The Basics of Managing Employee Performance

Ineffective management of low-performing personnel presents various challenges that can reduce your overall productivity. What’s more, significant problems could arise for your company for years to come.

Employees who aren’t performing well on the job might cause a decline in team spirit, leading to subpar teamwork and decreased production. Then there is the expense of firing, rehiring, losing revenue, bad PR, or exposing the company to liability. So, what do you do? You look towards managing the performance of your employees.  

What is Performance Management?

An organisation can meet its objectives more effectively and efficiently by leveraging performance management to monitor and control various activities and outputs. 

There are many different ways to measure and improve an organisation’s performance, from the individual performance of a single employee to the efficiency of entire departments.

So, how can you achieve employee satisfaction and a healthy bottom line by implementing effective performance management practices? 

By following the steps given below.

The ABCs of Managing Employee Performance

Analyse

• In your daily encounters with your staff, you should be organically analysing their performance. Do you have any thoughts or observations to share? 

         A task may be left unfinished because you asked the particular employee to complete it, or you may receive work, but the
quality is subpar.

• If you observe that an employee’s performance isn’t up to mark, you should tell them immediately. The critical part of the process is when an employee asks why you are suddenly questioning their performance. 

          You will be able to refer to and reinforce your performance management strategy if you keep it handy.

Be Consistent

• If you are going to handle employee performance, one of the most critical things you can do is establish a fair and consistent approach for all your employees. 

         Standard-setting and standard-meeting should be a shared responsibility among all employees. 

• Ideally, you should be able to evaluate the performance of your staff without any bias or being considerate of personal situations. 

Conduct Meetings

• You must pick the right place to hold your performance reviews. You need a place where you feel at ease. Ideally, you should take it easy from the get-go, as these meetings can be highly personal.
• You can invite a support person to the meeting once you have decided on a place, so long as it is clear what the purpose of the meeting is and that the individual is welcome to bring them along. Please make a note if they do not intend to bring a guest.
• To begin, explain why you’re holding the meeting and then work through each performance difficulty, allowing the employee to reply. Whenever possible and appropriate, demonstrate the present level of performance. For instance, the number of breaks, sales, or calls taken.
• Employees may have ideas on how to improve their performance, so inquire. Keep an open mind when it comes to expressing your ideas. If necessary, make further suggestions to aid in the process of progress. You must also clarify the degree of performance required and the timelines for achieving it.
• The meeting should conclude with you asking the employee if they have any other comments or questions and summarising the discussion’s outcomes and the future steps.

Document

We can’t say it enough. Employees and their supervisors should sign off on job descriptions, objectives, and evaluations before finalising them. As a result of this paperwork, everyone knows what to expect. It also allows for two-way communication about one’s past, present, and potential future performance.

Evaluate

You should keep tabs on each other’s development after establishing job standards and employee goals. Use interim sit-down meetings in addition to formal annual reviews. 

Discuss the employee’s progress toward their goals and any new tasks or challenges that may be preventing them from achieving their objectives. There should be adequate written documentation for each meeting.

Performance Management of Blue-Collar Workers

Now that we are familiar with the basics of managing employee performance, let’s look at blue-collar specific performance management. Here’s how your organisation can go about it.

• Invite the company’s blue-collar workers to participate in frequent meetings. Motivate your workforce to provide input on how to enhance their working environment, processes, and the equipment they use.
  
•  A higher degree of trust and positive involvement for everybody engaged is fostered by allowing staff to participate in frequent meetings.
• Identify safety and manufacturing processes that need improvement. Providing the right tools and equipment is essential to enhancing workers’ productivity, safety, and morale.
  

          Employee morale can suffer if management ignores their demands for more modern or suitable equipment and supplies.

• Evaluate each employee regularly. Use this time to highlight the accomplishments of certain employees and discuss any issues that may be bothering them one-on-one.

• Determine the company’s long and short-term goals for each of its employees and its divisions. Encourage healthy rivalry across departments and reward those who go above and beyond.

• Offer challenging tasks to people who are dedicated and capable. Employees will be able to learn new skills as a result of this. An effective way to motivate employees is by giving them the option to try out other roles or participate in new projects.

A robust performance management infrastructure is key to blending employee needs with the company goals; it enhances the work culture. Many employers find performance management a challenging task, as it requires significant time, resources, and investment. 

Performance management can be a cakewalk if you hire the right employees, to begin with. BetterPlace can help. Not only can you hire exceptional and verified candidates, but also offer delightful —onboarding and upskilling— experiences, including employee-centric benefits.