Performance ManagementManaging, Measuring and Rewarding

Human Performance

Presented byKathleen O’HalloranEducation Director

NICSA

19 September 2002 NICSA Human Resources Forum 2

Performance Management: Why is it so

important?• A manager’s most sacred

responsibility • Corporate results• Employee satisfaction and

retention• Fairness• Litigation and documentation

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Performance Management: Why is it so

hard?• Worries and woes:

– ______________________________– ______________________________– ______________________________– ______________________________– ______________________________– ______________________________

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Performance Management:

Why is it so hard?

~ plain and simple ~

it’s just human nature to want to be liked

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Measuring Performance• What is performance?

• What is a goal?

• Valuing results vs. effort

• Staff vs. line positions

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What is performance?

~ activity ~

• Characteristics of performance– __________________________– __________________________– __________________________– __________________________

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What is a goal?•Specific

•Measurable

•Attainable

•Realistic

•Time-based

~ activity ~

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Valuing results vs. efforts

• When “giving it your best shot” doesn’t count

• Corporate America values results• Staff vs. line positions

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Effort statements

• I tried my best• I’m in early and stay late every day• I work so hard• I spent all weekend on this• I trained 98 people on Retirement

Plans this month• I made 7 sales calls this week

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Result statements

• I sold 3 memberships this month• The new Retirement Plan reps,

whom we trained last month, answered 100 calls last week, with a 92% accuracy rate.

• Southwest Airlines had an 87.1% on time arrival rate for June 2002.

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Measuring Performance• Measure against a standard, not

against another performer

• Use hard data– statistics– tasks/projects completed– results identified– end user satisfaction ratings

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Measuring Performancecont.

• Use anecdotal information if representative

• Be objective in thought and language

~ activity~

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Measuring Performance via BARS

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales

Quality of Work:Leaps tall buildings at a single bound

Leaps tall buildings with a running startCan leap short buildings if prodded

Bumps into buildingsCannot recognize

buildings

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BARS cont.

Promptness:Is faster than a speeding bullet

Is as fast as a speeding bulletWould you believe a slow bullet?

Misfires frequentlyWounds self when

handling guns

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BARScont.

~ activity ~

“An Evening Out”

Consider what the behaviors are that make us happy to tip 25% in

a restaurant

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Three Major Rules of Thumb

1. Don’t gloss over negative performance

– “those niggling annoyance factors”– at least record it, even if it doesn’t

lower the rating– this year’s annoyance will only

blossom into next year’s problem

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2. Don’t emptily praise– “She’s the best thing to hit the

company since the Founding Fathers.

– He’s an exceptional performer.

– You’re doing a great job.

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3. Be specific– You exceeded your sales quota by 17%.

– Your fund’s performance has been in the lowest quartile for its peer group for the past three quarters.

– Your java script enabled us to roll out Account Access by the deadline.

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Giving feedbackEffective feedback is:

• Frequent

• Immediate

• Specific

• Understandable

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Effective Feedbackcont.

• Positive vs. punitive

• Meant to separate the great performer from the OK performer from the poor performer

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Factors that can distort performance appraisals

• Bias

• Rating personality rather than performance

• Overcrediting their personal background

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Distorting Factorscont.

• “Halo” or “Horn” effect

• Lack of clear standards; measuring against outdated standards

• Leniency/severity

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Distorting Factorscont.

• Limited use of the rating scale

• Inadequate observation

• Inappropriate time span

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Distorting Factorscont.

• Contrast effect

• Overemphasis on uncharacteristic performance

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Improvement-based feedback

• Recognize/name the problem

• Show its impact/result

• Name the remediation

• Ask if that’s reasonable; gain agreement

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Practice:

When you ___________________,

the result is __________________.

Starting ______, I’d like you to________.

Do you foresee any problem with ______.

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Writing a sound, balanced appraisal

• Be specific• Be balanced• Document, document, document• These are the things that go to

court when you do

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The Performance Appraisalwhat not to do

• Copy last year’s; just change the date

• Make everyone’s the same• Use them to punish past wrongs• Use them to champion your friends• Use them to shake the proverbial

dust from the proverbial footwear

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The Performance AppraisalSystems

• Numbers 1 - 5 – did I ever tell you the one about the

3.67?

• Letters D, C, S, NI– or about the “condemnable” one?

• Continuum of performance scale

- or about the accursed cursor problem?

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Performance Appraisal Systems - the secret

• There is no perfect system• People hate being “rated”• You might as well label them as

Goldfinch, Blue Jays, Robins, and Sparrows

• It’s the conversation that counts.

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Writing the appraisal

• Have quarterly/weekly? performance chats

• Keep notes on performance observations

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Writing the appraisal

• See performance feedback as an ongoing process, not a yearly event

• NEVER let the performance appraisal be the first time someone hears of a problem

• Or, conversely, some worthy achievement

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Writing the appraisal

• Famous last words: don’t wait til the last moment

• Do the “hard ones” first

• Schedule time to write these

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Delivering the appraisal

It is nowhere more clear than during a performance appraisal, who

holds the power in the relationship

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Tips for delivery

• Schedule a time; let them suggest a time

• Allow at least one hour

• Find a private spot

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Tips for delivery

• Ask the employee: “How would you like to do this?”

• Be aware of where you sit

• Don’t become alarmed/tyrannical if employee disputes the appraisal

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Pay for Performance

Rewards

Performance

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Pay for Performance

Rewards

Performance

Performance low; rewards low

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Pay for Performance

RewardsRewards

Performance

Performance high; rewards low

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Pay for Performance

Rewards

Performance

Performance low; rewards high

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Pay for Performance

Rewards

Performance

Performance high; rewards high

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Pay for Performance

• An Evening Out

• the Little Red Hen phenomenon

• The Good Chip Lollipop

~ activity ~