INTRODUCTION
Performance management reminds us that being busy is not the same as producing results. It reminds us that training, strong commitment and lots of hard work alone are not results. The major contribution of performance management is its focus on achieving results -- useful products and services for customers inside and outside the organization. Performance management redirects our efforts away from busyness toward effectiveness.
Recently, organizations have been faced with challenges like never before. Increasing competition from businesses across the world has meant that all businesses must be much more careful about the choice of strategies to remain competitive. Everyone (and everything) in the organization must be doing what they're supposed to be doing to ensure strategies are implemented effectively.
This situation has put more focus on effectiveness, that systems and processes in the organization be applied in the right way to the right things: to achieve results. All of the results across the organization must continue to be aligned to achieve the overall results desired by the organization for it to survive and thrive. Only then it be said that the organization and its various parts are really performing.
Performance measurement is the process of assessing progress toward achieving predetermined goals. Performance management is building on that process, adding the relevant communication and action on the progress achieved against these predetermined goals.
Performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on performance of the organization, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees, etc. Information in this topic will give you some sense of the overall activities involved in performance management.
Performance Management System
· clarifying the relationship between the employee’s work assignment and the purpose and goals of the work unit and the Agency,
· measuring all employees’ performance by comparing the actual results to the expectations,
· documenting the amount of improvement since the last appraisal,
· comparing the employee’s performance with others doing the same or similar jobs,
· rewarding employees who exceed expectations,
· motivating employees to achieve excellent performance,
· making fair and equitable personnel management decisions,
· enhancing communication between the employee and the supervisor as well as between the supervisor and the manager, and
· establishing, monitoring progress, and meeting organizational goals by top management.
Types of Performance Management

Application Performance Management (APM) refers to the discipline within systems management that focuses on monitoring and managing the performance and availability of software applications. APM can be defined as workflow and related IT tools deployed to detect, diagnose, remedy and report on application performance issues to ensure that application performance meets or exceeds end-users’ and businesses’ expectations.
Business performance management (BPM) is a set of processes that help businesses discover efficient use of their business units, financial, human and material resources.
Operational performance management (OPM) focus is on creating methodical and predictable ways to improve business results, or performance, across organizations.
SCOPE OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Typically, we think of performance in organizations, we think on the performance of employees. However, performance management should also be focused on: 1. the organization2. departments (computer support, administration, sales, etc.)3. processes (billing, budgeting, product development, financial management, etc.)4. programs (implementing new policies and procedures to ensure a safe workplace; or, for a nonprofit, ongoing delivery of services to a community)5. products or services to internal or external customers6. projects (automating the billing process, moving to a new building, etc.)7. teams or groups organized to accomplish a result for internal or external customers
Key Benefits of Performance Management
1. PM focuses on results, rather than behaviors and activitiesA common misconception among supervisors is that behaviors and activities are the same as results. Thus, an employee may appear extremely busy, but not be contributing at all toward the goals of the organization. An example is the employee who manually reviews completion of every form and procedure, rather than supporting automation of the review. The supervisor may conclude the employee is very committed to the organization and works very hard, thus, deserving a very high performance rating.
2. Aligns organizational activities and processes to the goals of the organizationPM identifies organizational goals, results needed to achieve those goals, measures of effectiveness or efficiency (outcomes) toward the goals, and means (drivers) to achieve the goals. This chain of measurements is examined to ensure alignment with overall results of the organization.
3. Cultivates a system-wide, long-term view of the organization. Richard A. Swanson, in Performance Improvement Theory and Practice (Advances in Developing Human Resources, 1, 1999), explains an effective performance improvement process must follow a systems-based approach while looking at outcomes and drivers. Otherwise, the effort produces a flawed picture. For example, laying off people will likely produce short-term profits. However, the organization may eventually experience reduced productivity, resulting in long-term profit loss.
4. Produces meaningful measurementsThese measurements have a wide variety of useful applications. They are useful in benchmarking, or setting standards for comparison with best practices in other organizations. They provide consistent basis for comparison during internal change efforts. They indicate results during improvement efforts, such as employee training, management development, quality programs, etc. They help ensure equitable and fair treatment to employees based on performance.
Other Benefits of Performance Management
Performance Management (PM): 1. Depersonalizes issues. Supervisor's focus on behaviors and results, rather than personalities.
2. Validates expectations. In today's age of high expectations when organizations are striving to transform themselves and society, having measurable results can verify whether grand visions are realistic or not.
3. Helps ensure equitable treatment of employees because appraisals are based on results.
4. Optimizes operations in the organization because goals and results are more closely aligned.
5. Cultivates a change in perspective from activities to results.
6. Performance reviews are focused on contributions to the organizational goals, e.g., forms include the question "What organizational goal were contributed to and how?"
7. Performance is seen as an ongoing process, rather than a one-time, shapshot event.
Goal
Overall Goal and Focuses of Performance Management
The overall goal of performance management is to ensure that the organization and all of its subsystems (processes, departments, teams, employees, etc.) are working together in an optimum fashion to achieve the results desired by the organization.

Ongoing Activities of Performance Management
Achieving the overall goal requires several ongoing activities, including identification and prioritization of desired results, establishing means to measure progress toward those results, setting standards for assessing how well results were achieved, tracking and measuring progress toward results, exchanging ongoing feedback among those participants working to achieve results, periodically reviewing progress, reinforcing activities that achieve results and intervening to improve progress where needed. Note that results themselves are also measures.

