THE WORKERS PERFORMANCE PROCESSES

Most important, leaders can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations and unite them in pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts.

Job Performance Processes

Monitoring and appraising employees helps boost employee productivity and develop employees' potential to the full. Your employees' job performance is key to the success of your business. Putting in place a system to monitor job performance will allow your employees to demonstrate evidence of their contribution towards your business objectives. This article contains a template for a job performance monitoring and appraisal system.

The performance management system is a two-way, continuous process, measuring job performance in a fair and consistent way. The benefits of this two way process are that it improves communication between you and the employee by creating a forum for you to discuss work and/or personal related issues that may have an effect on job performance.

The system will also lead to the retention and motivation of talented employees.

Each of your employees experiences the four critical stages of performance.

• The first stage is to set clear goals for your employees, reflecting their specific job role and the business objectives for the financial year that relate to their job.
• The second stage is to provide relevant resources to support the achievement of your employees' goal.
• The third stage is to review the achievement of the goals you have set, preferably on a monthly or quarterly basis. The value of this is to create an opportunity to review the goals and assess the employee's efforts to take corrective action in respect of failures, and/or recognize interim achievements.
• The final fourth stage is a formal appraisal to assess the employee's job performance over the year gone. The result of this may be promotion or a reward and the recognition of achievements. At the same time, priorities should be agreed upon and goals set for the following year.

Within this four stage process, there may be conversations about one or all of the following:

• over or under achievement of the employee's job;
• negotiation regarding pay; and
• the identification of opportunities for future development and progression.

The most effective people to carry out the appraisal process will be the employee's immediate manager and it is therefore important that both the manager concerned, and the employee, are fully aware of how the job appraisal process works. They should both ensure their expectations are clarified at the beginning of each job appraisal meeting.

The tools for job appraisals

Following this simple checklist will help you develop and implement an effective job performance monitoring and appraisal system.

Step 1

You need to know your business goals for the financial year, as these will form the basis for setting goals for individuals. How can you achieve something if you don't know what it is?

Setting clear goals for your business will help you focus your efforts on what you want to achieve. Setting goals for your employees, based on your business goals, boosts productivity because the goals help your employees to understand what is expected them. They can stretch and challenge the employees' role - although they must, of course, be achievable.

Step 2

You must review your employees' job descriptions alongside your business goals and from these, create no more than 4 goals using the SMART format.

The SMART goal format requires you evaluate the following:

S - SPECIFIC

What is the task? What is involved? What is required? How might it be described to a stranger?

M – MEASURABLE

How will you know when the task is achieved? What will success look like? What targets must be met? What are your expectations in terms of time, quality, quantity, money and standards? How will it impact the business?

A - ACTION

What is the first step that needs to be taken? What resources are needed? Who can help to make this happen? How will progress be monitored? Has anyone done this before? If so what learning can they share? Do both parties agree with the actions that need to be taken?

R - REALISTIC

Review S, M and A…are they clear? Is the task relevant? What else needs to be considered?

T - TIMED

On what date will the task be completed? How many interim review dates will there be? When will progress be monitored?

In some organisations, the formulation of SMART goals is done with the employee, with the benefit of their involvement and agreement.

You must keep the goals simple -- 1 or 2 sentences will do.

Step 3

Once the SMART goals are agreed on, you should seek a second opinion as to whether they make sense. If not, you should learn from the feedback and refine the goals accordingly.

Step 4

The employee and their immediate manager must meet to talk about the SMART goals. The ideal time for this is at the beginning of the financial year. The employee will look for clarity and understanding, generating ideas for achieving them. The employee's immediate manager has the opportunity of providing advice and guidance.

Step 5

SMART goals can change during the year - for example, due to unforeseen issues or circumstances, or as a result of employee under or over achievement, change in roles, new employees starting or new managers.

Step 6

Immediate managers carry out review meetings, ideally monthly but if not convenient or appropriate, every 3 months. The review meeting is an informal review of the employees' job and specific SMART goals for the year. The meeting should be rigorous and objective, allowing the employee time for questioning, self-assessment, advice and guidance.

Step 7

Before the review meeting, the employee and their immediate manager will do some preparation. Practical considerations, such as where the meeting will be held, who will be attending and what should be on the agenda should be decided on.

Step 8

The immediate manager may encourage the employee to comment on their own job performance - perhaps rating their achievements in respect of each job SMART goal on a numerical scale. This provides the immediate manager with the opportunity to see how the employee views their job performance, and also to see if any support could be provided in weak areas.

