Performance Management for any Application: Overview of Key Terms

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Adapted from Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development

Suggested Pre-Reading

Overview of Performance Management Process for any Application

---

Key terms include

• Domain
• Results
• measures
• indicators
• organizational goals
• organizational preferred results
• aligning results
• weighting results
• standards
• performance plans
• observing, measurements and feedback
• appraisal / review
• reward
• performance gap
• development plans

The following basic terms will be described more fully later (through use of an example) in the library in the upcoming subsections Performance Planning, Performance Appraisal and Development Planning The terms are in an order of a small to larger context of use within performance management.

Domain

The domain is the focus of the performance management effort, e.g., the entire organization, a process, subsystem or an employee. A subsystem could be, e.g., departments, programs (implementing new policies and procedures to ensure a safe workplace; or, for a nonprofit, ongoing delivery of services to a community), projects (automating the billing process, moving to a new building, etc.), or teams or groups organized to accomplish a result for an internal or external customer. A process produces a product or service for internal or external customers, and usually cuts across multiple subsystems. Examples of processes are market research to identify customer needs, product design, product development, budget development, customer service, financial planning and management, program development, etc. The final domain is that of employee performance management. The term domain is not widespread across performance management literature.

Results

These are usually the final and specific outputs desired from the domain. Results are expressed in terms of cost, quality, quantity or time.

Measures

Measures provide specific information used to assess the extent of accomplishment of results. Measurements are typically expressed in terms of time, quantity, quality or cost. Results are a form
of measure.

Indicators

Indicators are also measures. They indicate progress (or lack of) toward a result. For example, some indicators of an employee’s progress toward achieving preferred results might be some measure of an employee’s learning (usually expressed in terms of areas of knowledge or specific skills) and productivity (usually measured in terms of some number of outputs per time interval). (Note that learning and productivity alone do not guarantee accomplishment of performance results.)

Preferred Goals

These are usually overall accomplishments desired by a domain. The level of specificity of goals depends on the nature and needs of the domain. Typically, the more specific the goals, the clearer the understanding of goals by the members in the domain.

Preferred Results

The performance management process often includes translating preferred goals in terms of results, which themselves are described in terms of quantity, quality, timeliness or cost.

Aligning Results

Performance management puts strong focus on ensuring that all parts of the domain are working as efficiently and effectively as possible toward achieving preferred results. Therefore, the results of all the parts of the should be aligned with the overall preferred results. Aligning results often includes answering questions such as “Does the domain’s preferred results contribute to achieving the overall domain’s preferred results? How? Is there anything else that the domain could be doing to contribute more directly?”

Weighting Results

Weighting results refers to prioritizing the domain’s preferred results, often expressed in terms of a ranking (such as 1, 2, 3, etc.), percentage-time-spent, etc.

Standards

These specify how well a preferred result should be achieved by the domain. For example, “meets expectations” or “exceeds expectations”.

Performance Plan

The plan usually includes at least the domain’s preferred results, how the results tie back to the preferred results, weighting of results, how results will be measured and what standards are used to evaluate results.

Ongoing Observation, Measurements and Feedback

These activities include observing the domain’s activities in terms of progress toward preferred results, comparing progress to the preferred performance standards and then providing ongoing feedback (useful, understood and timely information to improve performance) to the domain.

Performance Appraisal (or Review)

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.

Rewards

The performance review process usually adds information about rewarding the domain if performance had met or exceeded standards. Rewards can take many forms, e.g., merit increases, promotions, certificates of appreciation and letters of commendation.

Performance Gap

This represents the difference in actual performance shown as compared to the desired standard of performance. For example, in employee performance management efforts, this performance gap is often described in terms of needed knowledge and skills which become training and development goals for the employee.

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.

---

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Performance Management

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Performance Management. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Leadership Blog
• Library’s Supervision Blog

Also consider

• Related Library Topics
  
• Employee Performance Management
  
• Group Performance Management
  
• Organizational Performance Management

---

For the Category of Performance Management:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

We’re Doing Great!
How Come We’re Not Performing?

(an introduction to employee performance
management)

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2006.

(This information is referenced from the Free Management Library’s topic Employee
Performance Management.)

Suggested Pre-Reading

Overview
of Performance Management Process for any Application

Many of Us Misunderstand Performance

You may be losing performance in your organization because you
don’t really understand what performance is. Certainly, if all
employees are getting good performance reviews from their supervisors
once a year, then all must be fine, right? Wrong! If the performance
of the organization’s groups, processes and employees do not contribute
directly to organizational results, the organization is not performing
well. Neither are the employees or the processes. They’re working
hard, doing things right — but they’re not doing the right things.

