Performance management problems and solutions

Common sense solutions for performance management

Performance and performance management are a major challenge in today’s workforce. Performance management issues lead to huge financial losses worldwide for companies of all sizes and industries. Even more concerning is the fact that performance problems, if left unmanaged, often lead to loss of competitiveness across entire industries.

In this article, we outline the 7 most common performance management problems and discuss solutions that companies can implement to mitigate these problems.

What is Performance Management?

At a very macro level, performance management represents the approaches, processes, procedures, tools and techniques used by companies to monitor, assess and improve the performance of employees throughout the organization. The main goals of performance management are:

• Increase employee efficiency
• Improve organizational productivity
• Maintain and maintain competitiveness
• Less input time and costs
• Improve profitability
• Discourage high employee turnover

The ultimate outcome of achieving these goals is about understanding employee motivation, supporting development and helping them find the best way forward, which can be inside or outside the organization. However, problems with performance management systems – IT-driven or manual workflow-based – can seriously affect an organization’s sustainable ability to create a productive workforce that delivers optimal performance. Let’s take a look at some of the common performance management issues and possible solutions that can put organizations on the road to better performance.

7 common performance management problems

Organizational performance management systems are the best way to measure and manage employee performance. However, not all companies have performance management software that works well or delivers optimal value to the company. Here are 7 common performance management system issues to focus on:

1. Competencies/skills gaps

Organizations are unaware of the skills gaps in individuals, functions or groups they manage. As a result of this lack of awareness, managers are often blind to the skills that their employees possess and that the organization needs.

2. Irregular Performance Activities

There is a lack of regular performance review and management activity. As a result, organizations remain oblivious to performance issues that are festering or ingrained in the workforce – until the next scheduled performance review.

3. Lack of objective assessment

Too often, employee performance is left to the discretion of a manager. Needless to say, even the most effective manager’s objectivity can be questioned if they deliver less than favorable evaluations.

4. Irrelevant job descriptions

In most organizations, the job description is the primary tool used to measure and manage performance. Irrelevant or vague job descriptions keep employees guessing about their performance expectations, and managers struggle to manage those vague expectations.

5. Insufficient feedback

As a performance management measure, simply letting employees know how well or poorly they are performing is not enough. Feedback should not only assess and highlight performance gaps, but should also include clear pathways to performance improvement.

6. Inadequacy of formal assessment systems

A problem with performance management systems is that they are often too formal. These systems are inadequate as they are typically scheduled as an annual or semi-annual process and often run using a template/cookie cutter based system. Over-reliance on formal appraisal systems alone is often inadequate when it comes to timely and in-the-flow-of-work performance management.

7. Absence of a “plan” for addressing underperformance

Highlighting performance gaps is pointless unless there is a plan to address those gaps. The lack of a performance improvement plan leads to a wasted performance management opportunity.

Addressing these issues can not only lead to better managerial and employee performance, but also better organizational performance. But how are companies tackling these challenges?

The road to better performance management

Here are some logical solutions to the performance management challenges discussed above:

• Competencies/skills gaps – Competency gaps should be highlighted for improvement and better performance management, then proactively addressed. Appraisers may suggest more training, better oversight, or even assign coaches and mentors to address such gaps.

• Irregular performance activities – As part of a robust performance management process, frequent reviews, check-ins, and other feedback are essential. Don’t limit performance improvement feedback to annual/semi-annual cycles only. Real-time feedback (in-the-flow-of-work) management (observe, instruct, encourage, coach and evaluate) can lead to better performance at all levels.
• Lack of objective assessment – Suggested tools to address objectivity in assessments include implementing systems such as 360-degree assessment, on-the-job assessment, goal-based management, peer assessment, and trait/behaviour-based assessment.
• Irrelevant job descriptions – Clearly explain an employee’s role within a team and the larger organization, discuss performance expectations, and ensure clarity on how performance is measured. Set attainable and measurable (SMART) performance goals as part of the job definition. Link business goals to an individual’s job description and their performance against those descriptions.
• Insufficient feedback – The root cause of such inadequacy often lies in casual feedback (“Needs improvement” or “Work on better communication”), or giving feedback long after a potential “learning moment” has passed. Providing concise but clear feedback, and across a broad spectrum of performance metrics, is a great way to address this issue.
• Inadequacy of formal assessment systems – Performance management should not primarily be a ‘timed’ or overly formalized process. When managers and supervisors act as front-line coaches, or “in the flow of work” or “in the moment” performance reviewers, their actions will have a significantly better impact on performance than semi-annual or annual measurement systems.
• Absence of a “plan” for underperformance: As part of a performance management plan, implement a robust performance support system. Elements of the plan include consultation and advice, recommendations for additional training, proposing refresher courses, continuous skill improvement, or assigning mentors.

Organizational performance (ie, profitability, competitiveness, brand loyalty, reputation, pricing power, market share growth) depends on high-performing employees. And ensuring that employees perform at their best depends on better management of that performance. If supervisors do not perform performance management properly or if inherent problems with performance management systems are continually ignored, organizations can also lose talented and experienced employees to the competition.

Originally published on cinema. com.