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Performance
management is the systematic process by which an agency involves its employees, as
individuals and members of a group, in improving organizational effectiveness in the
accomplishment of agency mission and goals.
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Employee performance management includes:
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The revisions made in 1995 to the Governmentwide performance appraisal and awards
regulations support sound management principles. Great care was taken to ensure that the
requirements those regulations establish would complement and not conflict with the kinds
of activities and actions effective managers are practicing as a matter of course.
Additional background information on performance management can be found in the
following articles:
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Effective managers plan their work. Planning means setting performance expectations
and goals for groups and individuals to channel their efforts toward achieving
organizational objectives. Getting employees involved in the planning process will help
them understand the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be
done, and how well it should be done.
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The regulatory requirements for planning employees' performance include establishing
the elements and standards of their performance appraisal plans. Performance elements and
standards should be measurable, understandable, verifiable, equitable, and achievable.
Through critical elements, employees are held accountable as individuals for work
assignments or responsibilities. Employee performance plans should be flexible so that
they can be adjusted for changing program objectives and work requirements. When used
effectively, these plans can be beneficial working documents that are discussed often, and
not merely paperwork that is filed in a drawer and seen only when ratings of record are
required.
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Effective managers see to it that assignments and projects are monitored continually.
Monitoring well means consistently measuring performance and providing ongoing feedback to
employees and work groups on their progress toward reaching their goals.
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Regulatory requirements for monitoring performance include conducting progress reviews
with employees where their performance is compared against their elements and standards.
Ongoing monitoring provides the supervisor the opportunity to check how well employees are
meeting predetermined standards and to make changes to unrealistic or problematic
standards. And by monitoring continually, supervisors can identify unacceptable
performance at any time during the appraisal period and provide assistance to address such
performance rather than wait until the end of the period when summary rating levels are
assigned.
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Effective managers evaluate and address the developmental needs of their employees.
Developing in this instance means increasing the capacity to perform through training,
giving assignments that introduce new skills or higher levels of responsibility, improving
work processes, or other methods. Providing employees with training and developmental
opportunities encourages good performance, strengthens job-related skills and
competencies, and helps employees keep up with changes in the workplace, such as the
introduction of new technology.
Carrying out the processes of performance management provides an excellent opportunity
for supervisors and employees to identify developmental needs. During planning and
monitoring of work, deficiencies in performance become evident and can be addressed. Areas
for improving good performance also stand out, and action can be taken to help successful
employees improve even further.
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An effective manager will, from time to time, find it useful to summarize employee
performance. This helps the manager look at and compare performance over time or across a
set of employees. Organizations need to know who their best performers are.
Within the
context of formal performance appraisal requirements, rating means evaluating employee or
group performance against the elements and standards in an employee's performance plan and
assigning a summary rating of record. The rating of record is assigned according to
procedures included in the organization's appraisal program. It is based on work performed
during an entire appraisal period. The rating of record has a bearing on various other
personnel actions, such as granting within-grade pay increases and determining additional
retention service credit in a reduction in force.
Note: Although group performance may have an impact on an employee's summary rating,
a rating of record is assigned only to an individual, not to a group.
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Effective managers understand the importance of using rewards well. Rewarding means
recognizing employees, individually and as members of groups, for their performance and
acknowledging their contributions to the agency's mission. A basic principle of effective
management is that all behavior is controlled by its consequences. Those consequences can
and should be both formal and informal and both positive and negative. Good managers
don't wait for their organization to solicit nominations for formal awards before
recognizing good performance. Recognition is an ongoing, natural part of day-to-day
experience. A lot of the actions that reward good performance — like
saying "Thank you" — don't require a specific regulatory authority.
Nonetheless, awards regulations provide a broad range of forms that more formal rewards
can take, such as cash, time off, and many nonmonetary items. The regulations also cover a
variety of contributions that can be rewarded, from suggestions to group accomplishments.
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Managing Performance Effectively. Good managers have been practicing effective
performance management all their lives, executing each key component process well. They
not only set goals and plan work routinely, they measure progress toward those goals and
give feedback to employees. They set high standards, but they also take care to develop
the skills needed to reach them. And they use formal and informal rewards to recognize the
behavior and results that accomplish their mission. All five components working together
and supporting each other achieve natural, effective performance management.
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