Performance Plan: The Key to Performance Management
Performance management is essential for a business to run smoothly. It ensures that goals are achieved and efficiency is maintained. If you are experiencing difficulties in your company or with your employees, here are some basic performance management solutions that may help you get back on track.
First, review the goals for your organization. If you don’t have any goals, this is a good time to make some! Goals should be feasible and “SMART” – specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic, and time-bound. This way you can analyze your results and set new goals if needed. It is most helpful to make goals in terms of the results you hope to achieve.
Second, it is a good idea to evaluate the current results of each employee to see if they are directly contributing to the company’s profit-making ability. Sit down with each employee to review the company’s overall goals and the employee’s current results.
Third, set some individual goals, and mark a date to meet again to review the employee’s subsequent results. Prioritize these goals and results. If it is more valuable for him or her to be completing a certain task, make that more important and therefore worthy of a higher “score” in an evaluation.
Fourth, define how exactly you will evaluate the employee’s work and provide a means for his or her goals to be measured in terms of quantity, quality, timeliness, or cost. For example, you might track his or her number of sales, completed projects pre-deadline, arrival times, etc. Set standards to assess the results: “exceeds expectations”, “meets expectations”, “does not meet expectations”, etc.
Fifth, provide a reward for the employee’s success. Motivation is key to increasing performance. If the evaluations are to be quarterly or bi-annually, perhaps you could offer a raise if expectations are exceeded. Other rewards could include bonuses, gift certificates, or something as simple as a preferred parking spot. Make whatever the reward is equal to the difficulty of the task.
Finally, make sure you have the employee’s input as you create your performance plan. This should be a document that describes all of the above–the organization’s goals and desired results, the employee’s current results, the employee’s goals according to priority or weight, how the new results will be evaluated, what standards are expected, and what the compensation will be.
It is vital that the employee understands his or her role in the performance of the company as a whole. Developing a performance plan is one way for your staff members to see where they fit into the big picture. Do this with each of your employees, and watch their performance improve.