Wednesday 26 February 2014


Performance management systems – to be or not to be….

 A lot of companies are very vocal about the fact that they do not have, nor do they need a performance management system.  I agree – performance management is not a necessary evil in all companies. If you hire and manage well, you may never need this process at all, but now let’s change the name – Feedback moments; Employee feedback meetings; How are you doing meetings, Chat sessions…I could go on about nomenclature.  The title of the meetings doesn’t matter, the purpose and benefit is the same – employees want and need to know how they are doing and where they stand in your eyes. Not to mention, to follow proper HR practice, you should have something documented in case the relationship goes sour.

I am not a big fan of fancy performance management systems, forms or processes.  I personally think it takes away from the purpose of the meeting.  I know of some organizations where the manager and the employee don’t even talk during this process, they each fill out their portion of the review online and send it in electronically where it is gathered at the HR level. Pardon me, but how did this strengthen the relationship between manager and employee?  Did the employee get to ask the question face to face - how can I improve?  Did the manager have the opportunity to thank the employee verbally for the great job they are doing?  This process is simply that - a process for the sake of saying it’s been done and can be crossed off the list.  I much prefer a one-pager that gives the manager some guidance on what to talk about or even a blank piece of paper if that’s all that’s required.  The real benefit to these sessions is the conversation!  That is where the relationship is strengthened and insights gained.  Don’t get bogged down in process but don’t forget that giving face-to-face feedback is important.  My view of best practice in this arena, is meeting quarterly in an informal setting with your employees to have these conversations (using whatever documentation you choose).  Even though you typically work daily with your employees, setting aside the time to talk purely about them will go a long way on its own. It will strengthen your relationship and show the employee that you are invested in their success!

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