Not just once a year – Performance Coaching
A critical part of the manager/employee relationship is open communication between the two. What is expected from the employee and how well are they accomplishing their responsibilities. How should they expect you to lead them. Most Companies have a formal Performance Management Program used to evaluate performance on an annual basis, but informal, on-going performance coaching is critically important. Reviewing performance should not just be an annual event, but rather a continuous cycle.
More specifically, performance management:
- is a shared responsibility between you and each individual who reports to you; some of us forget this
- provides mutual understanding between the manager and employee regarding what is expected of the employee and how well the employee is meeting those performance standards; Employees can’t meet expectations, if they don’t know what they are.
- empowers the employee to perform a variety of tasks, and face new challenges for growth;
- sets and monitors progress against clear goals;
- includes regular documentation of performance;
- includes timely feedback on performance between the manager and employee;
- includes discussion on professional development;
- recognizes hard work and success; not just areas for improvement!
An effective performance management program provides many benefits to the organization and to its managers and employees. Good performance management results in:
- focused movement towards organizational goals;
- informed employees;
- more successful and productive employees;
- more meaningful work for employees;
- better working relationships between managers and employees; Mutual respect
- increased communication;
- legally defensible management decisions;
- all around better quality of interaction.
Remember regular communication and feedback doesn’t need to be complicated or a long process, it just needs to be regular. Some simple steps and commitment is all you really need.