Performance management: what is this methodology and how does it affect work?

The more complex an organization becomes, the more control we must have over all the processes that take place in it.

Performance management is a key concept for large companies. Through this article we will discover why, and we will delve into all the characteristics of this phenomenon to know everything about it.

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What is performance management and why is it necessary?

Performance management is the methodology applied by companies to achieve the objectives set in the most efficient way possible. That is to say, it is about achieving that the performance, both at a global level (of the company in general), and departmental (of each section that makes up the company) and even individual (of each employee himself) is the more suitable.

The key to performance management is communication, which must occur consistently between workers and managers, and should be used to clearly establish various terms. First, it must be clear what the objectives are to be achieved. Once the goals have been defined, each member of the company should gradually receive feedback about his performance so that we provide him with the information he needs to adjust.

Finally, and continuing with a communication process that should not be interrupted, the superiors have to verify the results that have been obtained and transmit it to their team, so that they can check if their work has given the results they expected or because of the Otherwise, it is necessary to make modifications in the procedures in order to achieve the following goals that are established in the company.

An effective performance management process can cost a company time and other resources. But everything that is going to save from that moment and the efficiency that it is going to generate makes it undoubtedly an investment that is really worth it. To verify this, we are going to learn more about the most important advantages of this methodology.

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Advantages of its application to organizations

Yield management has several benefits. Here we are going to see some of the most important ones.

1. Align efforts

One of the characteristics of performance management is that tries to align the efforts of all workers in the same direction, which is the common goals of the company. In addition, in this way, each of them will know the importance of their specific task in achieving the global goals.

2. Certainty

Performance management also eliminates uncertainty, because provides each member of the team with clear information about the actions they must take to achieve the results that the company is looking for. In this way, we avoid the frustration that a person does not know how to act to achieve the objectives they have been asked for. This will result in better performance.

3. Efficiency

Once each worker knows where his efforts are heading, and what exactly are the tasks that must be carried out to achieve them, there is another very useful phenomenon for the company: all work behavior that is not directed towards the objectives is eliminated, and therefore efficiency is increased at all levels of the procedures.

4. Anticipation

Maintaining fluid and constant communication makes performance management have another characteristic, and is that incidents and obstacles can be identified as soon as they appear, and even anticipate them, Y adapt the tasks of the affected people so that they can overcome and thus return to the path that will lead them to achieve the global goals of the company.

5. Continuous process

Performance management changes the most common trend of companies to perform only once a year an evaluation where it is assessed how the performance of the person has been and if they have achieved the objectives set or not. Rather, it is a continuous process, in which information flows bi-directionally all the time. So, if a concrete evaluation is made, it will simply be necessary to recapitulate what has been talked about throughout the season, since communication has not been interrupted.

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The performance management phases

We already know what performance management consists of and what are the main advantages that this methodology brings. Now we are going to know what is the standard way to apply it in an organization. To do this, we must delve into the three phases that make up the bulk of this system.

1. The plan

The first phase of this cycle is going to be planning. In this initial moment, The company has to agree with its workers what are the performance expectations that they are going to set, and that can later be measured according to the results formula plus the actions or behaviors carried out by the individual. The results can be evaluated according to the objectives set, and the behaviors will be verified using the scale of performance dimensions.

These performance expectations must be set forth in writing, so that both parties can check and verify them in any of their aspects as many times as necessary. It is the way to have a solid base on which to establish tests in the future. In addition, this way every worker will know what is expected of him and his task, knowing what to achieve. Thus, when you reach those goals, your job satisfaction will also increase, because you will know that you have achieved what was expected of you.

This scale of performance expectations, used in performance management, it also shows its usefulness when it is reviewed by new employees of the company, since it helps them to orient themselves quickly and to know what are the expectations that the organization has placed on it and how it should work to satisfy them. This procedure creates a communication relationship between employees and managers that results in a very positive work environment.

2. Adjustment

Although the objectives have been set in the first phase of performance management, this does not mean that they are immutable, and it is not It is necessary to wait a whole year to be able to make modifications and thus adapt to a more realistic perspective for any changes that may occur. taken place. Conversely, This methodology is dynamic and allows these objectives to be adjusted in any of the meetings that take place, if it is considered that there are reasons for it.

In the second phase, the adjustment phase, we will verify the performance of the workers in order to give them an feedback and thus have a basis on which to make the changes we mentioned, if it were necessary. The advantage of this feedback is that it works immediately, and allows the operator to adjust his behaviors to get closer to the goals they had set.

This feedback does not have to be a lengthy report delivered in a ceremonious manner., but they can simply be some indications that are mentioned to the worker on a day-to-day basis, reorienting you so that you can take the path that allows you to reach the established goal in the most efficient way possible. These contributions, in the right assertive tone, can provide an important motivational boost for team members, who will feel valued and empowered.

3. Revision

The third and final phase of performance management would be the own review of the system and the objectives that had been set, and verify the success of our methodology. Continuing in the line of constant communication between responsible and subordinate, the first would communicate to the second how their performance has been (which, as we saw in the first phase, can be verified according to a standardized system) and thus, together, they will be able to establish the conclusions relevant.

Another point that will be evaluated is the satisfaction of the worker himself, so that he will be able to take the leading role and freely communicate what Aspects of the tasks and work environment of him seem improvable, with a view to making modifications for the next cycle of the management of the performance. Likewise, the next guidelines to be taken into account to measure the performance of the worker in the future will be assessed.

In short, not only is the cycle that we had started in the first phase closed, but at the same time we are preparing the ground to return to start another sequence, because it is a system that never stops, but feeds itself back to be able to constantly improve in each iteration.

Bibliographic references:

• Armstrong, M., Baron, A. (2005). Managing performance: performance management in action. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
• Gruman, J.A., Saks, A.M. (2011). Performance management and employee engagement. Human resource management review.
• Lebas, M.J. (nineteen ninety five). Performance measurement and performance management. International journal of production economics. Elsevier.
• Otley, D. (1999). Performance management: a framework for management control systems research. Management accounting research. Elsevier.
• Van Dooren, W., Bouckaert, G., Halligan, J. (2015). Performance management in the public sector. Routledge.