How to Improve Your Evaluation with a “Performance Management” Employer

Typically, the only person who dreads your annual performance evaluation more than you is the manager who wrote and delivers it. Classic performance evaluations create stress for all involved.

Performance Management Employer Goals

The classic employee appraisal structure is being replaced with performance management systems by many employers. This philosophy targets specific goals.

• Creating clear and concise job descriptions and responsibilities. A common source of confusion, unclear job descriptions often affect performance reviews. When supervisor and/or employee are mystified by true job duties and responsibilities, stressful and difficult performance reviews result.
  

• Negotiating agreements for achievement-based performance objectives. Achieving agreement on performance objectives results in more dispassionate and accurate consensus between management and employee on performance evaluation content.
  
  
• Offering valuable education and training. Performance management employers recognize the value of employee education and training. They try to incorporate this commitment into employee evaluations and HR policies.
  
  
• Providing consistent employee coaching. Positive coaching and mentoring is a critical component of performance management environments. Non-intrusive mentoring delivers workplace and career benefits to both employee and employer.
  
  
• Receiving meaningful feedback. The value of employee feedback cannot be over-emphasized. Honest feedback is the most valuable component employers receive, as it reflects the true condition of the workplace.
  
  
• Offering significant promotional opportunities for employees. In all but the smallest companies, internal promotions improve employee morale, deliver value, and identify the employer as a valuable career destination.
  
  
• Creating management understanding why valuable employees leave for other opportunities. All employers dislike employee turnover, but it is a fact of management life. Learning the reasons why employees choose other employers, however, is highly valuable information to companies. Performance management companies recognize this value and try to maximize the benefit for the future.

Much more than a stressful, sometimes useless annual employee appraisal, a performance management policy refocuses evaluation goals. Instead of putting your career advancement under the control of one supervisor’s opinion, performance management guidelines combine objective critique with a commitment to improve, not simply judge, employee performance.

Employee Suggestions

Whether your employer is large or small, public or private, cutting-edge or classic, they want you to succeed. Employee success usually translates to company success. Use this common goal to your advantage, as everyone wins.

Once you know your employer embraces performance management philosophies, do not over-stress about employee evaluations. Understand that the company’s focus has shifted to a more important menu of factors.

With a clearer view of the goals and achievements your employer expects, you can target your efforts toward attaining these objectives. Since both you and management are on the same page, you understand expectations long before appraisal date. Use this time wisely.

Take advantage of all this employer policy has to offer. Do not simply assume that the responsibility for your performance is dependent on your employer’s philosophy. Performance management policies are highly employee-friendly, but depend on honestly shared responsibility for both employer and employee success.

Understand that the true goal of performance management is employee development and more success. This is not an adversarial relationship. It is a cooperative philosophy that focuses on what type of organization senior management wants to create. Properly implemented, employees benefit by eliminating the traditional appraisal process and participating in employer policy decisions.

You should recognize the signs when your employer starts moving toward a performance management system or a variation thereof. Management will take some or all of the following actions.

• They will better define your job, particularly its purpose, duties, and responsibilities.
• They will define specific performance goals and the ways they will measure achievement.
• They will explain the priorities related to every job.
• They will outline the performance standards attached to each position, to gain consensus agreement on achievement.
• Instead of annual evaluations, management will schedule regular discussions—maybe, even daily—to inject the always important feedback component.
• Management will offer coaching and mentoring to help employees meet or exceed performance standards.

There is no single textbook definition of the specifics of creating and implement this plan. You should understand that your employer does want to improve your performance, job satisfaction, and value to the company—and yourself. Take this opportunity to enhance your workplace performance and your employee evaluation.

Instead of a once-per-year, stressful meeting to discuss a supervisor’s opinion, you’ll enjoy positive two-way feedback and measurement of your progress toward agreed-upon goals. Take advantage of this policy to increase your skills and accelerate your career.

Source:

http://humanresources.about.com/od/performancemanagement/a/perfmgmt.htm