effective performance management

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During the last 15 years I have worked with hundreds of managers, including team leaders and supervisors, in organizations of all shapes and sizes. Many of those managers, according to their own confession, are reluctant to manage. Of course, in one day by day basis they managed people - they answer the question, is allocated to work, go to management meetings, and held several team briefing. But what they most often do not have to do is implement a focused and structured approach to managing the performance of their staff

In theory, managers know they must manage the performance, that they must use the review or the assessment system, and that they must have a dynamic discussion with staff about their performance. But clearly there is clearly a difference between knowing you have to do something and actually doing it. And when managers do not manage, the business suffers and so do their staff. So what's the answer? Here are five steps I've seen applied, by my clients, with very positive effects:

Step One - Help managers to understand why performance management is critical to business

Do managers need help in understanding the value of performance management? Do they need to understand why an effective performance management is a critical commercial issues and how effective management performance impacts business success? Only through this can gain clarity managers gain confidence that there will be some real business benefits from their efforts. If not, why bother?

Step Two - Help managers understand why performance management is important for their staff

Do managers know that research shows that what people seem to want, and want badly enough, that must be managed properly? That they wanted, a strong mutually supportive relationships with their managers based on interest and clarity? Much of what is 'well managed' means of effective performance management. The role of managers in their staff satisfaction and engagement can not be overstated, but often need to be explained.

Step Three - Help managers to embrace their right to manage performance

Often the managers I work with seem to feel the need to obtain permission to perform is probably the most important part of their role - management performance. They obviously know there is hope they are as a manager but they do not feel they are entitled to manage somehow. Do managers need to understand their rights must be set? Do they know what those rights look like in practice?

Step Four - Give managers tools and techniques they need to manage the public performance

Do managers have access to various tools and techniques that can make the complex seem to be much simpler? How can we expect managers to identify, for example, that there is a simple way to provide feedback about even the most 'difficult' performance problems so that problems can be understood and accepted by staff members? Managers do not have time to work out processes for themselves so that they both waste a lot of time (and good staff will be) the trial 'and error' or they surrender.

Step Five - Make sure that performance management is a priority for your manager

Is performance manage 'manager' listed in the job descriptions, goals of their work or elsewhere? I have heard hundreds of managers told me that nothing is written down or agreed that describes their responsibilities as manager of the performance. So why would a manager to dedicate time and energy to activities that they are not responsible, that there is no prize, which seems just about the lowest priority of business? How does the organization expect their managers to perform complex job managing the performance of their staff if:

a) The manager does not know what being a manager as an effective performance within their organizations ipractice
b) the manager is not responsible for the effective performance management of their staff - not seen as an integral part of their job but something must be done when all the 'real work' has been completed
c) they are not recognized or rewarded for effective performance management?

In summary

It's all about the development of 'will' and 'skills'. Help managers understand the importance of effective performance management, helping them develop skills and then hold them accountable for applying those skills in practice