Effective performance management
Effective performance management system should not be considered by the employees as an independent system operating within a company by the management for the management. Instead the employees should feel that they are a part of the performance management system and play their proactive roles for its implementation. The philosophy of effective performance management system is to spur the growth from within rather than dole out increments and promotions. Growth here refers to growth of the organization which in turn leads to the growth of the employees. HR managers should create an environment of openness and quick response for the queries related to performance management sytem. The following Exhibit is an employee performance safety chart which provide tips for effective implementation of good performance management system. It is not necessary to have a 360-degree performance appraisal in place to make performance reviews pleasant. If the performance measurement system is made transparent, Objective beneficial and growth oriented, it will be welcomed by all the employees. Then the once dreaded performance appraisals become more acceptable and pleasant. A system which brings in joy for concerned parties is a praiseworthy system.
Goals
Organization are dynamic entities seeking to achieve their purposes. Thus goals and targets of the employees too are dynamic in nature. Goals in respect of some employees are revised mid-way due to organizational shift. In such cases it is imperative that the changed goal posts have to be conveyed to the employees concerned failing which goal alignment does get hampered resulting in a poor appraisal. In an annual appraisal system the old goal posts are likely tobe ignored by the boss leaving the employee in the lurch . Further when the goal posts are changed he who gets a new set of goals half way through the year., feels that there was no way he could’ve achieved them imploying that it was a trap.To handle such situation, the HR managers should facilitate consensual goal setting by taking the employee into confidence. Having done this revised goals may be documented where they are broken down into manageable and measurable parts making all parties concerned stakeholders in the process.
Coaching and mentoring
Coaching and mentoring are the key elements for the performance management system. Managers who do not measure in these areas are likely to make annual appraisal a mere ritual and often a miserable one. It is operationally impossible to come up with a constructive feedback once in a year. In such cases the recent the recent experiences of the appraiser with that of the appraisee are recalled instead of overall performance. This will have an impact on the employee performance measurement and consequently on his motivation. There comes the feeling of “you are out to get me”if the appraisal has a bad experience with the appraiser in the recent past. However a well structured and periodically reviewed performance appraisal system will to a large extent. nullify such a feeling and make the entire process objective and continuous.
Performance management
Most performance measurement system have been reduced to either a hike in the pay or promotion. Therefore on the day of appraisal employees tend to feel pananoid. In an environment where “hMost performance measurement system have been reduced to either a hike in the pay or promotion. Therefore on the day of appraisal employees tend to feel pananoid. In an environment where “hire-and-fire”policies are replacing the patriarchal benevolence of the old, the feelings of an employees is that the boss is out to get him. Such feelings can be handled if there are clear goal posts defined at the beginning of the performance measurement period, mid-course reviews posts defined at the beginning of the performance measurement period, mid-course reviews take place and there is preparation for the final annual performance appraisal. Appraisals arenot off- the-cuff activities they need preparations, documenting the positive strides of the employee and nothing the deficiencies noted during the period of appraisal. The performance management policies have to be knownto the employees much in advance and they need to have a help desk to clarify their doubts.
Employee Promotion
If you don’t know where you are going then any place is fine. But employees would like to know the direction and the pace with which they are moving. Many a times, even star performance in organization fail not because of their potential and ability to perform, but because their managers do not provide clarity on their specific goals and targets. As a result there is a poor show which leads to frustration. Star performers need attention from managers to channelize their energy into results that will improve career prospects. HR managers should enable the process of creating an environment of clear job description, realistic standards specificity of goals and foster condition that will result in optimal efforts. There is a necessity of periods communication on how to achieve goals and fulfill the commitments made to the organization. This will lead to a happy appraisal. Then appraisal time shall not be a testing time. instead it will be a expectation time. For an employee who is expecting a promotion it is important to know the performance gaps and the corrections needed along with time lines to realize his goals. Therefore a well orchestrated performance measurement system should have a formal expectation of tracking and keep in place a communication system that commensurate this requirement.
