MEASUREMENT APPROACHES

Now that we have considered the process, our attention turns to the measurements, which are more specific determinants of performance.

Regular Practice versus Deliberate Practice

It is useful to begin by distinguishing between two concepts:

• Regular practice (repetition without a goal);

• Deliberate practice (repetition with a goal – practicing with a purpose).

Regular practice suggests repeating a task, at regular intervals, without consciously aiming to improve with each repetition. Deliberate practice means repeating the task with a specific goal in mind and making adjustments after each attempt (based on quantifiable measurements) to improve on the previous attempt. Successful people are known to use deliberate practice (also called reflective practice). Aguinis (2013:90) emphasises the following five steps:

1. Approach the performance with the aim of increasing it with each repetition.

2. Determine what is happening during execution and why you are executing the task in a particular way.

3. Seek performance feedback at regular intervals from a range of sources.

4. Establish mental models (muscle memory) of tasks performed well, in different contexts, and against specific goals.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 on an ongoing basis.

• What is the significance of the five-step approach to performance management? Use an employee that you manage and a particular task of theirs to understand the significance;

• How does this make you think differently about individual development plans, coaching, and feedback?

© Regenesys Business School 42 Measuring Task Performance and Contextual Performance

When considering measurement two important factors emerge:

• Task performance. This refers to the fundamental activities that transform raw materials into the goods and services that the organisation produces. This also includes the activities that assist in the transformation processes, for example planning, co-ordinating, and supervising activities that enable the organisation to function effectively.

• Contextual performance. This refers to behaviours that contribute to organisational effectiveness. Examples include to persist with enthusiasm, exert extra effort, be punctual, volunteer to carry out tasks outside of one's job description, make constructive suggestions, co-operate with others, follow policies and procedures, act with loyalty, etc)

An employee can be highly proficient at a task, but underperform in contextual performance. This suggests that a performance management system must measure both factors.

• Task performance will vary across jobs, but contextual performance is fairly similar across tasks and hierarchical levels;

• Task performance is likely to be role prescribed whereas contextual performance may not be explicitly stated; and

• Task performance is mainly influenced by abilities and skills (cognitive) whereas contextual performance is mainly influenced by personality (eg perseverance).

Aguinis (2013) provides several persuasive reasons why both task and contextual performance dimensions (measurements) should be included in performance management systems:

• It is difficult for an organisation to compete successfully if its employees do not engage in positive contextual behaviours, specifically those required by certain industries;

• Contextual behaviours can have a profound effect on customer satisfaction (eg extra effort to satisfy customer needs);

• Teams are here to stay and contextual performance is essential to team work; and

• Employees who are measured (rated) are more satisfied with a performance management system that includes contextual performance (believe it is a fairer reflection on performance).

When managers or supervisors measure performance they incorporate contextual dimensions (consciously and even subconsciously) although these are not made explicit. This leads to subjectivity. The preferred approach is to make the contextual factors explicit. Research has demonstrated that organisations that include both measurements (task and context) are more successful. (Aguinis, 2013:94)

© Regenesys Business School 43 Measuring Voice Behaviour

Aguinis (2013:93) defines "voice behaviour" as:

"A type of behaviour that emphasises expressions of constructive challenge with the goal to improve rather than merely criticise, it challenges the status quo in a positive way, and is about making innovative suggestions for change and recommending modifications to standard procedures even when others, including an employee's supervisor, disagree."

(Aguinis, 2013:93) The behaviour of challenging the status quo is non-conformist and can be seen as a threat to some supervisors or managers. However, in a healthy organisation that is receptive and adaptive to change, "voice behaviour" is included as a measurement and reward..

Perspective on What to Measure

The founder of the Chinese company Haidilao does not believe in formal performance evaluation based on quantifiable financial measures (Liang, Marler, and Cui, 2012). Senior management believes that store managers are not responsible for financial outcomes like sales revenue or profitability. Rather, the company pays close attention to employee initiatives, customer satisfaction, and employee development at each store. They argue that managing these three key aspects well will result in outstanding financial performance (Liang, et al, 2012). This example provides a useful reflection point: Care should be taken in terms of what really drives performance as this has implications for performance management system design.

Behaviour, Results, and Trait Approaches

The following diagram (Grote in Aguinis, 2013) shows the interrelationship between the three approaches to measurement: Behaviours, results, and traits.

FIGURE 4: JOB PERFORMANCE IN CONTEXT

(Grote in Aguinis, 2013:95) We consider each of the elements.