Step 9

At the end of the job performance review, it is essential that any comments are typed up and shared between employee and manager. A date should be established for the next job performance meeting.

Step 10

Feedback should be sought and offered on a regular basis. This helps the employee to progress, learn and develop in their job role. It is vital for the feedback to be a balance of praise for successes or the demonstration of skill/behavioural strengths and learning from failure and areas that need further development.

Step 11

Accurate assessment is essential. The consensus may be, after a number of job review meetings, that the employee is not performing in the job role in a way that has been agreed and is expected - perhaps they are not attaining or working towards their SMART goals sufficiently. This may be for a number of reasons, so it is very important not to make any assumptions but to establish clearly what these are.

Step 12

When the reasons for poor performance have been established, action needs to be taken. New goals may be set, and further support or training and development can be provided. If the employee has lost motivation or refuses to take ownership to resolve the issues and the business has done all it can, you may have to resort to your grievance and disciplinary policy and procedures.

Step 13

The value of training must not be underestimated. Not only does training help your employees function in their jobs with confidence and in a competent and safe manner but developmental training increases their skills, knowledge and experience to further their progress. If you have a small business, have you ever thought 'wouldn't it be nice to have a finance director'? 'why can't I have someone overseeing quality'? 'I'd love a sales manager' - if these are common thoughts, consider training one of your existing staff - perhaps for a few hours of their week - towards a new role.

There are various methods of training and development and it is important to identify what the employee needs to support them in a relevant and appropriate way. For each training project proposed, ask : what is the specific issue/s that require training? What does the employee need to develop? How do they learn best? (not everyone is suited to classroom learning, just as not everyone can deal with home study) Ask how the training and development will add value to the business and to the employee. Further, ask which issues take priority - which will make the biggest difference to the business.

Step 14

If you're considering sending your employees on a course, think again. There is no follow up after the course on how useful it has been to the employee. There is often no way to ask questions or get feedback on how the course can apply practically and employees may be left bewildered on how to apply their new found knowledge, skills and experience. In house, practical training is often preferable.

Step 15

When the relevant method/s have been selected, complete a training and development plan, The outcome of the training should be revisited at each review meeting or on a more informal basis.

Step 16

A further, formal and in depth review should take place once a year. Before the appraisal meeting the employee and line manager will do some preparation. The annual job appraisal is far more rigorous and objective than the regular meetings, and time is allowed for questioning, self-assessment, advice and guidance.

Step 17

At the appraisal, the manager will want to give feedback on how the employee has performed over the year. This should be constructive and based on fact, rather than opinion. It should be communicated clearly, as it may affect bonuses or other forms of reward and recognition, and it will certainly impact the employee's motivation. Another important aspect of the meeting is to find out what the employee wants or expects. Employers must be honest about whether opportunities exist. They should aim to support their employees if they decide to move out of the business to pursue their dreams. In some cases they return armed with new skills, knowledge and experience to take up a new role.

Step 18

As for the regular job appraisals, at the end of the review, it is essential to summarize the conversation and share the typed up notes between manager and employee.

Step 19

Performance that is viewed as exceeding or outstanding should always be rewarded or recognized.

Step 20

Along these lines, it is a good idea to create a budget for the year to informally or formally reward and recognize employees. It is a great demonstration of their value and keeps them motivated and loyal to the business.

Best Practice Essentials

• Set job goals for teams as well as for individuals and review team performance as a group
• Provide regular training for managers on how to conduct effective reviews and appraisals with their employees
• The review and appraisal process must reflect the business culture and values.
• Communicate the reward and recognition and disciplinary policy and procedures in a clear way and by as many means e.g. contracts, posters, employee handbook.
• Create a reward and recognition budget

Legislation Tips

When dealing with employees, the legislation which may need to be considered is:

• Disability Discrimination Act
• Outlines minimum disciplinary and appeal procedures, which must be used by all employers and which will form part of an employee's contract of employment
• Employment Equality (Religion or Belief)
• Employment Relations - employees have a right to be accompanied to disciplinary and grievance hearings by a work colleague or a trade union representative
• Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) regulation.
• Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) regulation.
• Public Interest (Disclosure) - "whistleblowers" are protected from dismissal or victimization if they make a "protected disclosure" as a standard.
• Sex Discrimination; Race Relations.