Unfairness in performance measurement
Performance measurement system are often talked about they are not implemented with the seriousness and the rigor they require. They have to be based upon careful through through analysis of business, one that links objectives of the enterprise to the things over which employees have control. If not it is likely that the process may be misunderstood by the employees as lopsided and unfair. This can lead to myriad and unpredictable consequences for the organization. Indeed the feeling of being brushed off in a snappy appraisal can be a big morals killer. It is generally observed that employee feel that enough time has not been spent on their performance appraisal and full use of their potential has not been made by the organization. The expectation from the employees is better feedback more training inputs providing opportunities for exploring their potential and more time with the boss. HR managers and the functional heads mus ensure that all appraisals are done with extreme diligence since the time devoted to this process can deliver disproportionate returns over the year. To create an environment of fairness. HR managers particularly in organizations operating in a traditional functional mindset, must have a system of reappraisal on exception basis to handle the feeling of unfairness in an employee.
Appraisal concerns
To have performance measurements right and to build with performance appraisal and it is at that time of the year when the executive anxieties run high it’s also the time when an executive swagger can turn into a foot-dragging gloom. Discontent surfaces, grudges pile up and bitterness takes root. An employee, who has been slaving away under the assumption that all good work pays off at the end finds that the company has violated everything he has associated with the word “justice”. Companies of course need to retain their best talent. Employees need to work where they can maximize their potential as value generator. Usually performance appraisal season ends as a win-win situation but however this does not happen always. Let us focus on some common concerns of employees during the appraisal time and decide ways of handling them.
The most common functional way of thinking where the performance measurements conveys distorted view and leads to the syndrome “he/she got more”. If the approach is not one of the systems then the employees tend to focus on less significant functional department performance and tend to make comparisons which are not value drivers either for the employees or for the employers. In such cases the HR manager, along with the functional head has to work towards the creation of a systems approach for performance management which will enable transparent systems. Where employees can have meaningful understanding of their performance flow of cross-functional activities and appreciate the openness of the system. It calls for counselling leading to better understanding of the goals and valuables inputs for the alignment of individual goals with that of the organization and personal development. In such a syndrome the HR managers often try to justify the disparity. But instead of this they should explain it with reference to the goals and value propositions.
Appraisal Blues
Employees today have a vast array option to choose from. So, employee retention and nurturing are top priorities for companies as the supply demand gap is widening. In a scenario like this performance management systems are very crucial for managing employee expectations and to meet the corporate growth plans. This article attempts to focus on common appraisal blues and suggests measures to handle the annual personal appraisals. HR managers should strive for an environment where employees feel: “great” It’s appraisal time”and say goodbye to appraisal blues. It us quite common that there are gaps between the employee’s perception of the accomplishments and the employer’s (or boss) perception of the same. It is a challenge because of ever-expanding employment opportunities in the current market scenario where performance management is not a ritual, but a systematic process of providing valuable feeback to the employee relative to his goals, to enable achievement of targets efficiently and effectively and complete the process on time. The processes of performance measurements must lead to better goal attainment. The ultimate objective of Performance Management System (PMS) is to set the right and measureble goals to those involved in the management of subsystems of business in sync with the overall goals of the organization leading to improvement in the performance of the organization.
Social networking sites
Social networking sites are expanding at 30% per annum. The type of sites and the people who use them are changing. My space remains the most popular with a bias towards music and films.The subscriber profiles is more down market and is generally targeted by consumer products and entertainment companies. Face book its closest competition, works more on a relationship model. In Asia clones of the leaders rule the roost. A HR manager needs to understand the geography of this space before starting on a strategy in order to use them effectively. This first step will involve “segmenting” the market based on diferent user profiles. As sites like MYspace becomes popular they also become more congested and difficult to search, mirroring problems that forcd people to move online in the first place. One can expect find more focussed niche sites to emerge. Here they can take the help of aggregator or directory sites to come up with address of specific social networking sites that one may be looking for.
Social networking sites to recruit eligible candidates
The term “social network”, was first coined by JA Barnes in his 1954, Class and Committees in a Norwegian Island Parish. It generally denotes, a map of relationship between individuals indicating the ways in which they are connected through various social familiarities ranging from casual acquaintance to close familial bonds.In today’s fast moving world the Internet has given a new connotation to the term ’social networking sites’. Websites like Myspace and Facebook facilitate closer interaction among people with similar tastes. These sites are more or less like a real life club where the member from across the globe share gossips, videos, etc. However the misuse of such public domains can result in denting the corporate brand image, Many Of the companies today have appointed managers to resolve such security related problems. On the other hand, in order to recruit eligible candidates, the HR personnel use such social networking sites to find relevant data pertaining to the candidates.
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