[MUSIC] Hello everyone, and welcome to the course. My name is Katerina Penna, and I'm teaching a number of HR related modules for the University of London's Human Resource Management Program provided by Birkbeck. For the next five sessions, I will talk you through the basic theory and practice that underpins performance management. So you can get a clear understanding of what it is, how it works and why it is such an important tool when it comes to managing people in the workplace. So let's begin. Our first topic invite us to examine, what performance management actually is. Why it is important to manage performance and why it is an essential tool for managers and supervisors. So what is Performance Management? Performance management is a holistic process by which monitors and employees work together to plan, monitor, and review an employee's work objectives. An overall contribution to the organization. Therefore, Performance Management is the continuous process of setting objectives, assessing progress and providing ongoing feedback to ensure that the employees are meeting their objectives and career goals. But why should we manage performance? As a manager, you need to adopt performance management practices that will facilitate continuous review and ongoing development of your department or team in order to deliver organizational objectives. The underlying assumption is that by managing the performance of the individual and team, departmental and organizational performance will follow. And by raising individual and team levels of performance, organizational performance will also improve. Equally, when performance of individuals is not managed, this can lead to frustration and discontent amongst team members. Can you explain to me why it is important? Performance management establishes a shared understanding of what is to be achieved, and provides and approach to leading and developing people that will ensure it is achieved. As such, it is an essential element of any monetarial role and will support the managers, supervisors relationship with individuals in a team, but how does it translate into practice? In practice it helps managers and employees, first, work towards common goals. Individual performance drives organizational performance. It is important to ensure everyone understands the organization's vision and goals. How their work fits into the organization and how they contribute to the mission accomplishment. Doing this increases the engagement and improves program delivery. Secondly, to gain a clear understanding of job expectations, when employees and supervisors have a clear understanding of their specific job duties, any ambiguities in the workplace are eliminated. Each individual is held accountable for their own duties and responsibilities. Performance Management helps employees set clear goals and expectations. Thirdly, receive regular feedback about performance. Regular feedback facilitates better communication in the workplace. Performance Management helps employees identify their strengths and weaknesses. It also allows for opportunities to hear and exchange views and opinions away from the normal pressures of work. Most importantly though, it provides a better understanding of how performance is being assessed and monitored. This builds employee confidence and adds to an employees contribution in the workplace. Also, to receive advice, and learn steps for improving performance. Performance management can help an employee identify ways in which to improve their performance, and provides the opportunity to discuss career direction and prospects. It presents the opportunity to plan for and set objectives to further develop one's career. Performance management can lead to additional training or mentoring which can act as a basis for developing future succession plans. In addition, get rewarded for good performance. Performance management offers a variety of rewards for a job well done, such as time off and bonuses and therefore gives employees incentives to perform well and may open the door to career advancement in the future. But why is the role of line managers so important in performance management? Line managers have a central role to play in performance management. They need to ensure that the people or teams they manage know and understand what is expected of them, have the skills and ability to deliver on these expectations, are supported by the organization in developing the capacity to meet expectations. Are given feedback on their performance, have the opportunity to discuss and contribute to individual and team objectives. So what are the overall benefits of performance management? Performance management has many benefits, that the traditional annual evaluation does not. Identifies three reasons to explain why performance management matters. First of all, shareholders, those with a vested interest in the organization, observe better results because the human asset of the organization are top notch, and working in unison towards key goals. Second, managers are more successful because their subordinates are doing the right things correctly. Thirdly, employees experience greater job security, career advancement and better paychecks, thanks to outstanding performance. But are there any problems or challenges with performance management? The performance management system is designed to benefit the organization. But like any system, it may meet with resistance or be unconstructively applied. Many supervisors resist the change from a simple annual performance evaluation process or no process at all to the performance management system for many reasons. For example, a dislike of criticizing employees, lack of skill in the appraisal process, dislike of new procedures and mistrust of the validity of the appraisal instrument. Other reasons the performance management system may fail is because of lack of support from the supervisors and the employees. Unclear goals or lack of support for professional development. So if performed incorrectly, an unsuccessful performance management system can have negative consequences on the organization. Aguines identifies the following dangers of a poorly executed system. Increased turnover, use of misleading information, if performed improperly, an employee's performance appraisal can be incorrect. Lowered self-esteem, wasted time and money, damaged relationships, decreased motivation to perform. Employee burnout and job dissatisfaction, increased risk of litigation, unjustified demands on managers' resources, varying and unfair standards and ratings, emerging biases, unclear rating systems. Because of this incredible negative effect, that an improperly conducted performance management system can have on an organization, the system must be implemented thoughtfully and executed consistently. So hopefully by now, you will have gained a basic understanding of what performance management is. And you will join us for our next sessions which explore its tools and practices. And explain how you can design an effective performance management system. Thank you. [MUSIC]
