Performance Management - National HRD Network

Manpower planning is also an important
aspect at this stage. Conduct a thorough
analysis of existing manpower structure,
desired manpower, gaps and strategy to build
desired manpower (internal movements or
external hiring, or building future/buffer
manpower by taking some portion of
Trainees, providing for attritions etc.)
Ensuring organization has the right
infrastructure to deliver performance is also
very essential. Ensure the company has
enough resources like required technology,
tools & equipments, facilities, infrastructure
etc. that facilitates performance without any
disturbances.
Also performance extraction can be phased
out to simplify the delivery of results where
say in a first quarter we should be able to
achieve X, in second quarter Y and in the
last two quarters Z,A,B,C etc.
PERFORMANCE POLICY
Right Policy Framework is also a key to
understand company’s performance
philosophy, performance expectations and
the manner in which performance has to be
delivered. A detailed Performance
Management Policy needs to be defined
which outlines company’s performance
framework, measurement and assessment
methodologies, rewarding and awarding
mechanisms, and performance
improvement facilities etc.
PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT
Once the performance is planned, we need
to have a formal process whereby we
document and agree on performance
between organization and employees.
Performance Contract, Agreement or KRA
Form or Deliverable Forms are the tools
used to agree upon performance for the
coming year. Both the superior and
employee need to understand expectations
from both ends very clearly and document
them on the paper. The agreement could
be to deliver certain performance tasks
within a given time frame with specified
measurement parameters as well as
predefined ranking-rating-weighingassessing
techniques. Further it could also
include certain developmental tasks or new
learning initiatives, which either of them
proposes to implement in the next year. Also
the organization may agree to provide all
the required support and facilities like
training and developments needed by an
employee to deliver his tasks and results.
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN (PIP)
Once we plan and agree upon performance
goals and objectives the next thing could
be how do we ensure this is achieved. Here
comes the real HR challenge and
comprehensive plan to improve and create
difference in performance levels. Here we
are expected to raise performance from X
level to Y level as per our business
strategies. We have already identified gaps
in human resources and their current
proficiency levels. In order to improve
employee productivity we need to fill
following gaps.
Skills Gaps – Additional Trainings,
sponsored certifications/education programs
Competency Gaps – Competency Analysis
& Mapping, Behavior Interviews &
Psychometric tools to be used to understand
current proficiency levels of various
competencies required, Gap analysis and
Competency Development / Personality
Development Programs could be designed
accordingly to build up needed competencies
/ behaviors in the organization.
Knowledge / Information Gaps – Ensure
that company has right forums, avenues and
communication channels where information
is shared continuously and consistently. It
would create wider awareness about the
surrounding world and competition industry.
Motivational Gaps – Ensure each
employee is kicked off his job profile and is
raring to go. This is only possible if we design
and allocate jobs to employees, which they
are passionate to do. Job is the only and
biggest motivator and ensures performance
again and again and again. Other things like,
incentives, welfare events, etc. can keep
employee happy, may not be motivated, not
necessarily.
Compensation Gaps – Industry
Benchmarking added with best practices
must be implemented to ensure a sound and
transparent compensation structure. It is
very important to have a Performance based
Pay structure combined with Differential pay
system. It means it should have an attractive
variable and incentive scheme directly linked
to KRAs of the employees as well as
Salaries will be defined as per performance
only, not on the basis of qualifications or
number of years of experience etc. A sound
compensation plan should also include
‘common benefits plan’ for all employees of
any business division/unit/group etc.
Promotion / Career Planning /
Succession Planning Gaps – Promotions
should not be only based on performance;
it should also be based on Potential. For
example up to middle management it could
be fully performance based but above
middle and senior management should be
a provision to mark key employees having
strong potential to hold senior posts. These
employees can be emphasized for special
development programs to make them
eligible and competent to take next senior
role/position.
REWARD & AWARD MECHANISM
To motivate and promote high performance,
it is very important to link efficient rewards
mechanism or system in the organization.
However we should know 3 golden rules of
rewarding.
What to Reward / Punish – Certain
Behaviors and Achievements that are
required by an organization to be cherished,
promoted and rewarded. These need to be
prioritized to be rewarded, other things
which are not in line with organization and
performance objectives can be given
second priority.
When to Reward – It is very important to
reward employee instantly when he achieves
the results or at least recognize his efforts;
delivery of rewards may come later. It is not
good to reward the employee after 6 or 12
months in the next appraisal cycle, it gives
no meaning or value to his achievement.
How to Reward – Some like it in public,
some in private. Each one has his own
likings about how he should be recognized
and rewarded. Cash, Kind, Stocks, Profits,
Promotions, Relocations etc. The list could
be endless.
Competencies:
Competencies are like muscle power; they
are additional strengths for a person. A
competency alone does not guarantee
performance and there is no direct link
between competencies and performance.
Performance is more of a function of Skills
and Attitude. Hence along with
competencies job related functional/
technical skills are major drivers, which
enables a person to perform. For example,
if a person has a strong man management
competency does not mean that he does
not need technical skills to do Project
Management with large team. He needs to
have technical expertise to understand and
improve productivity. Also each competency
can further be weighted as done in
deliverables to indicate prioritized
competencies and consolidated
competency scores can be obtained.
Strengths & Weaknesses discussion:
From a personality point of view, it is also
important to understand strengths of a
person and weaknesses. This is helpful not
only to assess his current performance but
also future potential. It is important to
understand certain strengths of an individual
may or may not have used, but if there is a
future requirement, these strengths can be
capitalized.
Roadblocks for non-achievements –
Under what circumstances an employee
was not able to deliver certain tasks could
guide us towards improvement required
either in terms of resources provided for
employees or infrastructure loops or market
forces or any other personal reasons.
Overall Evaluation including deliverable
scores, competency scores can give you
final ratings of candidate’s performance
appraisal.
Training Needs can also be discussed
wherever employee has shown lack of skills
or competencies. Employees showing
improvements consistently can be
considered for additional training and
grooming programs so that their capabilities
can be strengthened. u H
| HRD News Letter | March 2007, Vol.22, Issue:12 13|