What are the challenges of performance management?

Planning is essential for performance management, and it must be done in a personalized way, considering the needs and objectives of the company. This allows directing the actions and tools of fair management to what is most relevant in the organizational context.

Changes in the scenario

The market changes all the time, either due to the country's economic situation, or due to the insertion of new competitors and services, for example. Therefore, development management must be flexible, allowing the company to shape its objectives and strategies according to the scenario in which it operates. More details available on performance management definition.

Failure to choose metrics

As you have seen before, choosing the right indicators is essential to obtain data relevant to the needs and goals of the company. Failures in choosing these metrics can distract the manager's attention from the real problems of the organization, making performance management difficult.
Evaluations with large time intervals
Evaluations with large time intervals are not enough to manage the company's performance, since it is built daily by professionals.

In addition, these large intervals impair communication between manager and employee, generating little feedback to guide the development of skills.

Lack of integration between the tools used

Performance management is only efficient when the tools are integrated and coordinated with each other. Each has a specific function, but the information obtained from them needs to be integrated to facilitate data analysis and decision making.

  • The role of Executive Coaching in employee development
  • The executive coaching is geared to the reality of management.
  • Therefore, it can help in the development of employees based on performance management.

 

Executive coaching is a process that provides tools for managers to make a diagnosis of the current moment experienced by the company and outline objectives consistent with the business strategy. Its role is also to help managers to map the potential of company professionals and support the development of weaknesses.
The objective of executive coaching is to promote the growth of each individual, providing processes and alternatives to achieve the desired state. It is a great option for managers who seek knowledge and expertise to manage the company's talents, promoting the development of people in an efficient manner.

What is performance management?

What is performance management ? We talked to many HRs in our day to day who do not know very well the definition that definition or confuse performance management with performance evaluation .
Herman Aguinis, one of the greatest academics in organizational / industrial psychology, whose books are a must-read for any HR professional who is serious about the topic, defines performance management as “the ongoing process of identifying, measuring and developing the performance of individuals and teams, and the alignment of this performance with the strategic objectives of the organization ” (Aguinis, 2009).

To manage is to measure and improve or measure to improve. Vicente Falconi defines management as "solving problems". In both cases, performance management (we use performance and performance interchangeably) can be further defined as measuring and improving performance, or solving performance problems. In any case, it is clear that within performance management there is a component to measure and another to improve or develop, and that performance cannot be separated from the company's strategic objectives . Performance management is a process that aims to create or configure a work environment in which all employees can enhance their skills. Within this context, the way in which the interaction with each individual is made is defined.

It is based on the main occurrences that arise in daily life, so that all events offer some type of learning. Therefore, this management goes beyond a traditional approach, in which an annual evaluation meeting is planned. In fact, it is a methodology that surpasses any tool or form of tracking performance or achieving goals. Precisely because of these characteristics, performance management contributes to following in real time what happens. Thus, it is possible to make decisions more quickly and base them on accurate data. In the same way, it is easier to define objectives and achieve them efficiently and effectively, as well as to reduce costs and increase profitability. To reach this level and ensure the continuous improvement of processes, it is necessary to base management on five aspects: evaluation, monitoring, control, planning and improvement. In this context, it is up to the HR manager to develop activities that contribute to the good individual results of employees. Among the expected actions are:

  • Define functions;
  • Determine clear objectives;
  • Offer support and feedback to professionals;
  • Perform the performance analysis;
  • Train employees for different skills.

In turn, the worker also has responsibilities. He needs to complete four steps in order to be rewarded for his work:

  • Understand the expectations of the organization, as well as the objectives and goals outlined;
  • Prove that it met what was expected;
  • Correct flaws;
  • Plan training to overcome obstacles.

Keep in mind that one of the main purposes of performance management is to link the employee's performance and the results obtained to extra remuneration. Therefore, the professional tends to become more motivated and the company has an easier time retaining talent.

What is performance management for?

Performance management exists, ultimately, to improve the company's performance through the performance of each of its employees, individually or collectively. A company's performance can be measured in several different ways. At the beginning of the century, perhaps the only performance aspect that interested an entrepreneur was the profit that was left over at the end of the month for the company's shareholders. Over the years, other aspects have been added to a company's performance concept. The second half of the 20th century showed that profit by itself can be a very myopic measure of performance, by ignoring how well prepared the company is to continue generating profits for its shareholders in the future. Under this discussion was born the Balanced Scorecard , which defines some dimensions of the performance of a company that must be evaluated together, in a balanced way:

  • Financial: its growth, health, cash generation, profitability etc;
  • Customers: customer satisfaction, market share, etc;
  • Internal processes: innovation, operational aspects, services, etc;
  • Learning and growth: employee satisfaction, skills, training etc

The performance management that we are concerned with in this article is the one that passes through the people of the company and generally lives under the responsibility of the human resources area. We are interested in the processes that, among other things, develop the performance of the company's employees so that the company's results improve, no matter how it defines its performance (we strongly believe in a collection of metrics and complementary goals, as indicated by the Balanced Scorecard).


The clarity that any performance management process or program has the main objective of improving the company's performance is fundamental and is often lacking for several HR professionals. If not, the process is not working properly. But how does this impact of HR performance management occur on the company's performance management?


Performance development


The relationship between the development of a company's employees and its performance is straightforward.
By development we can understand an increase in the capacity of individuals to produce results (or to contribute to the results of a group) through improvements in their productivity. The improvement in productivity can be understood as:

  • Do more with less";
  • increase your scope of responsibilities;
  • do activities with greater impact or leverage;
  • improve the quality of the work performed, among other possibilities.

The goal of developing the performance management process is most likely the one with the greatest return on the company's performance - and perhaps one of the most neglected.
As they are traditionally designed, performance management programs are more oriented towards measuring performance (which, as we will see, feeds the company's administrative and talent management processes) than the production of inputs and guidelines so that participating employees can become involved. become better at what they do.