Effective Performance Management – Helping your business flourish

• Marie Ashton (Stephens Scown Employment Solicitors, Cornwall)
• Monday 6 August 2012

When employees hear the term 'performance management' they are often struck with fear, says Marie Ashton, Head of HR Express at Stephens Scown employment solicitor Devon. Traditionally employers have used the term to refer to the process used in reviewing an employee’s failures in performance and ultimately as a means to dismiss them.

Performance management is however a much broader process that can and should include a performance appraisal and the communication of business objectives, with the ultimate aim of improving your businesses performance.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have set out items that need to be considered in order to ensure that any Performance Management process, from appraisal to discipline for poor performance, is carried out effectively and appropriately:

• Effectiveness – employees need to have both knowledge and ability to perform to the required standard
• Strategic – the broader issues and long-term goals of the company need to be considered
• Integrated – the process needs to be an integral part of the performance of the business as a whole, bringing together the business and people management strategies

Key to the success of a performance management process is the involvement of Line Managers. They are the means by which business objectives can be communicated and understood and the most significant party in ensuring that performance is as it should be. They will often be the person who knows the employee best in terms of performance and ability making them well placed to consider whether there are, or are likely to be, issues with under-performance.

It is at that point the traditional understanding of the term ‘performance management’ comes in and that a disciplinary process should begin. However, it is still important that this process is not viewed merely as a means to an end in terminating someone’s employment. Real value can be gained by taking a supportive approach to the problem and understanding the reasons for the failures. It may be as simple as a misunderstanding on what was required, or the need for further training.

Line managers should be encouraged to address any issues at an early stage before the situation becomes prolonged. Regular feedback and reviews can assist in highlighting issues and reporting the problems back to the employee themselves. This should not just wait until the annual performance appraisal but should take place regularly and certainly as soon as issues occur.

Only after the employee’s performance continues to fall short of what is expected should more formal action be taken and even at this stage an employee should still be committed to resolving the problems rather than looking to terminate. Open communication is the key, and the issues with performance need to be very clearly stated.

At the point of taking things along a more formal route an employee should be notified of:

• The issue with their performance – why it is not considered to be meeting the required standards
• The improvement that the employer would like to see – what the required standards are and how they can meet them
• The timescale within which the employer would like to see the improvement – making sure that it is fair and achievable
• A date on which the situation will be reviewed.
• Any support that the Line Manager feels is necessary to be put in place – for example coaching or specific training

The objective of the entire process is to ensure that the organisation performs to the best of its abilities and in line with its strategic objectives by encouraging staff to perform to the required standards. If this is communicated throughout all HR practices and processes, and Line Managers work with their staff ’performance management’ does not necessarily have to be an alternative word for "dismissal".

If you would like advice or assistance on your performance management process, or any other Employment Law or Human Resource Management issue please contact the Employment Team at Stephens Scown.

www.stephens-scown.co.uk/business/employment/

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