What type f training is required to make adequate use of performance management systems?

Training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills, concepts, rules, or changing of attitudes and behaviours to enhance the performance of employees. For an organisation that newly starts implementing Performance Management System, the need to train their employees on the system is vital. All employees should understand the process, how it works and what is expected from them as an Appraiser or Appraisee. Therefore Training is required to make adequate use of Performance Management and training should be an ongoing process, not a one off decision.

• Why the organisation values performance appraisals and how individual performance benefits the organisation.
  Before implementing the Performance Management System in an organisation, all employees starting from the top until the bottom should have a training schedule throughout the year. The benefits and opportunities with this new system, is about retrieving the maximum output of each and every employee, in order for the organisation to be productive, efficient and profitable. Therefore with the help of HR, training will be organised in order to deliver instructions to both managers and employees in how to use and participate in Performance Management System.

• The structure of the process and its relationship with compensation
  Training structure and process with relation to Compensation need to be opened to all individuals within the organisation. Employees should know exactly what they need to achieve in terms of goals and objectives. They need to have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the organisation structure in order to be well performers and be rewarded accordingly. Consequently those employees, who do not perform as expected within the organisational standards, will have to bear the consequences, for example cancellation of bonuses, no salary increased, or no reward in terms of benefits. They should understand that the system is fair according to reward and recognition.

• Know how to collect suitable facts concerning job performance
  The managers will have to learn the whole process and one of the processes is to observe and analyse the job accomplishment and performance of their employees and collect valid evidence. This can be done by using appropriate tools and techniques. One can be having a log book where the manager will note all the good and bad performance of the employee and use this during the Performance Appraisal Interview. They can use memory aids to record information like behavioural diaries and critical incidents files or an electronic diary.

• How to conduct Performance Management Interviews
  When conducting Performance Appraisal Interviews, the subordinate should not feel threatened during the interview, he or she should feel at ease to express their views and to influence the interview. The Appraiser should be sympathetic, helpful when leading the Performance Management Appraisal Interview; he should invite participation of the employee and be supportive. All these skills cannot be acquired easily; therefore all appraisers should have training on this most important aspect of Performance Management. The training should cover the aspect of how to give constructive feedback to job holders which will be accepted by them. The way to give feedback will enable employees to develop themselves and perform effectively in their job. The appraiser should talk clearly about the good and bad things the employee had done and afterwards, let the give his or her point of view and discuss in a friendly manner.

• The meaning and application of the rating criteria
  Managers should be aware that the rating criteria have been worked using job description. They need to know how to rate employees regarding their job performance. There are some typical rating errors that managers should avoid when assessing their employees. They are:

1. Halo/Horn – The rating is based only on one aspect, not on the overall performance of the job holder.
2. Leniency /Strictness - The rater is either too easy or too harsh when rating performance.
3. Recency/Primary – The rater only remembers either recent or old events only.
4. Central Tendency – Rating all employees as average when individual employee performance actually varies.
5. Contrasts Effects – Instead of applying a common standard to all employees, tend to compare performance of one employee to another.
Obviously the managers won’t avoid these errors without being told, and through training they will learn and understand.

How to use Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
The development of BARS and Behavioural observations scales will help to improve rating scale by placing descriptions of behaviour along a scale. The managers should be trained on how to do behavioural sampling and that forms part of their daily job, and from that will get positive outcomes for evaluations.

• Establishing performance objectives and measures
  Often the most difficult part of a planning meeting is finding appropriate and clear language to describe the performance objectives and their measures/ indicators of success. How to set objective should be understood clearly to Managers and training will eventually help to improve their skills. The objectives and the indicators need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.

• Coaching and Counselling
  Managers should be trained on how to be a good coach and counsellor. The poor performers need to be coached and sometimes need help to solve their problems either work related or personal ones. Everybody doesn’t have this required skills, they need to learn how to develop them and use them with their employees.Through all these trainings Appraiser and Appraisee cannot conclude that the Performance Management System will not work in their organisation. They should be able to make adequate use of these trainings in order for the system to be a success.