Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

Chapter 

25

  Performance Management

343

FIgure 

25.3a

 

Performance management form (part 1)

PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Name:

Forename(s):

Job title:

Department:

Reviewer’s name:

Job title:

PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT

Objectives

Performance measures

Competencies

Agreed actions

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Development need

How it is to be met

Action by whom

Target completion date

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Part 

6

  Performance and Reward

344

FIgure 

25.3b

 

Performance management form (part 2)

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Objectives

Achievements

Competencies

Actions taken

Development needs

Actions taken

Comments by reviewer:

Signed:

Date:

Comments by person reviewed:

Signed:

Date:

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Chapter 

25

  Performance Management

345

The problems [of performance management] are... 

not of ambition or intent, but rather practice and 

delivery. Low rates of coverage and even more 

frequently low quality conversations and non-

existent follow-up are commonplace, in the wake 

of uncommitted directors, incompetent line 

managers, uncomprehending employees and 

hectoring HR with their still complex and 

bureaucratic HR processes.

On  the  basis  of  research  conducted  in  2011  by  

the  Institute  for  Employment  Studies,  Brown  also 

observed  that: ‘The  main  areas  of  concern  [about 

performance  management]  were  the  skills  and 

attitudes of reviewing managers, the consistency and 

quality  of  approach  across  large  organizations, 

the complexity of the paperwork and the value of 

outputs...  Performance  management,  it  appears, 

isn’t working’ (2011: 16).

A  survey  by  WorldatWork  and  Sibson  (2010) 

established that the top three performance manage-

ment  challenges  reported  by  respondents  were: 

1) managers lack courage to have difficult perform-

ance  discussions  (63  per  cent);  2)  performance 

management is viewed as an ‘HR process’ instead 

of as a ‘business critical process’ (47 per cent); and 

3) that they experienced poor goal setting (36 per 

cent).

However well-designed a performance manage-

ment system is, its effectiveness mainly depends on 

the commitment and skills of line managers. Postuma 

and Campion (2008: 47) remarked that:

One of the most dreaded tasks managers face  

is meeting with employees to discuss their job 

performance. These meetings present a dilemma 

for managers. On one hand, managers need to  

give constructive criticism so that employees can 

improve their performance. On the other hand, 

managers do not like to give negative feedback 

because of the bad feelings that often result. It is 

not surprising, then, that managers avoid giving 

accurate evaluations, give overly generous 

evaluations or avoid the process altogether.

They also noted that: ‘Too much attention has been 

placed  on  the  design  of  a  [performance  manage-

ment]  system  and  not  enough  on  how  it  works 

when implemented’ (ibid: 50).

The  e-reward  2005  survey  of  performance 

management  established  that  the  top  four  issues 

concerning  respondents  about  their  performance 

management processes were:

1 

Line managers do not have the skills required 

– 88 per cent.

2 

Line managers do not discriminate sufficiently 

when assessing performance – 84 per cent.

3 

Line managers are not committed to 

performance management – 75 per cent.

4 

Line managers are reluctant to conduct 

performance management reviews – 74 per 

cent.

When asked how they coped with these problems, 

respondents to the e-reward survey emphasized the 

importance of doing the following:

 

●

Involve line managers in the development 

and introduction of performance 

management.

 

●

Train and coach line managers – existing 

managers and, importantly, potential and 

newly appointed managers.

 

●

Get top management to stress the  

importance they attach to performance 

management – by example as well as 

exhortation.

 

●

Keep it simple – do not impose  

a bureaucratic system.

 

●

Emphasize whenever possible that 

performance management is a normal 

process of management and that one of the 

criteria for assessing the performance of 

managers is how well they do it.

 

●

Do whatever can be done to persuade line 

managers that formal performance reviews 

need not be stressful occasions if they are 

conducted properly, but that they can in fact 

provide ‘quality time’ for the two parties to 

engage in a dialogue about performance and 

development opportunities (eliminating 

formal ratings helps).

The impact of performance 

management on 

performance

Performance  management  is  expected  to  improve 

organizational  performance  generally  by  creating  

a performance culture in which the achievement of 

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