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 Performance Management is about.

• Communication, transparency and fairness – so you know what you need to achieve along with, when and how. You will hear regularly from your manager how you are doing and get feedback on your performance.
• You get the opportunity to give them feedback on how things are going and to ask them questions
• It’s about expectations. What is expected of me as an employee and how do my objectives benefit the Organisation and me personally
• Supports managers and their teams to deliver success and enable them to work effectively for the organisation..

How does it work there are 3 steps:

• Setting objectives - You hear about how your role and your objectives are linked to company goals. This linking of your individual objectives and goals to the company goals, helps you understand how you fit in and how your personal success leads to the success of the Organistion.
• Update and record progress this is an opportunity to check with your manager to see how you are doing. You can get coaching and support from them, give them feedback and discuss what support you may need
• End of year review - this is a more formal review of performance You discuss and agree with your manager how you have done throughout the year against your objectives , development and competencies.

Remember, performance management is a process. What is at the heart of it is open communication and good conversations with your manager. This should happen throughout the year and the performance management process is used to support and record it. The review progress helps to ensure that your achievements are in line with the organisations goals and objectives.

• Performance management as a process that will help you succeed in your job.
• You need to prepare for the review meetings. The core of performance management is good communication and two way conversations.
• Listen - how you are doing and where you could improve
• Contribute – your feedback, experiences, successes, challenges, ideas and questions. It’s a two way discussion.
•  To take on board the feedback provided and work with your Manager to make the changes and improvements where necessary to enhance your performance.

Benefits:

• You will hear how you are doing.
• You get feedback, praise and recognition for delivering a great job
• You will better understand priorities and expectations and how these relate to you.
• You get an opportunity to give feedback and also to air any concerns or issues that you may have and work with your Manager to find solutions.
• You get an opportunity to talk about yourself, your role, your performance and your aspirations.
• You own your own performance and development which can be very rewarding.

The setting of objectives is the first step of the Performance Management process. It gives you and your manager the opportunity to discuss your performance and contribution for the year. By making objectives, expectations and performance standards clear, you will be clear on what you need to do to succeed.

Objectives describe what you are expected to do in your job over a period of time (usually 12 months). They are used to help you to focus on delivering what is important to the organisation. When you are motivated and do your job successfully, in turn the Company is successful.

Writing objectives is not easy and can take time, but it is time well spent- especially when you doing this for the first time. It is an opportunity for you to ensure that you are clear of your Manager’s expectations and what it is that you need to achieve. It is also an opportunity for you to ask your manager for the support and resources that you need to do your job well.

You may have heard of the SMART process for writing objectives.

SMART stands for:

• SPECFIC
• MEASURABLE
• ACHIEVABLE
• RELEVANT
• TIME-BOUND

A good tip is to consider the objective in the order MARST – measurability and achievability are the most important considerations (as opposed to SMART).

For each area of activity in a job a good starting point is to brainstorm who, what, when, where, how and why. Then you can get better data and a clearer picture to start to write draft objectives for discussion with you

Once you have written each objective, it is important that you consider all total of objectives to ensure that it is reasonable for you to deliver them all successfully over the defined time period.

Writing objectives is not easy. Invest the time in writing and re-writing them until you and your manager are happy with them and that you are very clear about what it is that you need to achieve, how you will do it and when by.

Competencies (if used by the organisation )

Objectives tend to focus on ‘what’ you are delivering. 'Competencies may be defined as the ‘how’ - the behaviours that individuals must have, or must acquire, to perform effectively at work’ (CIPD, 2011). So this is about how you behave and how this impacts on the way that you deliver your job.

Many organisations set out important behaviours that they believe will deliver long term organisational success in a competency framework. These are defined in terms of what’s important to the Company and what fits with the culture. A competency framework describes and defines each individual competency required by individuals working in an organisation.

