[MUSIC] Hello everyone, and welcome to session two of this online course, where we will be discussing the performance management cycle and its importance in performance management. This particular session is designed to give you the tools, which in turn you can use to design an effective performance management cycle. What is the performance management cycle, and why is it important? In order for the performance management process to be efficient and effective, supervisors and managers must master the process, and apply it consistently. Therefore, performance management involves much more than just assessing performance. It is a continuous cycle that involves a number of steps, which are in place to ensure that performance management is conducted in a way that is beneficial and constructive to the employees and organization alike. Thus providing managers with the desired outcomes. As a cycle that continues throughout the year, effective performance management aligns the efforts of managers or supervisors and employees with organizational objectives. Promotes consistency in performance reviews and motivates all employees to perform at their best. This process should be conducted with fairness and transparency. Many employers or managers now treat performance management as an ongoing cycle of activity which connects an organization's culture, business goals, and strategy to individual performance and contribution. But what does it involve? There are many versions of the performance management cycle, often depending on the organizational strategy and managerial needs and expectations. Also, depending on the type of organization, the management cycle may take place over a year's period or month by month. Generally speaking though, performance management will not work very well if it's only seen as an annual process. The performance management cycle works best if it's used as a series of mini cycles throughout the year. Then, when it comes to a more detailed review and planning session, there should be no surprises. Regular performance review keeps managers in constant touch with what is happening and helps build a more effective performance management process. In this session, we will demonstrate, analyze and explain a typical performance management cycle which contains five stages to consider when implementing a performance management scheme. These five stages are stage one, planning, stage two, developing, stage three, monitoring and performing, stage four, reviewing, and stage five, rewarding. So let's now look at them, one by one. Stage one, planning. The first stage of the performance management cycle is to plan. At this stage, manager and employee get together in order to first evaluate the employee's current role and performance. Identify areas for improvement and then establish clear and specific performance expectations and set achievable targets. By involving employees in the planning process, they're able to understand the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be done. During this stage, a helpful tool to this process is for managers and employees to agree on setting S.M.A.R.T. Objectives. Meaning goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and relevant, and time-bound. By implementing smart goals, employees are able to structure and monitor their goals and objectives. And work towards a certain objective with clear milestones and an estimation of the goal's attainability. Stage two, developing. The second stage of the performance management cycle is to improve an employee's current expertise, but also to develop new skills and knowledge as well as abilities and potential. This is mainly achieved through training, giving assignments that introduce new skills or high level of responsibility, improving work processes or other methods. Development efforts can encourage and strengthen good performance and help employees keep up with changes in the workplace. This stage is also about providing support to an employee at all times, and ensuring that the appropriate systems and tools are available to maximize performance expectations. Stage three, monitoring and performing. Monitoring and performing is about consistently measuring the performance and providing ongoing feedback in relevant to simple ways to enable and support them in achieving their goals. Ongoing monitoring provides the opportunity to check how employees are doing and deal with potential problems or obstacles early on. Stage four, reviewing. Reviewing is all about evaluating employee or group performance against the goals, criteria and standards that had been agreed during the planning stage. By using a number of tools such as the 360 degree feedback, self-assessment, competence based assessment, etcetera. A review will examine the results, both tangible and intangible. And determine where to concentrate efforts, as the cycle returns to the planning stage. Stage five, rewarding. If all the objectives have been met, the final stage of the performance management cycle is to reward employees. By rewarding employees, managers acknowledge the employee's contribution to the organization, and provide incentives to further motivate and engage them. There are many ways to acknowledge good performance. From informal recognition to formal reward and recognition programs. So hopefully, by now you will have a clear idea of what a performance management cycle is, and the stages that it involves. In our next session, we will discuss one of the most basic tools of the performance management process, the performance appraisal, thank you. [MUSIC]