Consider the following, rather simple story. The story points
out the typical problems that can come from not having a performance
system in place. This story is about a performance problem with
employees, a trainer and an organization. The story includes:

Sections of This Topic Include:

Myth: “I’ll Know Results When
I See ‘Em”
Training for Skills — or a Good
Time?
What Are You Doing? What Should You
Really Be Doing?
Some Reasons for a Performance Management
System
Key Terms: Results, Measures and Standards
Performance Problem: Vague Priorities
Weighting Results to Convey Priorities
Measures: Some You Can Count and
Some You Describe
Performance Problem: Inconsistent
Desired Results Across the Organization

---

The Story

A Common Misunderstanding:
“I’ll Know Results When I See ‘Em'”

Employee Ed is a new employee at a print shop. He has been
hired to run a machine that prints out high-quality pictures.
The pictures go to other departments, including the Catalog Department,
to use in brochures, catalogs, advertisements, etc.

Ed’s new supervisor, Supervisor Sam, is new on the job, too.
He’s worked hard to get where he’s at. He was an expert at running
the collating machine. Sam’s machine took printed images from
machines like Ed’s and organized them into the Catalog Department’s
final product, a catalog.

Sam doesn’t like Ed at first. Ed looks just like Sam’s brother
whom Sam does not like at all. Still, as a new supervisor, Sam
tries to give Ed a chance.

Sam wants to be sure that Ed does a good job. He isn’t all
that sure what “good job” means, but he thinks he’ll
know it when he sees it. So Sam sends Ed to a course to learn
how to run the print machine. The description of the course said
students would learn all about the machine. That should work out
fine.

Training for Skills — or a
Good Time?

Teacher Tom wants to convince supervisors to send employees to
his course. Tom claims the result from his course
is that each student will know how to run the printing machine.
Tom hasn’t really thought about how to achieve that result.
He knows a lot about the machine and likes to tell people
about it. So he thinks he’ll be a fine teacher.

Tom includes a lot of lectures in the course. He tells students
all about the machine’s history, some tough times he had learning
about the machine and how students can get a lot done with the
machine if they know what they’re doing. The rest of the time,
Tom tells students how to do the various procedures needed to
run the machine. After reviewing the last procedure, Tom tells
his students that the course is over. He tells them that they’ve
been a good audience, he enjoyed teaching them and hopes they
got a lot out of the course. Tom wants to be sure the course achieves
its result, so he has the students fill out a questionnaire.

Ed now likes Tom a lot and feels very good about the course
so he gives the course a very high rating. Tom seemed to know
a lot about the machine. Tom told a lot of jokes, the room was
nice and the materials were very impressive. With all the stuff
Tom told Ed, Ed now feels he could do anything with the machine.
Later that day, Ed tells Supervisor Sam that the course was very
good. Sam is very pleased about his decision and is glad the course
accomplished strong results.

What Are You Doing? What Should You Really Be Doing?

The next day, Sam briefly notices that Ed is much happier
at his job. “Great”, Sam thinks. “A satisfied employee
is a productive employee! Right?” (Wrong. Job satisfaction
doesn’t mean job performance. Some research indicates job satisfaction
can actually decrease productivity.)

Later that afternoon, Sam has more time to watch Ed at his
job. Soon Sam is horrified! It doesn’t seem like Ed knows what
he’s doing at all! Sam thinks to himself, “I knew Ed wouldn’t
work out! I just knew it!” Sam glances through several of
the prints from Ed’s machine. He finds one that’s smeared and
torn. Sam concludes that Ed didn’t learn anything at all. He confronts
Ed. “What are you doing? You’re slow and all your prints
are ruined! You’ve wasted the company’s money!” Ed feels
scared and stupid.

Sam and his company have a typical performance management problem.
If Sam had followed the principles of performance management,
he would have been more clear to himself and to Ed about what
Sam wanted as results from Ed’s job. Sam
would have been more clear about how he would measure
Ed’s results. Sam would have been more clear about how his expectations,
or performance standards, for Ed.

