In the present scenario, the role of Performance management has evolved as a process where managers and employees both collaborate to plan, monitor and review their work objectives to contribute towards the success of the organization. Performance management is not just an annual performance review anymore, it has become the continuous process of aligning objectives, evaluating progress and setting continuous coaching process to ensure that employees meet their career goals and objectives. 

A performance management is a great measure for rewarding excellence by corroborating individual employee accomplishments with the company’s mission and goals, which makes both the employee and the organization acknowledge the significance of a job well done. By establishing clear performance expectations employees understand what they need to do on the job. Besides, setting standards also helps to play by the rules and have an agreement on the goals. The regular feedback and coaching conversation during the process provides the benefit of diagnosing any issues your employee is facing in the early stage and take appropriate corrective actions.

Tenets of sustainable performance management

Performance management is a planning process for the future and it is developmental and facilitative in nature as managers and employees hold a discussion for fixing achievable goals. It aims to boost performance orientation in the employees so that they strive more for their individual and organization’s development. The entire process revolves around identification, evaluation and development of an employee’s performance through effective management tools like continuous coaching, feedback and periodic meetings. The whole process can be broadly classified into the following stages:

• Work Planning and setting expectations
• Monitoring performance and growth
• Working on improvement of the weak performance areas
• Performance rating
• Rewarding good performance

Objectives and indicators need to be SMART

Specific

You must clearly specify what must be done by an employee, when it is to be done, how much must be accomplished when you set your career goals. 

Measurable

Having quantifiable goals always helps as you can always measure it at the end of the year. Sets your targets basis quantity, quality, time frame and cost.

Attainable

Your goals and objective need to be feasible and attainable as there is no point in setting goals that can’t be accomplished.

Realistic

Goal indicators should match the complexity levels with the employee's experience and capability to ensure the objectives are realistic and can be achieved. 

Time-bound

You must set the time frame within which the performance objectives must be achieved. In most companies, objectives are to be accomplished by the end of the annual performance review time, however setting quarterly goals help you to track the progress better. 

Tips for an effective performance management system:

As a manager, the onus of having a rewarding performance management process fall on your shoulders. So here are a few steps that you can take to achieve this objective: 

• Ensure your set goals are job specific, covering a broad range of jobs in the organization and align it with the organization’s strategic direction and culture
  
  
• Have a collaborative process for setting goals and reviewing performance based on dialogues and effective communication.
   
• Monitor and measure results (what) and behaviors (how) and include both positive feedback for a job well done and constructive feedback when improvement is needed
  
  
• Establish clear objectives with your employees about what they are expected to accomplish. When you develop unambiguous job descriptions and employee performance plans such as key result areas (KRA') and performance indicators, you face no hassles at the end of the review period.
   
• Hire culturally relevant people by implementing a suitable selection process. 
  
  
• Negotiate requirements and performance standards by measuring the results and overall productivity against the predefined indicators.
  
  
• Provide periodic coaching and guidance during the period of delivery of performance.
  
  
• Identify the training and development requirements once you have measured the outcomes achieved against the set standards.
  
  
• Hold quarterly performance development discussions and assess employee performance based on set benchmarks.
  
  
• Design suitable compensation and reward systems to reward employees who do great in their jobs and exceed the performance benchmarks.
  
  
• Provide promotional/career development support and guidance to the employees.
  
  
• Offer constructive and periodic feedback on performance and don’t overlook the importance of recognizing and rewarding employee accomplishments
  
  
• Identify areas of poor performance and create plans for performance improvement. Support staff in accomplishing career goals by identifying training needs and development opportunities
  
  
• Encourage administrative decision-making regarding promotions, incentives, compensation, and rewards
  
  
• Provide legal documentation to display due diligence during legal challenges pertaining to dismissal or vicarious liability which details that an employer can be held accountable by its employees for acts or omissions during the course of employment)

With all these tips and strategies at your disposal, you can easily develop a robust performance management system that will be sustainable in the future. Staying committed and making it work between managers and employees is where the utility of performance management lies.