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The University of Oklahoma Human Resources Website

Performance Management Quick Guide

Phase 1: Performance Planning

In the Planning Phase, the manager establishes the objectives or expectations for the coming evaluation period, often in collaboration with the employee.

Objectives …

  • provide an up-front, mutually understood and accepted basis for reviewing and discussing performance results.
  • reduce misunderstandings between the manager and the employee about what performance results he/she is expected to achieve.
  • specify each employee’s role in accomplishing things that are important for the work unit and the organization.
  • help the employee to self-monitor progress by providing clear performance targets.

Types of objectives

Consider what types of objectives are most appropriate for the employee’s specific job for the upcoming performance period.

• Short-range objectives can be accomplished within the performance cycle.

• Long-range objectives might require a full performance cycle or longer to complete, (and will probably have to be divided into two or three objectives, or spread over several “milestones”).

• Routine or maintenance objectives will help you maintain performance at currently acceptable levels, or keep things at a minimum standard.

• Organizational objectives contribute directly to the wider organization (such as establishing a new procedure within a unit).

• Problem-solving objectives can be set to improve performance that has slipped below acceptable levels.

• Innovative objectives are created to stimulate creativity or new thinking, or take a fresh approach.

• Personal development objectives are meant to enhance the employee’s development and his/her long-term performance results.

S.M.A.R.T. Objectives

Specific: Make the accountability or goal clear to the employee so that they know what’s expected.

Measurable: The supervisor needs to be able to determine whether the activity took place and how well it was done.

Attainable: The employee will be frustrated if they are supposed to be responsible for activities that are beyond their control or that cannot be achieved in a reasonable amount of time.

Relevant: Each task should be related directly to the job, a personal developmental objective, or organizational mission or strategic plan.

Time-based: The supervisor and employee should be able to track progress against specified target dates and timeframes.

Performance expectations

Performance expectations are the “how” or “how well” of the objective.  They specify the ways the supervisor can measure whether goals or objectives have been reached and how well activities have been performed.

Quality: How well an activity is performed or to what standard the task is completed. This includes accuracy, appearance of work, usefulness and effectiveness. The measure may be expressed as an error rate or a percentage of errors allowable per specific unit.

Quantity: How much or how many of the results are produced or performed. Numbers or percentages may be used to measure quantity. The manager must have a system to ensure that quantity standards are accurately tracked and measured.

Timeliness: How fast a result is produced or performed.

Manner: The way or style in which a task is performed or produced.

Method: The policies, procedures and technical considerations that are applied to complete the task.

Cost: The effective use of resources including human, organizational and physical resources to complete a task.

With specific guidelines, the employee knows exactly what is expected and the supervisor can objectively determine the rating the employee earned.

Phase 2: Performance Execution

In many instances, this phase is the most overlooked: supervisors and managers who fail to communicate performance expectations, to monitor performance, and to provide feedback and coaching for improved performance miss the opportunity to fully engage employees in the work of the University.

Employees also have the opportunity - and responsibility - to be active participants in the performance management process.

Individual’s Responsibilities

Committing to goal achievement

Managers’ desires and requirements do not become goals until employees or teams choose to expend the time and effort to achieve it. When goals are clear, worthwhile, and challenging, the greater the chances that the employee will be motivated to achieve them.

Goals are not tasks, but results – Outputs.  Goals shift focus from tasks and work habits to work outcomes.

Soliciting performance feedback and coaching

Actively seeking feedback and making use of the data to improve performance. Example: reviewing plans with manager in advance, describing actions to be taken and soliciting assistance.  Manager should have something to contribute; prevents surprises and eliminated any possibility of the manager’s later complaining that an obvious problem was not anticipated

Communicating openly and regularly with manager

Schedule times to just “visit” to discuss performance and projects – put them on your calendar, if it helps, at regular intervals

Collecting and sharing performance data

As projects are completed and goals are achieved, the individual needs to advise the manager of the current status of the objectives that were set at the beginning of the period.

Preparing for performance reviews

The review meeting is a dialogue. Employees are expected to prepare for the meeting and to be an active participant.

Manager’s responsibilities

Creating conditions that generate motivation

What is motivation?  Job satisfaction, drive, enthusiasm, impetus to achieve.

What motivates your employees? Ask them.

Motivators
Demotivators
  • opportunity to achieve
  • chance to accomplish
  • recognition
  • feedback
  • ‘real’ responsibility
  • learn and grow – stretched
  • discretion
  • autonomy
  • stimulating and worthwhile work
  • out of date policies
  • administered unfairly, haphazardly
  • inept or incompetent supervision
  • inadequate salary
  • working conditions
  • bad benefits
  • interpersonal relationships

Motivators deal with job content, demotivators with job context. 

Managers have control over the motivators: delegate high-level tasks, increase opportunities for achievement; increase level of discretion by allowing employee to make decisions; assign project that will cause learning and growth.

Observing and documenting performance

Make a brief and informal note, recording date, the facts and details of the incident, the specific behavior or the employee and the effect on the work or the people involved. 

Update, revise initial objectives, performance standards, and job competency areas.

Successful performance management must be dynamic: conditions change over the course of the performance cycle, standards of performance expected of managers and individuals also need to change.

Providing feedback and coaching

"Feedback is information that has the ability to assist the performer to make midcourse corrections that increase the probability of goal attainment.” Dick Grote

Without an objective and standards that define success in accomplishing the objective, feedback is useless data or opinion.

Performance problems require examination of objectives, standards, and feedback the individual is using to assess his or her performance; if one is defective then it is impossible to achieve a good result.

Coaching for improved performance is critical.

Providing developmental experiences    

Individuals are responsible for their own development, although managers can make developmental opportunities available. Developmental experiences can range from participation in workshops to opportunities “in place” that offer occasions for genuine development.

Reinforcing effective behavior and progress toward objectives

We seek information concerning what activities are rewarded, and then seek to do those things, often to the virtual exclusion of activities not rewarded.

“For an organization to act upon its members the formal reward system should positively reinforce desired behavior, not constitute an obstacle to be overcome.” S. Kerr

Phase 3: Performance Assessment

Manager and employee independently review performance data.

Employee Manager

Completes Self-Assessment (including documentation); copies manager

Drafts performance evaluation; meets with reviewer (or HR if needed)

Schedules and prepares for review meeting

Phase 4: Performance Review

The employee and manager meet to discuss results achieved (what), performance effectiveness (how), summary performance rating, and development progress and plan. 

Closing the Loop: Renewal

This is a repeat of Phase 1, Planning, incorporating the additional data and insights gained during the previous appraisal process.  The manager and employee revise any of the objectives that may have changed over the year and set new objectives and standards for the upcoming performance period;  finally creating the ongoing and continuous nature of the performance management cycle.