EPMS
EPMS
EPMS
System?
This leads to employees left feeling deflated, unmotivated and unengaged. Managers
are frustrated at the poor levels of team and individual employee performance. Thank-
fully, more and more companies are now waking up to the importance (and resulting
benefits) of effective performance management systems. The first step towards revital-
ising and improving your existing performance processes is to understand what an
effective performance management system is.
Historically, organisations tended to carry out this planning stage once a year. However,
with the business environment becoming increasingly agile and fast-moving, many
organisations are adapting their processes to set“near-term” objectives every three
months. The organisation’s goals and values should feed into performance planning to
ensure that individual performance aligns with the overall strategy of the organisation.
Specifically, each SMART objective should contribute to achieving one or more of the
organisation’s goals.
Similarly, managers need to be checking in with their staff regularly. They must give fre-
quent, effective feedback and use coaching skills to help their team members overcome
challenges and identify opportunities for learning and performance improvement. If this
is left until an end-of-year review, it is too late — objectives and development plans may
end up only partially achieved.
Notice that in the above performance management cycle, there are no arrows between
the four stages. This is because, in reality, the stages do not flow one after the other.
Act and Track should be continuous throughout the year. Reviews may take place at
any point, and planning may take place several times during the year and be re-visited
as the needs of the business change.
Setting Goals
You need to set goals the right way. They need to be meaningful and understood.
Employees should have context as to why these individual goals matter and how they
are furthering organisational objectives. Employees will care much more about their
roles and be much more engaged when they know — and truly understand — how their
job matters.
Goal setting is and should be a collaborative process, which involves meeting with
employees and being transparent about company goals, direction and obstacles. Armed
with this information, employees can create goals which complement organisational
objectives and make daily decisions to further these objectives. Furthermore, when
employees are put in the driver’s seat and allowed to develop their own goals (before
having them approved by their line manager), they experience a heightened sense of
autonomy and ownership over their work. Inevitably, this results in improved employee
performance.
Employees want — and deserve — their managers and leaders to be open and authen-
tic at all times. They don’t want to be kept in the dark when their companies are going
through hard times, especially in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic. They want to be
kept abreast of pertinent information. On top of this, they want real-time communication
while building healthy relationships with their colleagues and managers. This will involve
regular feedback and honest discussion — even when such communication is difficult or
uncomfortable.
Employee Recognition
An effective performance management system should prioritise employee recognition
and reward. Employees should feel valued and appreciated for the work they do and the
effort they put in. If employee recognition is not a priority, this will most likely have
a negative bearing on your voluntary turnover.
Honest and regular feedback and reviews are needed — the more frequent and precise
the feedback, the better individual performance. It’s that simple. Employees want regu-
lar insights into their work, and the better-informed employees are regarding their per-
formance, the better able they are to improve and excel.
Employee Development
No ambitious top performer wants to remain at a company long-term without honing and
developing skills. Advancement and development are important to employees — not to
mention, companies stand to benefit when employees are more skilled and capable.
Having all of the elements of the performance management cycle in place is very impor-
tant, but this will not necessarily lead to effective performance management for your
organisation. There are many other factors in play, such as:
This happens when managers go through the motions, perform reviews and give feed-
back, but they are simply paying lip service to the process. These managers might take
a useful tool, such as personal development objectives, and do the bare minimum with
employees, without revisiting and revising them. This is a huge warning sign of an ineffi-
cient performance management system. If your managers are checked-out, your
employees will soon follow suit.
Businesses these days can grow so quickly that paper-and-pen systems become redun-
dant. These days, technology is more affordable, simpler and more accessible than
ever before. To be truly effective, companies need to invest more in easy-to-use,
streamlined technology.
Your system is focused more on appraisal than on coaching — one way to get employ-
ees to dread performance discussions is to make them feel they are going to be judged
by their manager every time they have a conversation. Rather than tearing employees
down, managers should be a coach. They should be supportive and encouraging, rather
than dictatorial and impatient.