21st CENTURY - PERFORMANCE

Managing Employee Performance

Figure 1 - Business First Family

Figure 2 - Sales Force

Performance management (PM) is a key driver in enhancing organizational success. Employees are required to understand their expected contribution to business objectives and be motivated and equipped with the skills, resources and support to achieve this. In resent past, good performance management processes revealed in ongoing conversations on progress towards objectives. Though the measuring tools are differ, people managers at all levels should reinforce organizational purpose and link objectives at department and individual levels by help supporting both employees and the organization, through a unique PM system (CIPD, 2018). 

Employee Performance Management (EPM/PM) process starts by identifying the strategic goals an organization needs to accomplish to remain competitive and profitable. After that, managers will look how the employees can help support organizational objectives by successfully completing assigned work (Mathis and Jackson, 2010). The total of the work done/completed in all jobs should advance the strategic plan. By adopting a wide array of quantitative approach, managers can successfully integrate individual efforts in a way that provides practical measures of organizational effectiveness. EPM also do provide a blended outlook for the individual career development (Mathis and Jackson, 2010 & figure 2.).

The history of PM began around 70 years ago as a source of income justification and was used to determine an employee's wage based on performance. Later it created big arguments in justifying pay against development of skills and knowledge. As a strategic driver and integrated approach to the management and development of employees, PM became a functional activity in Human Resource Management (HRM) which has to be completed by line managers throughout the every year.It's a cyclical process. According to Mathis and Jackson (2012)'s figure 3. there are tasks to be attempted generally in the four quarters of the year. 

Figure 3 -  Mathis and Jackson (2010)

According to Shields et al.(2016), recent perspective of PM is Managing Competencies (MC).It is the most complex and controversial application of EPM which is more focused on employees with a resource-based view by discussing EPM as a tool for both organizational and employee development through the development of employee's fundamental skill sets. According to Lee (2018), there are at least three actions needed to power 21st century performance management.

Feedback (why) - is a necessary and positive element because it provides both assessment and accountability. All employees need to know where they are. Yet they also need to know where they are going.

Feedforward (what) - is guidance, direction, description and, most importantly, forecast. It establishes goals and provides the necessary support and encouragement for reaching the next level of performance.

Frequent coaching (how) - while improvement is started by why (feedback) and (feedforward) what, the "how" comes from the proven technique of frequent coaching.It's the broaden approach of feedforward in terms of continues guidance.

Cargill Incorporated is an American privately held global corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Since 2012, they provide e-learning, employee resourcing groups, training academies and leadership training opportunities, and a culture that values and supports employee growth with a constructive feedback. All these efforts were highly admitted by the employees which meant, Cargill succeeded through the approach (Cargill, 2018). 

Adobe (a multinational software company) has changed their PM approach in 2012 as “Check-in” by replacing normal ongoing dialog between managers and employees. According to Burkus (2017), Adobe had check-in centers around three elements of discussion. They are, expectations, feedback, and growth and development. They ensured that managers and subordinates know they’ve had a meaningful conversation when each of these areas have been discussed.The change has given a 10% increase in the number of employees who say they receive ongoing feedback that helps their performance. Their voluntary turnover rate has dropped by 30% and they have been able to save more than 100,000 manager hours each year (Morris, 2018).

References:

1. Burkus, D. (2017). Harvard Business Review. How Adobe Structures Feedback Conversations. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2017/07/how-adobe-structures-feedback-conversations?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
2. Cargill (2018). Personal Development | Cargill. [online] Cargill.com. Available at: https://www.cargill.com/careers/personal-development [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
3. CIPD (2018). Performance Management. [podcast] Access information and guidance on implementing effective performance management. Available at: https://www.cipd.asia/knowledge/people-management-fundamentals/ performance-management [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
4. Lee, C. (2018). Organizational & Employee Development. Viewpoint: Feedback, ‘Feedforward’ and Frequency for 21st Century Performance Management. [online] SHRM. Available at: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/pages/viewpoint-feedback-feedforward-and-frequency-for-21st-century-performance-management.aspx [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
5. Martin, G. and Siebert, S. (2016). Managing people and organizations in changing contexts. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, pp.41-191.
6. Mathis, R. and Jackson, J. (2010). Human Resource Management. 13th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, pp.318-361.
7. Morris, D. (2018). Adobe Check-in. [online] Adobe.com. Available at: https://www.adobe.com/check-in.html [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
8. Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Samuel, C. and Samardzic, A. (2016). Managing employee performance and reward. 2nd ed. NY.USA: Cambridge University Press, pp.123-138.