HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE - Fichier PDF

508 ❚ Performance managementmentoring, project work, job enlargement and job enrichment. If multi-source assessment(360-degree feedback) is practised in the organization this will be used todiscuss development needs.The development plan records the actions agreed to improve performance and todevelop knowledge, skills and capabilities. It is likely to focus on development in thecurrent job – to improve the ability to perform it well and also, importantly, to enableindividuals to take on wider responsibilities, extending their capacity to undertake abroader role. This plan therefore contributes to the achievement of a policy of continuousdevelopment that is predicated on the belief that everyone is capable of learningmore and doing better in their jobs. But the plan will also contribute to enhancing thepotential of individuals to carry out higher-level jobs.MANAGING PERFORMANCE THROUGHOUT THE YEARPerhaps one of the most important concepts of performance management is that it isa continuous process that reflects normal good management practices of settingdirection, monitoring and measuring performance and taking action accordingly.Performance management should not be imposed on managers as something‘special’ they have to do. It should instead be treated as a natural function that allgood managers carry out.This approach contrasts with that used in conventional performance appraisalsystems, which were usually built around an annual event, the formal review, whichtended to dwell on the past. This was carried out at the behest of the personneldepartment, often perfunctorily, and then forgotten. Managers proceeded to managewithout any further reference to the outcome of the review and the appraisal formwas buried in the personnel record system.To ensure that a performance management culture is built and maintained, performancemanagement has to have the active support and encouragement of topmanagement who must make it clear that it is regarded as a vital means of achievingsustained organizational success. They must emphasize that performance managementis what managers are expected to do and that their performance as managerswill be measured by reference to the extent to which they do it conscientiously andwell. Importantly, the rhetoric supporting performance management must beconverted into reality by the deeds as well as the words of the people who have theultimate responsibility for running the business.The sequence of performance management activities as described in this chapterdoes no more than provide a framework within which managers, individuals andteams work together in whatever ways best suit them to gain better understanding of