Performance Management - Getting The Most Out of Your Employees

Managing for Best Performance

In it's simplest form, performance management is a common sense set of discussions that make sure people are clear about what they need to do, have the support to do it and get open and honest feedback on their performance.

Any performance management process should answer 4 important questions for your employees:

· Direction: What do I need to do and how well?
· Feedback: How am I doing?
· Rewards: What happens when I do well?
· Support/Development: What happens when I need/want help?

Lets look more closely at each of these:

Direction

Employees are not mind readers. Just because it is clear to the manager exactly what is expected, doesn't mean the employee has the same understanding. Having a detailed discussion about exactly what the job requires and any specific priorities is the first step in good performance management. Key points to cover include:

- what needs to be achieved throughout the year

- what data or information (evidence) will be used to measure performance

- the key actions needed to achieve the desired outcomes

Both parties should have a written record of this discussion either in the form of a job description or a set of specific objectives for the next 6 or 12 months. Written documentation leaves little room for misunderstandings or confusion between manager and employee about the expectations of the job.

Feedback

Observing the performance of your employees and providing feedback about it should be a routine part of the performance management process. Feedback is most effective in making a difference in work performance when the employee has confidence in the basis of that feedback. And you as the manager will be more confident if your feedback is based on information that you can support.

For this reason the most useful feedback should be based on observed and/or verifiable work-related behaviors, actions, statements, and results. If you can provide specific examples of good and "not so good" performance, your employees will be confident that you have taken time to notice what they are doing and sincerely support them in improving. This kind of effective feedback helps the employee sustain good performance, to develop new skills and to improve performance when necessary. Feedback should be given as it is required ? it loses effectiveness if not delivered at the time an event occurs.

Reward/Recognition

All employees need to have a clear understanding of how the reward and recognition system operates in your business. Most probably everyone gets paid a salary for doing their job to a certain level. What happens when an employee performs significantly above that level? How will they be rewarded, if at all? If there is no incentive for employees to be outstanding, then the likelihood is that they won't put in the extra effort. A well designed scheme will clearly identify the rewards and incentives available for strong or outstanding performance.

Support and Development

This aspect of managing performance focuses on current and future skills, behaviours and knowledge. Firstly, the discussion should focus on what training or other support the employee needs to be the best in their current job - identifying skills and behaviours that need to be improved. If you can support the employee in doing their job better, they will have reassurance that their contribution is valued by the business. The discussion should also focus on where the employee would like to go in the future and how you can help them achieve their longer term career goals. If they are being considered for other roles in the business then you will need to identify what new skills and behaviours they need and help them to develop those.

If you are managing people, then people management activities need to take up the majority of your time. Each business can only be as effective as the people that work in it. One of the best ways to ensure your employees are being effective is to monitor and provide feedback on their performance. Setting goals, making sure your expectations are clear, and having regular discussions will help people perform to their best. The payoff for the business is increased employee productivity, knowledge, loyalty and contribution.

Megan Tough - published writer, coach, facilitator and speaker - works with business professionals to create outstandingly satisfying and truly successful professional lives. Make more money - have more fun! To learn more and to sign up for more FREE tips and articles like these, visit http://www.megantough.com

