Blog 13- Managing Performance
Performance management refers to the set of interconnected
practices which are designed to ensure that a person’s overall capabilities and
potential are appraised, so that relevant goals can be set for work and
development and, through assessment, data on work behaviour and performance can
be collected and reviewed (Gold and Bratton, 2007).
There are many different theories behind managing employee
performance which have been put forward. Firstly, Bratton and Gold (2007)
developed a performance management cycle as a system to explain the processes
which occur when managing an employees’ work performance. There are development
centres where employees can go to illustrate their strengths and limitations
within the work place however they do not hold a large emphasis on diagnosing
the needs of the employee for improvement therefore Bratton and Gold proposed a
performance and development plan (PDP) (Gold and Bratton, 2007). The cycle
outlines that within a development centre, firstly a performance development
plan is created for an employee and following this there are several reviews
over the set time period that they are there. At the end of the programme after
on-going support through coaching and training is given and various reviews
have been carried out, the employee receives a final review including a
multisource appraisal on their development. This ensures employees have time to
develop their skill sets used at work and engage in coaching and training and
receive reviews to enable them to identify their own development.
Locke developed a goal setting theory which can be linked to
the processes of managing staff performance within an organisation. This theory
follows the idea that motivation is a key aspect for employees to develop their
own performance. ‘Locke explained that working toward a goal provided a major
source of motivation to actually reach the goal which, in turn, improved
performance’ (Anon., 2012).This
statement shows that by creating specific goals for employees to complete and
targets of how to complete these goals with a following reward, employees are
more likely be motivated and encouraged to achieve this. Therefore Locke’s goal
theory can coincide with strategies which can enhance a staff’s performance and
by encouraging goal achievement; employees can be more motivated to develop
their own performance.
I have had an appraisal at work, measuring my performance
within my job role which occurred around six months after starting the job.
Feedback given from my employer was beneficial to my improvement within the job
however due to only working there once a week, my input was not significant in
making a great change to their productivity. The meeting entailed a
conversation with my employer to assess my performance throughout the months I
had been working at the company and feedback was given on the employers
opinions on this. Although I was able to give feedback as to how I felt I was
performing, there was not much emphasis on my development as I was following
basis guidelines of work and generally completing tasks to an acceptable
standard. Overall the appraisal was beneficial as I had a one to one
conversation with my employer and could explain any concerns which arose
throughout the time I was working their however due to only working part time,
the appraisal did not make a significant difference to my working time within
the organisation.
Mentoring has a large benefit when managing an individual’s
performance and is useful in succeeding and developing in which ever trade they
are currently working in. There are many skills in being an effective mentor
which is largely different to coaching “Coaching typically takes place over a
time frame of weeks or months, mentoring can last for years”. This statement
shows that coaching looks at developing skills that are already set at basis
level and being taught processes of carrying out tasks whereas mentoring values
the idea that skills are already obtained by the individual and a mentor is a
guideline to help make use of these skills. ‘He recognised a need for
commercial guidance’. Mentors must have the correct interpersonal skills to
adapt and talk clearly with an individual. It is also beneficial to mentor an
individual who you can speak openly as a 3rd party who is not
involved in the same industry or business sector in which the individual is in.
‘Expect a mentor to tell you what you need to hear, not like a friend who may
tell you what you want to hear’ (Zwilling, 2012) . This will benefit
both parties as the mentor can give open honest decisions with no bias and can
create ideas which may not have been thought of by the individual. Mentoring
takes time in which effort is vital, therefore having skills of consistency for
a longer time period is a necessity. ‘The very best mentors are the most
interested in helping someone who is willing to learn and grow quickly’ (Zwilling, 2012). Mentors must also be able to
find specific strengths and weaknesses within an individual to be able to find
positives but also negatives for improvement and overall help an individual to
develop and perform more effectively than before.
Previously, I received mentoring within my footballing time
at Birmingham city ladies football club which helped to develop and improve my
skills as a footballer. Through coaches within the club from starting at a
younger age, I was able to find strengths and weaknesses within my game and
improve through the years of playing football for the club. Having a mentor
helped my performance as another person observed my skills and helped me to
acknowledge for myself as an individual player the ways in which to improve.
Although football is a team sport, individual skill improvement is vital when
wishing to move up the ladder of performance quality. Mentoring helped to adapt
my basis skill set and develop these skills to suit my preferred position in
match play and within training sessions. Therefore mentoring was effective in
improving my individual skills as well as team playing performance developing
me as an all-round player.
To conclude, managing performance of employees can be
carried out in many different ways and it is important to carry out performance
assessments to ensure employees are following the correct working strategies.
Through work appraisals and reward, employees can find their strengths and
weaknesses and improve on them individually to ensure a better working life. It
is important to show to employees they are being treated fairly and are given
every opportunity to manage their performance with the acknowledgement of other
subordinates to ensure a positive future working career.
References
Anon. (2012) Locke's goal setting theory
[online]. Mind Tools. Available from:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm [Accessed: 6 May 2012].
Gold, J. and Bratton,
J. (2007) Human resource management. 4th ed. China.
Zwilling, M. (2012) How
to Make a Business Mentoring Relationship Work [online]. Forbes. Available
from:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/martinzwilling/2012/03/20/effective-business-mentoring-is-a-relationship/
[Accessed: 6 May 2012].
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