Process
The three stages which are critical in managing performance in the organizational contact are:
1. Establishing Communicating Organizational Goals.
Each department, agency, and institution is required to complete an annual plan of work. This plan should contain the organization’s goals. After communicating them throughout the organization, these goals should set the direction of the organization and of the individual work plans for employees. Goals are usually communicated downward but should be established based on feedback from throughout the organization.
2. Monitoring Progress toward these Goals. Throughout the work cycle, top management should continually monitor progress toward these goals through its employees’ work performance. If sufficient progress in not made or cannot be made, the goals may need to be revised and/or redirected based on the feedback received. If additional resources are needed and the goal is important to the organization, management should see that they are provided.
3. Evaluating Organizational Goals. At the end of the work cycle, management must decide if organizational goals were met based on whether or not employees performance met expectations. After outputs have been determined, management uses information obtained from throughout the organization to determine their accountability to the
public, funding sources, and to the employees who did the work. After recognizing team effort, the cycle then begins again for the next year.
The Office of State Personnel is not responsible for implementing or monitoring this process. It is included because without these organizational goals, there would be groups of people performing different tasks unrelated to each other and the mission of the
organization.

Performance management and improvement can be thought of as a cycle:
Performance planning where goals and objectives are established
Performance coaching where a manager intervenes to give feedback and adjust performance
Performance appraisal where individual performance is formally documented and feedback delivered In its most basic form, performance appraisal (or review) activities include documenting achieved results (hopefully, by also including use of examples to clarify documentation) and indicating if standards were met or not. The appraisal usually includes some form of a development plan to address insufficient performance.
Performance development plan Typically, this plan conveys how the conclusion was made that there was inadequate performance, what actions are to be taken and by whom and when, when performance will be reviewed again and how. Note that a development plan for employee performance management may be initiated for various reasons other than poor performance. (More on
A performance problem is any gap between Desired Results and Actual Results. Performance improvement is any effort targeted at closing the gap between Actual Results and Desired Results.
Components of performance management
Employee performance management includes:
planning work and setting expectations,
continually monitoring performance,
developing the capacity to perform,
periodically rating performance in asummary fashion, and
rewarding good performance
In an effective organization, work is planned out in advance. Planning means setting performance expectations and goals for groups and individuals to channel their efforts toward achieving organizational objectives. Getting employees involved in the planning process will help them understand the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be done.
The regulatory requirements for planning employees' performance include establishing the elements and standards of their performance appraisal plans. Performance elements and standards should be measurable, understandable, verifiable, equitable, and achievable. Through critical elements, employees are held accountable as individuals for work assignments or responsibilities. Employee performance plans should be flexible so that they can be adjusted for changing program objectives and work requirements. When used effectively, these plans can be beneficial working documents that are discussed often, and not merely paperwork that is filed in a drawer and seen only when ratings of record are required.
In an effective organization, assignments and projects are monitored continually. Monitoring well means consistently measuring performance and providing ongoing feedback to employees and work groups on their progress toward reaching their goals.
Regulatory requirements for monitoring performance include conducting progress reviews with employees where their performance is compared against their elements and standards. Ongoing monitoring provides the opportunity to check how well employees are meeting predetermined standards and to make changes to unrealistic or problematic standards. And by monitoring continually, unacceptable performance can be identified at any time during the appraisal period and assistance provided to address such performance rather than wait until the end of the period when summary rating levels are assigned.
In an effective organization, employee developmental needs are evaluated and addressed. Developing in this instance means increasing the capacity to perform through training, giving assignments that introduce new skills or higher levels of responsibility, improving work processes, or other methods. Providing employees with training and developmental opportunities encourages good performance, strengthens job-related skills and competencies, and helps employees keep up with changes in the workplace, such as the introduction of new technology.
Carrying out the processes of performance management provides an excellent opportunity to identify developmental needs. During planning and monitoring of work, deficiencies in performance become evident and can be addressed. Areas for improving good performance also stand out, and action can be taken to help successful employees improve even further.
From time to time, organizations find it useful to summarize employee performance. This can be helpful for looking at and comparing performance over time or among various employees. Organizations need to know who their best performers are.
Within the context of formal performance appraisal requirements, rating means evaluating employee or group performance against the elements and standards in an employee's performance plan and assigning a summary rating of record. The rating of record is assigned according to procedures included in the organization's appraisal program. It is based on work performed during an entire appraisal period. The rating of record has a bearing on various other personnel actions, such as granting within-grade pay increases and determining additional retention service credit in a reduction in force.
In an effective organization, rewards are used well. Rewarding means recognizing employees, individually and as members of groups, for their performance and acknowledging their contributions to the agency's mission.
A basic principle of effective management is that all behavior is controlled by its consequences. Those consequences can and should be both formal and informal and both positive and negative.
Good performance is recognized without waiting for nominations for formal awards to be solicited. Recognition is an ongoing, natural part of day-to-day experience. A lot of the actions that reward good performance — like saying "Thank you" — don't require a specific regulatory authority. Nonetheless, awards regulations provide a broad range of forms that more formal rewards can take, such as cash, time off, and many nonmonetary items. The regulations also cover a variety of contributions that can be rewarded, from suggestions to group accomplishments.