient of commitment and engagement and hence performance but it is a fragile concept – it is difficult to build but easy to destroy.

Solution

1. Help managers understand what trust really is and how they wittingly or unwittingly create or destroy trust with others.
2. Encourage people to question the assumptions they make about others and to understand how these assumptions impact on trust and the relationships they form.
3. Help people to understand how the quality of the relationship impacts on the quality of the conversation and hence on the level of commitment, which affects the resulting performance.

Managing expectations

Creating a high performance environment within an organisation is a journey that takes time – it doesn’t happen overnight or just because the performance management process is changed! So manage expectations and recognise that managers and staff will require support throughout the course of the journey – its not just about sending people on a training programme and then expecting everything to change as a result. Get the basics in place and consolidate them – meaningful conversations to clarify contribution, providing feedback and facilitating learning and growth – and then build on these foundations to create relationships built on trust and adult conversations – that is the route to high performance and to creating a performance management process that has real impact.

1 Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timed

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Training & Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.