An individual (or team) with certain

traits

In a given work situation

Engages in certain behaviours

That produce various results

© Regenesys Business School 44 Behaviour approach

The behaviour approach records what people do on the job and excludes other factors. For example, a sales person may not be able to close a deal because of a downturn in the economy in spite of applying all the right behaviours. This suggests, that in some instances, the link between behaviours and results may be unrelated and it is therefore better to measure the behaviours.

Additionally, when the outcomes occur in the distant future (months or years), behaviour measurement is preferred. Also consider that if the results are beyond the employee's control, it makes more sense to emphasise the measurement of behaviours as shown in the next example:

Consider two assembly line workers – one on a day shift and the other on a night shift. Measuring their performance in terms of results may be unrealistic, since breakdowns might be fixed more timeously during the day than at night. This places the night shift worker at a disadvantage: Both employees may be equally competent and responsible, but the given work situation precludes the night shift worker from performing equally well.

(Aguinis, 2013:96) Results approach

This approach focuses on the results (outcomes) produced by the employee. As such, it ignores the traits and behaviours used to achieve those results (eg it measures number of errors, sales, etc). This measurement approach lends itself to quantitative measures that are easily understood.

When this approach is used, less time is spent on defining behaviours. The results approach is suitable in scenarios: where:

• The outcome requires experienced employees who are skilled in the needed behaviours: A qualified technician can only implement certain tasks based on his or her qualification. Therefore the behaviours are a prerequisite of the task and do not need to be measured. Only the outcome is important, eg the number of calls completed in a day.

• Behaviours and results are obviously related (some tasks are highly structured and the task could not be completed at all without following the necessary procedures, eg a delivery person must have a delivery list, a route plan, and the requisite documentation and goods.

Therefore, measurement might only be concerned with accuracy and timeliness in completing the schedule.

• Results indicate consistent improvement over time. When a consistent improvement in results is demonstrated then it is evident that the employee knows what behaviours and traits are required. This is only a matter of reaching the target results.

• When there are multiple ways to do the job. In creative or innovative environments employees may be required to be resourceful in the ways in which they are able to complete the tasks. Management has little concern for the means. They are rather concerned with the end result, eg a chef could use multiple ways to compile a menu but it is the end result that counts. By attempting to control and measure the behaviours the restaurant could impede the chef's tacit or experiential knowledge.

© Regenesys Business School 45 Task Questions

1. Identify examples in your job description where performance should be measured using a:

1.1 Behaviour approach 1.2 Results approach

2. Discuss why this makes a difference in terms of performance management.

Trait approach

This approach ignores specific situations, behaviours and results but focuses on the individual performer, for example, using:

• Cognitive abilities (eg intelligence); and

• Personality traits (eg conscientiousness).

Professional human resource practitioners with knowledge of applied psychology typically use this approach. Implementing a performance management system that includes the traits approach is complex since traits are under the control of individuals. In some cases this is not likely to change over time.

In some cases, employees may also view this approach as unfair because they feel some traits are beyond their control (eg concentration spans). Aguinis (2013:99) points out that certain traits (eg intelligence) do not necessarily lead to desired behaviours and results as we pointed out in the disparity between effort and talent. Further, if the work situation is undesirable, even an intelligent and conscientious employee is not likely to engage in behaviours conducive to achieving the desired results.

There are, however, instances were the trait approach to measuring performance might be desirable. Aguinis (2013) explains this in the example below:

As part of an organisation's business strategy it may be anticipating drastic structural changes (eg into international markets) that will lead to the reorganisation of most functions and the resulting reallocation of employees. In such circumstances, it may be useful to assess the traits possessed by the various individuals so that fair and appropriate decisions can be made regarding the future allocation of human resources across the newly created organisational units.

(Aguinis, 2013:100) While the above example might only occur in selected instances, it highlights that traits should not be excluded from performance management measurement approaches. However, Aguinis (2013:100) argues that the more popular approaches to measuring performance are based on behaviours and results. The thinking might be that traits should be appropriately assessed during the recruitment stage.

© Regenesys Business School 46 Task Questions

Complete the following four case studies and answer the respective questions in your textbook pp 101-104 (Aguinis, H.

2013, Performance Management, 3^rd ed., Cape Town: Pearson Education):

1. Diagnosing the cause of poor performance (4-1) 2. Differentiating task from contextual performance (4-2)

3. Choosing a performance measurement approach at Paychex, Inc. (4-3) 4. Deliberate practice makes perfect (4-4)