April 2013

Manage Your People for the Best Performance



Dear Reader,

Managing performance is something that as a manager you will do every day - probably without even realising it.  However, it's not just about training people to do a job and making sure they are doing it to the standard you want them to do it.  Done well, it can really help make a difference to the performance of your team and your business. 

So how do you go about managing the performance of your people, to make it part of what you consciously do every day?  How can you use it to improve your business?  Read on to find out.

 

Best wishes

 

Michelle Prescott


Manage Your People for the Best Performance


Performance management can range from discussing with your people the plans for their daily workload, trying to find out why someone is having regular periods of absence, or dealing with a serious disciplinary matter.

A conscious approach to performance management recognises and accepts that while you hope that your employees will always come to work as planned, do their job efficiently and productively and that everyone will get on as a team - in reality you are aware that this won't always be the case.

External environmental factors will influence things outside of your control; one of the outputs of this is that you will find yourself managing performance.  In addition, when you become a boss, then as well as taking on the management of the work your employees do, you also take on how they do it and their behaviour when they do it.

This means that when you manage people, at some point you will have to deal with a difficult situation, where the work or the behaviour of one of your people is unacceptable to you or to others.  What you do in response and how you do it can make a real difference to the performance of your team. 

What is covered by Performance Management?

It includes ensuring that your team members know:

  • What they have to do and the targets for doing it
  • Standards of performance and behaviour
  • The processes that are in place for everyone to use when there are issues of performance or behaviour.

This means that as the boss, you are responsible for 3 things:

Resources - your people need to be given the resources, tools, training and targets to do their job.  It is your responsibility to provide the right numbers of people with the right level of ability and to provide them with the tools and training they need.  If sufficient resources have been provided but there are performance issues, then you need to find out why,

You also need to make your people aware of the targets and standards you expect them to achieve.  Once you set the targets, you have to monitor them.  If they are being exceeded then congratulate to motivate!  If they are not being met then you will need to take action to find out why.

Required Performance and Behaviour - you need to communicate the standards for performance and behaviour that are required and also follow them yourself.  The performance of people and your team is not just about individuals achieving individual targets - the overall performance of the team can be negatively impacted if individuals don't work together.  As the boss, you can set standards of performance that encompass how people work together, who works with whom, and the overall targets for the team.  You also set standards of behaviour by what you do and how you do it.

Processes - you need to ensure that the processes for everyone to use when there are issues of performance or behaviour are communicated and followed.  These processes may be informal or formal.  Informal processes include having regular one to one conversations with people, when you can discuss the work they are doing, how they are doing it and how they are progressing towards their targets.  Informal conversations can help prevent small issues developing into larger ones.  Formal processes include having a disciplinary and a grievance policy to follow, should they be needed.

The consequences of poor performance management include a negative impact on morale; it will damage performance and productivity and it will cost you in respect of time, money and stress.  All these can be minimised if you take a proactive approach to performance management. 

 




People Management in Action


The European Chapter of the Organisation Development Network, ODN Europe, is holding their annual conference in April 2013 and I'll be giving a poster presentation there.

The title of my presentation will be “Small and Perfectly Formed – Organisation Development in Start Ups and Small Organisations.” I'll be showing cost conscious owners and managers the value that OD can contribute when used proactively in setting up and growing small organisations, including:

  • The opportunities available to smaller organisations, as OD is not just for large organisations or for where a problem has arisen.
  • How to use and embed OD tools and best practice to develop effective and healthy systems, individuals and teams at a time where there can be chaos and stress.
  • Looking at what data is available and what analysis is appropriate for start-ups.
  • How to link OD to the growth decisions and how to measure the value of the investment.

If you'd like to know more, come along to the event on 25-26 April 2013 in London.




www.personapm.co.uk
michelle.prescott@personapm.co.uk