---

Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:05:30 GMT Arthritis Drugs Linked to Risks From Infection - New York Times WNCT Arthritis Drugs Linked to Risks From Infection New York Times - 6 hours ago By AP WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration ordered stronger warnings Thursday on four medications widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses, saying they can raise the risk of possibly fatal fungal infections. Deaths Heighten Arthritis Drugs Warning WebMD Nation Digest 4 arthritis drugs get tougher warnings Seattle Times U.S. News & World Report - Reuters - Bloomberg all 491 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:38:34 GMT Jesse Jackson hospitalized for stomach pains - Chicago Tribune United Press International Jesse Jackson hospitalized for stomach pains Chicago Tribune - 1 hour ago By Jeremy Gorner | Chicago Tribune reporter Rev. Jesse Jackson was being treated Thursday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after falling ill. Video: Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized AssociatedPress Jesse Jackson hospitalized after stomach pains USA Today Atlanta Journal Constitution - Entertainment Tonight News - CNN Political Ticker - AHN all 328 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:00:48 GMT Stocks: A Terrible Thursday - BusinessWeek Washington Post Stocks: A Terrible Thursday BusinessWeek - 2 hours ago Major US indexes each tumbled nearly 3% as worries intensified over the health of the economy. All eyes are on Friday's jobs report Market players were probably wondering Thursday why they bothered to come back from their summer vacations. Stocks Are Broadly Lower Tracking Falls on Wall Street Wall Street Journal Stocks slide on economic worries CNNMoney.com Seattle Times - Los Angeles Times - Forbes - New York Times all 821 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:53:27 GMT UN warns of Haiti flooding crisis - BBC News BBC News UN warns of Haiti flooding crisis BBC News - 1 hour ago Several hundred thousand people need help in Haiti, which is suffering severe flooding after being hit by a series of tropical storms, the UN says. Attempts to Aid Desperate Haitians Hindered by Floodwaters Washington Post Storms line up to slam western Atlantic, southeastern US AFP Telegraph.co.uk - The Associated Press - Chicago Tribune - Bradenton Herald all 2,575 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:05:26 GMT Tropical Storm Hanna aiming for Massachusetts - Boston Globe ABC News Tropical Storm Hanna aiming for Massachusetts Boston Globe - 3 hours ago By Andrew Ryan and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to churn up the Atlantic coast and lash Massachusetts this weekend with winds gusting up to 50 mph near the coast and up to four inches of rain. Video: Hanna Nears US, but Stronger Ike Looms AssociatedPress Area departments gearing up for Hanna's arrival Attleboro Sun Chronicle Sun-Sentinel.com - Opelousas Daily World - The Associated Press all 5,279 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:23:14 GMT House committee widens probe of Vytorin safety - International Herald Tribune ChattahBox House committee widens probe of Vytorin safety International Herald Tribune - 7 hours ago AP TRENTON, NJ: A House committee investigating the safety and effectiveness of the popular cholesterol drug Vytorin and one of its components is turning up the heat on the drug's makers. Many Questions About Vytorin New York Times Drug Scare Shenanigans FOXNews Reuters - U.S. News & World Report - Forbes - MedPage Today all 547 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:32:18 GMT Kilpatrick's rise and fall - Detroit Free Press Washington Post Kilpatrick's rise and fall Detroit Free Press - 37 minutes ago BY BILL McGRAW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • September 5, 2008 Kwame Kilpatrick entered the mayor's office with extraordinary gifts -- charisma, savvy, flair, pedigree, connections, ambition and chutzpah -- everything a 31-year-old needed to make a ... Video: A Timeline of Detroit Mayor's Text Scandal AssociatedPress Detroit’s Mayor Will Leave Office and Go to Jail New York Times Chicago Tribune - San Jose Mercury News - DetNews.com - Wall Street Journal all 5,822 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:27:50 GMT RSS to HTML Increased Website Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Turning a Negative Employee Into a Positive Asset

Several years ago, I took over the supervision of a... Read More

Look Good on Voice Mail

Your use of voice mail tells others a lot about... Read More

Top 7 Methods to Empower Employees

How many times have you asked someone to do something... Read More

A Checklist for Organized Executives

I could begin this article by providing a checklist of... Read More

Do You Need a Personal Assistant?

It's great to be multi-skilled?be able to type your own... Read More

How To Manage A Difficult Employee

Having to manage a difficult employee is never fun and... Read More

The Truth About Performance Reviews

Now that it is January, many of you are putting... Read More

Dont Hire Squirrels to be Your Top Dogs

Bad hiring decisions cost organizations, both in dollars and lost... Read More

Three Foundation Stones for Building Organizational Integrity

When the stock market crashed in 1929, there were a... Read More

How to Make a Difference Every Day

Every day, everyone can make the world a better place.... Read More

Recruitment - Do You Know What Youre Looking For?

The time will come when you'll need to interview someone... Read More

Prioritise Your Day - Keep Focus - Win!

Whether you run your own business or manage a team,... Read More

Why Businesses Fail - And What You Can Do About It!

Have you unintentionally set your business up for failure?No one... Read More

Policy & Procedure Manuals - Tools For Greater Productivity and Efficiency

In today's tough retail environment the retailer needs all the... Read More

Survival of the Fittest: The Road to Human Extinction

I was watching a TV program some months ago about... Read More

Interviewing Candidates: 3 Ways to Avoid Snap Judgments

Have you ever hired the wrong person? If so, perhaps... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Idea Progression

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Retaining An Expert -- What Every Business Owner Needs To Know

As an entrepreneur, hiring an expert can be one of... Read More

Vampire Meetings and How To Slay Them

Meetings can be like mythical vampires ? sucking the life... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Dont Leave Your Key Stakeholders Guessing

Communicate! Don't leave you key stakeholders guessing.We are generally not... Read More

Work Priorities: Where Can You Spend Your Time Most Effectively?

Understanding where you can spend time most effectively requires concentration... Read More

Want to Manage Your Time? Get Real!

You know the drill - the ridiculous deadlines, the relentless... Read More

How to Create a Trusting Manager-Employee Relationship

BUILDING TRUST AS A MANAGER: 1. Be reliable. Follow through... Read More

IT Expenditure - Why Businesses Spend Huge Amounts on Ineffective IT Investments

Another IT White Elephant!It seems that almost every day we... Read More

Are You Managing to Lead?

For many people, the terms "manager" and "leader" are synonymous.... Read More