People Management With Performance Management

People Management Is About Getting The Most Out of Your People

At some point as your career progresses, you will find yourself with the added responsibility of managing people. But, people management is not always easy, and if you're not sure of the best way forward I suggest you use the principles of performance management to make sure your people are clear about what they need to do, have the support to do it and get open and honest feedback on their performance. This way you will earn a reputation as a people manager who knows how to get the most out of people.

Management Training Courses and programmes include such topics as global business, managing knowledge, managing change, management practices, employee management, effective management, time management and more. Details of the training objectives and some training providers are given to develop your management skills.

Apply The People Management Approach

This is how you can easily apply this approach to managing people. Any performance management process should answer 4 important questions for your employees:

• Direction: What do I need to do and how well?

• Feedback: How am I doing?

• Rewards: What happens when I do well?

• Support/Development: What happens when I need/want help?

Lets look more closely at each of these:

Direction

Employees are not mind readers. Just because it is clear to the manager exactly what is expected, doesn't mean the employee has the same understanding. Having a detailed discussion about exactly what the job requires and any specific priorities is the first step in good people management or performance management. Key points to cover include:

• what needs to be achieved throughout the year

• what data or information (evidence) will be used to measure performance

• the key actions needed to achieve the desired outcomes

Both parties should have a written record of this discussion either in the form of a job description or a set of specific objectives for the next 6 or 12 months. Written documentation leaves little room for misunderstandings or confusion between manager and employee about the expectations of the job, which is the central tenet of good people management practice.

Feedback

Observing the performance of your employees and providing feedback about it should be a routine part of the performance management process. Feedback is most effective in making a difference in work performance when the employee has confidence in the basis of that feedback. And you as the manager will be more confident if your feedback is based on information that you can support.

For this reason the most useful feedback should be based on observed and/or verifiable work-related behaviors, actions, statements, and results. If you can provide specific examples of good and "not so good" performance, your employees will be confident that you have taken time to notice what they are doing and sincerely support them in improving. This kind of effective feedback helps the employee sustain good performance, to develop new skills and to improve performance when necessary. Feedback should be given as it is required - it loses effectiveness if not delivered at the time an event occurs.

Reward/Recognition

All employees need to have a clear understanding of how the reward and recognition system operates in your business. Most probably everyone gets paid a salary for doing their job to a certain level. What happens when an employee performs significantly above that level? How will they be rewarded, if at all? If there is no incentive for employees to be outstanding, then the likelihood is that they won't put in the extra effort. A well designed scheme will clearly identify the rewards and incentives available for strong or outstanding performance.

Support and Development

This aspect of managing performance focuses on current and future skills, behaviours and knowledge. Firstly, the discussion should focus on what training or other support the employee needs to be the best in their current job - identifying skills and behaviours that need to be improved. If you can support the employee in doing their job better, they will have reassurance that their contribution is valued by the business. The discussion should also focus on where the employee would like to go in the future and how you can help them achieve their longer term career goals. If they are being considered for other roles in the business then you will need to identify what new skills and behaviours they need and help them to develop those.

If you are managing people, then people management activities need to take up the majority of your time. Each business can only be as effective as the people that work in it. One of the best ways to ensure your employees are being effective is to monitor and provide feedback on their performance. Setting goals, making sure your expectations are clear, and having regular discussions will help people perform to their best. The payoff for the business is increased employee productivity, knowledge, loyalty and contribution.

Acknowledgment: Megan Tough - published writer, coach, facilitator and speaker - works with business professionals to create outstandingly satisfying and truly successful professional lives. Make more money - have more fun! To learn more and to sign up for more FREE tips and articles like these, visit http://www.megantough.com

So, if you want to earn a reputation as a people manager who knows how to get the most out of people, use this performance approach to your people management issues. It may sound formalised, but in fact you will learn to adapt it as you go along.

Also In This People Management Section

• Dealing With Difficult Managers

• Managing Your Boss

• Job Coaching

• Time Management Tips

• Public Speaking

• Employee Reviews

• Becoming A Sales Manager

• Building The Team

• How To Get Promoted

• Personal Career Development

• Get Your People Motivated

• Are You A Leader or Manager?

• Decision Making & Problem Solving

• Situational Leadership

• Leadership Styles

• Running Business Meetings

You are here: People Management

Read more about Business Management Jobs, but if you’re not there yet, then consider this: the developing leader generally works hard to achieve a high level of 'buy-in' amongst the team and has systems/processes to regularly review individual and team performance. He or she displays sensitivity to situations and individuals. Generally leads by example and is regarded as a motivator of people. People management involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the team and encouraging focused development; you will also need to be competently able to deal positively with conflict situations.

Read more about taking up a Leadership role, then go on to read about Business Leadership.

You should also read about 360 Degree Feedback From 360 Degree Appraisals and 360 Degree Appraisal and 360 Feedback Information, because you may be involved with these processes at some point.

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