UK employers have mixed views on the value of performance management, and are failing to use performance management techniques to their full potential (external website), according to research from the CIPD.
Key findings of the survey include the following:
- One in five employers (20%) surveyed believes that performance management has a positive impact on individual performance, while a slightly higher proportion (20%) believe it does not have a negative impact on individual performance.
- The vast majority of respondents ("over 90%") say that performance management best practice should include "regular review meetings as the main activity", but fewer than two-thirds (63%) do this in practice.
CIPD engagement advisor Angela Baron comments:
It seems that although the practice of performance management has not changed significantly over the years, there are still some issues with its implementation and in many instances it is not being used to its full potential.
Earlier this year, IRS benchmarking research on performance management (subscription required) found that while the vast majority (92%) of employers surveyed operate a formal performance management system (covering all employees in all but two respondent organisations), poor performance constitutes a problem "to some extent" in four-fifths of organisations.
But employers are taking action to improve their methods of performance management. More than half of respondents had made changes to their performance management system over the past two years in order to enhance its effectiveness.
XpertHR offers the following practical resources on performance management (subscription required for each):
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Comments (2)
Performance management in the wrong hands is potentially a disaster for any organisation. Unfortunately many of those who champion the measuring of performance do not understand why imposing KPIs produces a deterioration in performance. There is a lack of understanding as to the complexity of the performance mechanism, and this naivety results in the system being implemented incorrectly. This in the medium to long-term leads to a dysfunctional organisation, inter-departmental tensions, operational inefficiency, and ultimately deteriorating customer service. KPIs might be fashionable at the moment, but if the KPI advocates do not stop the hype and get to grips with reality, the way KPIs are being implemented at the moment will end in tears.
Posted by Dr Nick Hayter | November 25, 2009 1:05 PM
Posted on November 25, 2009 13:05
Thank you very much indeed for your comment, Dr Hayter, and for raising such crucial points with regard to performance management.
I would be very interested to hear your views (and, indeed, those of other readers of Employment Intelligence) as to what employers can and should do to improve performance management processes, where this is judged to be necessary.
For example, do you think that the key to the problems you highlight lies with addressing which individuals are tasked with performance management?
The 2009 IRS survey of performance management (http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/91509/.aspx - subscription required) highlighted the crucial role of line managers. Our researchers found that:
"The recent trend has been to devolve responsibility for the day-to-day people management issues to line managers and it is clear that this is the key to managing individual employee performance. [...] [A]ll of our contacts indicated that line managers are expected to manage the performance issues of employees within their organisation."
In contrast: "No organisation reported that either HR, employee representatives or senior managers were charged with managing performance."
Please feel free to submit all comments on this issue directly to me, via the comments box on this page.
Kind regards
Michael Carty
Posted by Michael Carty
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November 25, 2009 1:25 PM
Posted on November 25, 2009 13:25