What is performance management

Everyone knows that managing employee performance is one of the keys to successful management, both in terms of people and results. Performance management is understood to be the process of defining and aligning expectations for work, monitoring performance, evaluating results and implementing improvement and development actions. It is an ongoing process that mobilizes different participants and encompasses several classic HR processes .

It is common to use the expression “performance appraisal process” or “performance appraisal subsystem” to designate all phases of performance management. But differentiating these terms brings clarity, since we can divide this management, which is more macro level than just the evaluation, in a few steps :

• Performance planning and negotiation: 

  This is the phase that starts the process. Have you ever stopped to think that it’s impossible to measure performance without having well-defined standards and expectations? In this beginning, the employee and the manager establish the expected tasks and behaviors and negotiate the necessary resources for their realization.

• Performance monitoring: 

  this step indicates the analysis and adjustments that those involved make before the actual assessment. During the period, the manager becomes aware of the employee’s performance when he meets him in meetings, observes his work and receives reports, for example. Thus, if there is any deviation or need for a change in planning, it is not necessary to wait for the evaluation moment. In this phase, both the leader and the employee follow up on the work.

• Performance evaluation: 

  here comes the evaluation itself. It is the period of periodic collection of data on the performance of employees and can also be understood as an instrument.

• Development actions: 

  it doesn’t make sense to leave the performance evaluation without any direction. It is at this stage that those involved commit to taking the necessary actions to improve their performance.

  

That is, performance management happens all the time, it is cyclical and broad . It’s even in hiring , when we choose candidates expecting them to perform as well as the best employees in the company. It is in decision making about people, such as relocations and promotions, and is directly related to human development.

What is performance appraisal?

Once we understand performance management, it is already obvious that performance appraisal is a step in this more global process. It can also be understood as a tool , as its objective is to measure the data to be analyzed. It may or may not be used in performance management, but it is highly recommended that the tool be used, as it brings objectivity to this performance management.

From the perspective of performance appraisal participants, it serves to bring objectivity and clarity to the analysis, as well as informing the development plan and future work plans. For HR, it is important that valuation data go beyond this individual level of analysis. The data should be systematized , compared and used for decision making.

An important dimension of performance appraisal is its periodicity . It is important that it is reapplied from time to time. This period can be three months, a semester or a year, depending on the needs and conditions of your organization.

There is a lot of other information about this stage of performance management, such as the types of assessment, benefits and possibilities for using the results. If you intend to apply or improve your process, access all the information in our performance review guide .

Difference between performance management and performance appraisal?

This difference between performance management and performance evaluation seems simple, but it can hide major flaws in practice. If a company manages performance using indicators and other data, without carrying out a systematic performance assessment, it runs the risk of having an information- poor process .

On the other hand, if an HR sector puts the assessment into practice and understands that it is synonymous with performance management, the case is even more serious, since the process is incomplete . This organization will probably stop collecting data, without using it more broadly and strategically.

This makes leaders and employees less involved in the assessment, as they fail to see meaning in a process that does not bring results. Over time, data becomes less reliable .

In addition, HR wastes the effort of designing and running the performance appraisal questionnaire if its results are not used for anything. In fact, no people management process can be without further action, right? Activities per se, without clear objectives, are no longer part of a strategic HR’s scope of work.

One of the ways to promote strategic action is to keep up-to-date on management trends.