There are different types of competencies:

Competencies for all employees based on core values. E.g.:

• Communication skills
• Customer service (but could link to results orientation)

Competencies set by level of employees. E.g. for managerial level employees:

• Influencing
• Leadership
• People Management / Delegation

Competencies set by job. E.g. for IT based jobs

• Software development
• Programme management

When used with objectives, competencies can provide a more complete basis for a discussion on performance. Objectives focus on what has been delivered; competencies focus on how this has been achieved. Often when we receive feedback, it will be based on something that we have done and how it was done – it is therefore useful to review the competencies set to understand what you could have done differently in order to deliver your objectives more effectively.

Before the meeting

1. Prepare	Brainstorm a list of possible objectives - look at your job description, previous years objectives etc Remind yourself of the company and department goals Draft your objectives. Review them against SMART criteria Consider any challenges you have and how you can work with your manager to overcome these. Consider any feedback you have for your manager on the delivery of your objectives
2. Organise	Share the draft objectives with your manager in advance of the meeting (ideally 3+ days)

At the meeting

3. Focus	Focus on the meeting with your manager. Engage! This is your opportunity to discuss your performance, your contribution and your aspirations
4. Listen	Listen to any feedback and suggestions that your manager has for you.
5. Work together	Work together to review and refine their objectives following a SMART format. Work together to develop solutions to overcome possible challenges.
6. Clarity	Understand the performance standards set by the organisation and what the Performance Management process is used for. Ask questions!
7. Communication	Agree how you will communicate formally and informally throughout the year and what information you will need to support performance reviews.
8. Planning	Agree next steps and timelines for completion. It’s important these are clear and understood by both parties.

After the meeting

9. Review

Complete your steps in this process Set up the next formal meeting in both diaries.

This meeting provides you with the opportunity to discuss your role, your contribution and your performance with your manager. Being more connected to your Company is more engaging and can make work more enjoyable and rewarding. This is your opportunity to develop your relationship with your manager and to understand where you fit within the Company.

Performance management should be a positive process that you look forward to because you get the opportunity to talk to your Manager about yourself, your goals and your aspirations. Your Manager can help you to see how you deliver for the Company and help you to focus your efforts on what is important for the year ahead.

During the year you will get opportunities to check in with your manager to see how you are doing, to get coaching and support from them, to give them feedback and discuss what support you may need from them. How regularly this occurs will vary by company. How often it is formally recorded will vary too (from one half-year review to monthly / quarterly reviews). It may involve scoring; again this is determined by company. The process stays the same.

The purpose of the review is to:

• Ensure objectives set at the beginning of the year are being met or are on track.
• Ensure objectives set at the beginning of the year are still applicable ,relevant ,and to make revisions if necessary.
• Discuss any challenges or obstacles you may have in achieving an objective and agree how you and your manager can work together to overcome these challenges, e.g. further training support from your manager and development .
• Give feedback to your manager

Before the meeting

Prepare

Review each objective yourself and assess how well you have achieved it. Consider any examples or evidence you have which demonstrate your delivery and achievements. Focus on facts! Objectivity is key for you and for your manager. Note any measurement data you have, e.g. sales, calls per hour, other KPI (key performance indicator) data. Collate and note feedback you have had from peers, customers, your manager, others in the organisation. Consider any challenges you have and how you can work with your manager to overcome these. What are my achievements ? What objectives did I achieve or exceed What objectives did I not achieve Where could I have done better What improvements can I make to be more efficient or to increase my performance Consider any feedback you have for your manager Understand the measurement criteria (ratings) set by the company, consider the performance standards and assess each objective Determine your scores/ratings for each objective and for your overall performance.

Organise

Share the draft feedback and assessment of your objectives with your manager in advance of the meeting (ideally 3+ days).

