Strategies for managing
performance
Strategies for managing performance exist to develop a high-performance
culture and achieve increased organizational effectiveness, better results for
individuals and teams, and higher levels of skill, competence, commitment
and motivation. Managing performance is a continuing responsibility for
managers and team leaders. It is not achieved by a once-a—year performance
appraisal meeting. Individual employees are responsible for managing their
own performance but may need guidance and support in doing so.
Managing performance strategies need to recognize in the words of
Purcell (1999) that, in circumstances of lean production, employees increasingly come to possess knowledge and skills that management lacks:
‘Employees need to be motivated to apply these skills through discretionary
effort. And it is often the case that the firm’s business or production strategy
can only be achieved when this discretionary effort is contributed.’
Strategies for managing performance are concerned with how the
business should be managed to achieve its goals. They will refer to
performance measures such as the balanced scorecard (Kaplan and Norton,
1992) that direct attention to four related questions: 1) How do customers
see us?, 2) What must we excel at?, 3) Can we continue to improve? and
4) How do we look to shareholders? But performance comes from people,
and performance management processes as described in this chapter focus
on how the performance of individuals and teams can be improved through
performance and personal development planning.