Over the last twenty years whenever I’ve been asked if we deliver anything on performance management the conversation very quickly turns to helping managers deal with difficult people / situations. This is a subject that we can certainly help with, however on many occasions when we start to dig a little deeper the scenarios presented to us have developed due to managers shying away from taking action a lot sooner.
At Future Proof we believe in taking a proactive approach to managing performance and the ideal would be to start performance management the day an employee joins the business. The ability of a manager to set clear and measurable objectives even on your first day will provide direction and guidelines regarding the quality of work required.
The information gathered from an effective method of monitoring performance can then be used for identifying and giving feedback on both good and poor performance. A constructive and objective approach to giving feedback on poor performance allows a manager (in a timely fashion) to work with an employee to implement supportive actions that are focused on improving levels of performance. On-going monitoring is important to observe the progress being made and if any further action need to be taken.
Just as important as offering feedback on poor performance, we must also recognise and reward (if appropriate) those who do a good job. Even if they have successfully completed the job they are paid to do, why shouldn’t we say ‘well done’ or ‘thank you’? Employee engagement is a key trend across UK businesses and making employees feel valued and having a sense of belonging can only increase levels of employee engagement.
