Employee performance management is a comprehensive process aimed at aligning organizational objectives with employee capabilities to enhance performance and support business strategies. Unlike traditional performance appraisals, it is an ongoing cycle involving performance planning, monitoring, evaluation, and recognition. This approach focuses on continuous improvement and development rather than just assessing past performance.

1. Staff performance management
Employee Performance Management - What Is It?
Employee Performance Management is a process for establishing a shared
understanding among the employees about the organizational objectives that need to
be achieved. Further, it is about aligning the objectives of the organization as outlined
in the strategic development plan with the agreed measures, skills, competency
requirements, and the delivery of results of the employees.
The emphasis of employee performance management is on improvement, learning
and development in order to achieve the overall business strategy and to create a high-
performance workforce.
Thus, it is a comprehensive system employed by the modern-day organizations to
bring about the kind of return expected from employees based on the overall
organizational goal.
How It Differs From Performance Appraisal?
Employee Performance Appraisal is a practice of classic organizations involving
painful process of judging past performance without measuring such against clear and
agreed objectives. To many staff, performance appraisal is a cumbersome ritual that is
equated with annual or periodical salary increase.
Meanwhile, employee performance management strictly follows the cycle of
performance planning, monitoring, performance management training and capability
building, employee performance evaluation and rewards and recognition.
Accordingly, performance appraisal is a part and parcel of the whole performance
management process. It shifts the focus away from just an annual event to an ongoing
process.
The Performance Management Cycle
A good performance management process follows the tried and tested cycles:
1- Performance Planning. This involves the setting of a mutually acceptable
performance standard (Key Result Areas; Key Objectives; Key Performance
Indicators of quality, quantity and time) and drawing a clear road map to achieving it;
2- Monitoring and Capability-Building. This covers monitoring performance on a
real-time basis (or anything close to it) and matching it with what is expected to
determine gaps and needs for improvement. Interventions that range from coaching
and counseling by the direct superior to formal classroom or field training are
provided;

2. 3- Evaluating Performance. This involves evaluating inputs (before the fact or leading
indicators) and outputs (after the fact or lagging indicators), proper analysis and
adjustments so that correlations between both are established. An appropriate and
reliable management information system (MIS) is the main basis of an objective
evaluation process;
4- Rewarding and Recognizing Good Performance. Granting of rewards and
recognition are immediate and direct. Setting correct performance standards enables
one to identify exemplary accomplishments and reward them appropriately. In this
manner, the practice of rewarding poor performance sadly happening too often in
many traditional organizations can be prevented.
The bottom line of the whole performance management process is not about keeping
score of staff performance, which is not worth anything without the other
components. This is about helping employees succeed and in the process helping the
organization succeed also, for what is an organization but a group of people working
together to achieve a common goal.
Though employee performance management requires considerable amount of
investment and should be effectively and efficiently done, its benefits goes far beyond
achieving peak performance and high workforce motivation.
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