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Performance Management.
The Ultimate Employer Guide.
Contents
Part 1
Strategic Performance Management
Page 1
Part 3
Managing Poor Performance
Page 5
Part 2
Performance Appraisals
Page 3
Part 4
Monitoring and Managing Remote Employees
Page 10
This Guide has been compiled on the basis of general information current at the time of publication. Changes in circumstances after publication may affect the completeness or accuracy of this information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, currency and reliability of the information in this guide, and to seek professional advice where necessary. Nothing contained on this website is to be interpreted as a recommendation to use any product, process or formulation or any information on this website. For clarity, Employsure does not recommend any material, products or services of any third parties.
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Performance
Management Strategy
For most business owners, performance management implies managing an employee’s poor performance. In fact, performance management should be about inspiring employees to perform to the best of their ability. If an effective performance management strategy is in place, then there is less likely to be underperformance as the employees could be more motivated, more productive, and also more likely to stay with the company – which will reduce costs associated with staff turn-over and replacement in the longer term.
Many employers conduct annual performance reviews where the employee’s performance is evaluated over a period in the past. The problem is the feedback may no longer be relevant, or it may be too late to make any changes or improvements as the moment has already passed.
Performance management should be about empowering the employee to reach future goals and grow within the business. This can be achieved by providing continuous informal feedback and skills coaching to help employees improve and develop.
Feedback should be constructive and provide guidance on how to take positive and timely
Getting the most from your employees is a daily challenge.
This guide is designed to help.
Part 1
action and must be delivered in a way the
employee does not feel they are being pressured or micro-managed, but rather their manager genuinely wants to help them succeed. The aim is to provide informal frequent feedback on how to meet goals and improve skills, and to reward employees with promotion pathways and additional benefits and incentives as they progress. Here are four steps to a successful performance strategy:
Performance Management | E-Guide 2
Define Roles, Manage Expectations, Set Goals
Set clear expectations from the outset, ie. in the job advertisement, throughout the interview process, and especially during the successful employee’s induction into the company. Make clear how the employee’s role fits into the bigger company picture and set personal goals for the employee to challenge and motivate them.
Communicate to Motivate
To set appropriate goals that challenge employees, managers need to get to know the employee’s strengths and weaknesses and determine what drives them to success. Open, constructive communication can gain the employee’s trust and make them feel supported.
Clear instructions, resources and training, development opportunities and reward and recognition for goals and challenges that are met, are key.
Performance Recognition
Reward positive behaviours as well as the meeting of KPI’s or sales targets. Give a shout-out to the best team player, for example, and make sure every employee feels their contribution is appreciated, however small. Ensure individual employees feel valued by recognising them in a way that will mean the most to them, a voucher for one, lunch for another, a paid day off for a third.
Though the above will not guarantee Employees won’t underperform from time to time, if you have a performance strategy that inspires your employees you are on your way to a better business.
Develop Leadership and Coaching Skills
Managers need training to improve their management and coaching skills. They must learn how to deliver feedback in a constructive and positive manner in a way that an individual employee will respond best to. Managers must also set clear objectives and provide practical guidance on how to meet them.
Performance Appraisals
Appraisals are for making and recording an assessment of an employee’s performance, potential and development needs at a specific moment in time in terms of company goals and objectives. Appraisals should provide an opportunity for discussion to take place regularly, in a more formal or structured manner, on the overall view of work, content, workloads and volume, and to review achievements since the last appraisal and to agree on objectives for the next.
A performance appraisal can be a means of improving the performance of the whole organisation. If employees and their managers share expectations and collaborate to achieve results, appraisals can increase individual employee engagement, reduce employee dissatisfaction, drive performance, and identify training opportunities, and in turn boost a positive company culture.
It is important to remember that appraisals should be conducted regularly as part of an open communication strategy which focuses on frequent (daily) informal feedback and coaching, supported by skills training and development opportunities, and backed by recognition and reward.
There’s an old saying: if it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed.
It’s especially true for performance.
Part 2
Appraisals focus on employee ‘skill’ and should not be used as part of the disciplinary process, which deals with an employee’s ‘will’ (or generally a lack thereof) to comply with established company policy and procedure. An appraisal meeting should not be used as an opportunity to raise disciplinary issues with an employee. These should be
addressed separately as part of a disciplinary process where appropriate.
Store all your documents including employee appraisals with secure
cloud based software BrightHR.
