How a Performance Management Program Can Increase Quality Productivity
Many business supervisors complete employee reviews on regularly established intervals with hopes of increasing the quality productivity of their workforce. But is this the best approach to inspire, engage and improve employee output? Maybe, but here we would like to suggest another alternative. Instead of an employee performance review program, try substituting with an employee performance management program. Such a system creates an approach for assisting the performance of the employees to improve rather than a grading system that highlights the employee flaws. Who feels inspired to try harder when they just learned of all the things they are doing wrong? Negative feedback does not inspire positive results.
Using a performance management program communicates to employees that the leadership is interested in helping employees improve and develop their personally-owned skills, knowledge and abilities. People are more willing to embrace constructive feedback when they are encouraged to improve rather than feedback highlighting their weaknesses. Here are three suggestions for creating a performance management program that will inspire employees to increase quality productivity in the workplace:
1. On an annual basis, review the employee’s job description to ensure that the purpose, job duties and responsibilities are still accurate, relevant and current with the organization’s growth. Often employees will have suggestions about how their job description can be modified to clarify exactly what their job responsibilities are and which essential duties should be given priority.
2. Implement a 360 performance feedback system that allows the employee to evaluate her own performance and compare it to anonymous evaluations from fellow employees, customers and others who work with her. An initial 360 performance evaluation establishes a benchmark for creating skill and job improvement strategies that can be monitored with later evaluations. 360 evaluations are more effective if completed quarterly. With ongoing evaluations, leadership can provide feedback about an employee’s performance on a more frequent basis and encourage performance goals with measurable outcomes. Goals can be established that meet not only individual employee developmental needs, but also the needs of the broader corporate community.
3. Maintain a written record of employee performance that is based on the findings of the feedback evaluations and job project results. Through emerging productivity patterns, supervisors may find it helpful to develop and administer a coaching and improvement plan. Often, employers consider coaching programs to be used for remediation, but coaching also can be useful when an employee is offered a job promotion.
The purpose of establishing a performance management program is to create a more positive environment, where leaders assist the performance of the workforce and nurture positive employee engagement. People respond more favorably to those who are genuinely trying to help them improve and offer strategies to promote such growth, than those who only offer criticism.