At the meeting

3. Focus	Focus on the meeting with your manager. Engage! This is your opportunity to discuss how you are getting on, where you are doing well and where you can consider doing things differently or better in the future !
Listen	Listen to any feedback and suggestions that your manager has for you. Take notes it will help you to develop future development plans and to consider how to build on your strengths and build /improve skills in other areas.
Share	Share your assesment of your performance and your reasons (evidence) for this assesment Share any feedback you have for your manager, e.g.: What do you like about the way they work with you? What could they do more of / less of?
Work together	Work together to review each objective and agree how you have achieved. Clarify your understanding of measurement criteria (ratings) set by the company, consider the performance standards and agree a rating for each objective Agree final ratings for each objective and overall rating for your performance for the year.
Planning	Agree next steps and timelines for completion. It’s important these are clear and understood by both parties.

After the meeting

8. Review

Complete your steps in this process Set up the next formal meeting in both diaries.

At the end of the annual review cycle a formal review will take place which looks back over the year What happen is both you and your manager:

a) Consider performance during the review period (including reviews and feedback during the year)

b) Make a formal assessment of your performance based on the achievement of objectives and if applicable of competencies over the performance cycle.

c) This meeting provides you with the final opportunity to discuss your role, your contribution and your performance with your manager over the performance cycle. This is your opportunity to highlight your achievements and your strengths and consider where you can improve. Preparation, investment and effort during the year can help make this final meeting less daunting, with no surprises - it can be a positive experience for both.

d) Agree a final end of year rating

I am not happy with my review, what do I do?

If you are not happy with your performance review and your rating, consider the following:

• Consider the reasons you are unhappy with your review – areas of disagreement. Write them down and assess them - how objective are they, what evidence do you have?
• Meet with your manager again to discuss the areas of disagreement. Ask more questions; seek out objective feedback (based on evidence and examples).
• Listen to this feedback. Have you understood it correctly? Check your understanding by paraphrasing back and/or commenting on the observations. Don’t jump to conclusions and try not to get defensive! Reflect on this data and re-consider your areas of disagreement
• If you are comfortable ask others for their feedback – peers, other managers. This will provide you with a more balance view and help keep feedback in perspective.
• In addition you can also contact others in your company, e.g. your manager’s manager and or the HR manager (where applicable). Ideally you should only do this after you have consulted and discussed with your manager and you have made them aware of your intentions.

Remember, performance management is simply a process and system. What is at the heart of this is open communication and conversations with your manager. This should happen throughout the year and the performance management process is simply used to support and record it at different times.

Ideally you should try to resolve the issues with your manager through discussions. If this fails and/or you want to take your issues further, you manager or HR manager will outline the Company process you can follow. You may also consult Company policies and procedures (where applicable).

1. Regular feedback is good for everyone

Ask for regular feedback. All feedback is good feedback as it helps you to do your job better and to be more successful in your Company. If you do something new, or something challenging ask you manager for feedback, e.g. so how did you think that presentation went? Have you any suggestions on how I can improve the monthly sales report? Keep communication lines open and build a good relationship with your manager. Agree how you will do this with them in advance.

2. Keep good records throughout the year

Keep regular records of your performance, your achievements and your challenges throughout the year. If you get feedback from another person in the Company, note it. Without good records, performance reviews can often suffer from a “recency” effect ( where what happened most recently is remembered and spoke about only ) .The focus is on activities and performance during the year .

3. Own your own performance

A good relationship forms the basis of great (and easy to do) performance management. Even where you have strong relationships with your manager, make sure your meeting is booked in. Stick to the process, complete the meetings and document the outcomes.

4. Ask for support

If you need help or support in delivering a particular aspect of your job, discuss this with your manager. Don’t wait for a formal meeting to bring it up. Be proactive and identify possible solutions and take the opportunity to discuss and resolve with your manager in a timely manner.

5. Be open

Don’t focus on the negatives. Listen for the positive feedback and consider how you can develop these skills further. If you are getting constructive feedback, ask for examples. Work with your manager to develop solutions and discuss what support you need from them to better achieve your objectives. Be sincere and honest, treat each other with respect.

6. Participate

Listen to your manager, be ready to discuss their feedback and develop solutions. Prepare feedback for them too where appropriate. Communication is a 2-way process and forms the basis of a good relationship with your manager. Regular, on-the-job feedback, both positive and constructive, should be encouraged both ways!