Performance Management | E-Guide 4
Annual Performance Review Statistics
Here are some statistics on conducting annual versus more frequent performance reviews:
Research by Seek found that 51% of New Zealand employees found not having formal performance appraisals was detrimental to their development.
Employees in Australia and New Zealand are more engaged if they are recognised for good work, have opportunities for learning and development, and have managers who help them with their career development according to a global 2020 study on employee experiences.
According to the same employee experience study, 59% of employees are more engaged if they get feedback as opposed to 42% who said their company doesn’t provide any.
Performance Management | E-Guide 4
Managing Poor Performance
Poor performance can be a major barrier to business growth and success.
Let’s look at some ways to manage employees who aren’t measuring up.
Part 3
There are many reasons for poor performance, some of which have nothing to do with work. The employee could be unwell or be experiencing problems in their personal lives, in which case offering support in terms of extra time off or referral to the company Employee Assistance Programme may be appropriate.
Some employees may lack the will to perform which manifests in unacceptable behaviour, for example not complying with company rules and procedures or being rude and disruptive in the workplace. Depending on the circumstances, disciplinary action may be required rather than performance management.
Bullying
An employee may perform poorly for a number of different reasons, some of which lie outside the workplace. An employee may be underperforming because they are being bullied or harassed.
It is not bullying if the manager gives instructions to the employee when it is reasonable for the manager to do so in the circumstances, and the instructions are given in a manner that is appropriate and that follows established processes within the business.
If the employee is underperforming because of differences with another staff member or because they are being bullied or harassed, then the employer may need to implement a grievance process to investigate the matter with a view to resolving it, in which case please call us for further advice.
Performance Management | E-Guide 6
Define the Problem
What is the issue? An employee may not be aware they are performing poorly because they don’t understand what is expected of them in terms of goals or standards they are meant to meet.
Employees may not have the tools, training or resources to meet employer standards and expectations.
Review all the information you have (including any documentation) and when you have all the facts and identified the problem, develop a plan to resolve it.
Meet with the Employee
Try and resolve any issues informally first rather than conducting a formal performance appraisal or review. Meet with the employee and see if they understand what is expected of them.
Explain where you think things are going wrong and what you think needs to change and give them a chance to respond and explain.
Then discuss solutions.
The employee may need skills training, or more coaching or mentoring, or maybe a buddy to show them the ropes.
At the end of the meeting you should give the employee a letter to confirm what you discussed and list the steps that you have agreed will be taken towards improvement.
Make a Plan
If the employee’s performance has not improved following an informal approach, you can take a more formal approach– and put them on a Performance Improvement or Management Plan (PIP/PMP).
You should issue the employee with a formal invitation in writing outlining what it is you intend to discuss. Allow the employee the opportunity to respond and explain any reasons for the underperformance.
Following the initial meeting, if still appropriate
to do so, you can invite the employee to a
meeting to advise them that you have considered their responses and would like to implement a Performance Improvement or Management Plan (PIP/PMP).
Keep feedback constructive and explain that you want to help the employee achieve their full potential. Make clear what your expectations are, set specific, realistic and achievable goals, and make sure any appropriate training and guidance on how to complete the tasks and duties within a given timeframe is included in the plan. Allow for time to check-in with the employee regularly – hourly, daily, or weekly depending on the nature of the tasks – to see how they are tracking.
Again, give the employee a letter confirming what you have discussed, letting them know they are now on a formal plan to manage their performance, together with a copy of the plan.
Monitor, Review and Document
You should get the employee’s feedback on the final plan before implementing it. Once it is in place you should review it to see what is working
and what isn’t as maybe a different strategy or approach is required for certain tasks in future.
However, once the plan has been implemented you will need to consult with the employee and get their agreement before making any changes to the plan. Monitor the employee’s progress against the plan’s objectives and document everything in BrightHR to ensure you can review and reference appropriately.
Possible Outcomes
If the employee is on a formal, documented PIP or PMP and there is no improvement within the initial timeframe, you should meet with them to review their progress. If there is no satisfactory explanation, you may consider issuing a formal written warning if appropriate, and then extend the plan. You may need to go through the process and extend the plan a number of times depending on the circumstances. You should make it clear from the start what the possible consequences in the long-term are if the employee continually fails to meet the improvement goals, as ultimately it may lead to the employee being dismissed.
Performance Management | E-Guide 8
Define the problem: If employees are not performing you need to work out why and whether it is work-related
Invite the employee to a meeting in writing
Meet with the Employee and explain your concerns Take notes of the meeting
Listen to your employees response Do they understand the concerns?
Are they equipped to perform the job?
Are the issues work related?
Make a plan and set goals with the employee including time frames Monitor ongoing performance and lead check ins
Review the plan
Does it need to be extended?
Is the employee meeting agreed objectives?
Document everything and store for review and reference in BrightHR In the instance you need implement a performance management plan for an employee, follow these steps.
Performance Management
for Underperformance Checklist
Performance Management
FREE WEBINAR
INCLUDES:
Managing Poor Performance The Difference Between Bullying
and Reasonable Management Performance and Annual Reviews Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) Managing Employees During COVID Disciplinary and Termination Procedures And more
Click to watch on demand OVERVIEW
Dealing with underperforming employees can be difficult puzzle for managers and employers to put together, especially when deciding whether placing the employee on performance management plan is necessary or reasonable.
Adding to the difficulty is the ease at which a manager’s performance management actions may cross the line over to bullying. Or worse, they could potentially lead to a personal grievance claim.
In this webinar, Gabby Adds one of
Employsure’s senior workplace relations
advisors will walk you through best practice
performance management, help you better
understand your obligations, and give you
practical tips you can implement in
your workplace.
Performance Management | E-Guide 10
Monitoring and
Managing of Remote Employees
The emergence of COVID-19 created a new remote workforce. How can we track employee performance outside the typical workplace?
Part 4
COVID-19 has changed the way businesses operate, possibly permanently. Many employees work from home, and some have realised they can do their job remotely from any location and have moved to relieve COVID-19 associated social distancing stress in the city. But how does an employer keep tabs on an employee who works remotely?
Workplaces and work have been traditionally built on face-to-face and physical interaction. Facial expressions, tone of voice, body posture; these, and much more, inform any interaction takes place in a face-to-face environment. Fortunately, the many online platforms available today mean these social cues are not lost.
Here are some suggestions for managing staff remotely:
Regular Check-ins
You may be worried that your employees may not work as hard or as efficiently without physical supervision. On the other hand, many employees may struggle with less managerial support or feel
their remote manager is out of touch with their needs.
Consider setting up a regular daily call or online meeting with your employees to ensure they are still on track, and to see if they need any help, even if all seems well. Regular communication can make it easier to detect performance issues earlier on, as well as offering your employee an opportunity to raise and resolve any issues they may have.
Show Progress
Encourage accountability and transparency by providing staff with specific timeframes for tasks, online communication platforms, or project/task management software where team members can keep in constant touch and demonstrate the progress of their work, maybe by sharing their screen or ticking off tasks as they complete them.
Communicate Constantly
Mix it up until you discover the communication method that works best for you. Online video calls are generally considered to be the best for meetings where discussion is required, and email
gives clarity to formal directions, whilst internal chat or messaging systems are good for frequent informal communications. High Speed Internet, Instant Messaging Software and Cloud Storage are essential to employee’s successfully working remotely.
Reward and Recognise
Whilst daily check-ins can be for the discussion of work-related matters, consider taking some time to have some fun, play games, offer small rewards for positive behaviours and share thoughts and ideas, so remote employees remain connected to their colleagues and the business and are motivated to keep performing.
BrightHR helping you manage your people and business.
Contact us to find out how BrightHR people management software can help you manage and store your essential employee records and documents.
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Lesley Jacobs | Country Charm Furniture
If I could do one thing different, I definitely would have employed the services of Employsure a lot earlier. They’ve taken a lot
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Renata Watene | Occhiali Optometrist
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Employsure is one of the largest provider of employment relations and workplace health and safety services in New Zealand.
Why Employsure?
At Employsure, we believe all New Zealand employers, no matter the size, deserve access to comprehensive, quality, honest advice and support that is scalable to the needs of their business.
Unlike big corporations, small businesses don’t always have in-house HR and legal departments to interpret the complex language of the
Employment Relations Act. Changes to legislation and workplace compliance are becoming
increasingly complex and difficult to manage, especially for overstretched small business owners. Employsure was established in response to these challenges. It is our aim to ensure New Zealand business owners have access to cost- effective, professional advice on all employment relations and work health and safety issues.
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Employsure provides customised documentation, unlimited advice, policy and procedure review, legal representation for small business owners.
Being an Employsure client means no surprises – we keep our clients updated about legislation changes, wage updates and essential compliance issues. Our expert advisers are available 24 hours a day to guide employers through any difficulties they may face.