Teacher Tom has a similar problem. If he had thought more about
performance results, measures and standards, he would have thought
about what knowledge and skills his students would need to run
the machine. He would have thought about how he’d know if the
students could actually run the machine or not. Also, he would
have thought about how well students should be able to run the
machine by the end of the course. It’s likely that Tom would have
included time in the course for students to actually practice
on the machine. He would have included some way to test students’
skill levels to ensure they achieve Tom’s preferred result. He
would have included some way to later get supervisors’ feedback
about employees’ skills on the job. It’s very likely that Tom’s
course would have achieved its result: students who can operate
their machines to some specified performance standard.

Reasons for a Performance Management
System

Back at work, Sam discusses the situation with his Boss Bob.
Sam wants to fire Ed — and do it now. Bob calmly disagrees. He
tells Sam, “We can turn this thing around. I’ll tell you
how.”

He begins to give Sam a broad overview of a performance management
system. “Basically, a performance management system is a
way to ensure we get results from all our employees. Heck, if
Ed’s teacher knew about performance, Ed might have learned something!
They don’t call it training any more, you know. They call it Performance
Technology or something like that.”

Sam interrupts, “Look. I can tell if Ed’s doing a good
job or not. I’ve got his job description. I’ve used the performance
appraisal form. Besides, I don’t feel good about those performance
appraisals. They’re just something you do once a year, usually
to fire somebody. They’re just paperwork. The guys are scared
of them. I dread them. I’m trying to build a team here!”

Bob responds, “You don’t understand. A performance system
is more than job descriptions. A job description lists what duties,
what responsibilities a certain job has. It doesn’t tell the employee
what results are really expected of him, what he’s supposed to
produce. It doesn’t keep telling you, the supervisor, how well
you expect the employee to be doing at his job. It doesn’t make
sure that what you’re doing is what your boss — and their boss’s
boss and their boss’ boss — want you to be doing.”

Bob went on to explain. “A performance system makes sure
we’re fair to our guys. They’re getting paid what they’re worth.
They know what we want from them. They know what we think about
what they’re doing. In the long run, all of us in the company
end up working toward the same thing. We’re all pulling on the
same rope. Maybe the biggest advantage is that we’re talking to
each other about what we’re doing, if we’re doing it right and
if it’s really what the company needs. Besides, we managers should
have to earn our own keep around here, too. I want you to take
part in our performance system, Sam. I’ll help you.”

Key Terms: Results, Measures
and Standards

Bob explains, “In the performance system, the first thing
you do in figure out what results you want from the employee.

“Results are what you want Ed to produce so customers
can do their jobs well. For example, Ed’s internal customer, the
Catalog Department, needs high-quality prints to do its job. Right?

“Measures are what you use to know if Ed is achieving
the results or not. For example, how many prints is Ed making
in an hour? Are Ed’s prints smeared, are they torn?

“Standards are what you consider when thinking about how
well Ed is doing at his good job. For example, the standard for
“excellent” should be at least as many high-quality
prints an hour as your best people are producing.

“After we’ve decided the results, measures and standards,
we’ll work together to track Ed’s progress. We’ll make sure that
we’re all exchanging feedback around here, including with the
Catalog Department. That’s the most important part.

“Any needs that Ed might have, we’ll record on a development
plan. That might include more training. This time, we’ll make
sure that teacher knows about performance management!

Sam heard everything Bob said. He was skeptical, but he decided
to try the performance stuff anyway. Anyway, Bob was the boss.

Performance Problem: Vague Priorities

Over the next month, Sam thought more about what he specifically
wanted from Ed. He talked to Ed, too. They both decided that Ed
would shoot for 500 high-quality prints an hour, 8 hours a day,
Monday through Friday. High-quality would mean no smears or tears.
In fact, the Director of the Catalog Department would judge whether
Ed produced this result or not.

Sam was a little surprised at Ed’s reaction. He thought Ed
would be a little leery. Heck, Ed didn’t seem concerned at all.
He was actually excited! Sam actually felt better now, too.

Over the next week, Sam carefully considered the measurements
for Ed’s result. He realized that Ed really needed more training.
“Thank goodness I found this out now,” Sam thought.
Sam realized this whole situation wasn’t Ed’s fault. He reminded
himself that Ed was new, too. Sam talked to the Training Department.
They suggested that Ed go to a workshop where he could actually
get practice with the machine. Also, they helped Ed find some
free time on another machine during second shift. That way, Ed
could get in some more practice.

Ed attended the workshop. He told Sam it was hard, but he learned
a lot more about actually running the machine. He said the teacher
showed him several things that he could be doing a lot better.
Ed was eager to get back to work. Sam felt very relieved. This
performance stuff seemed to be working out — and it wasn’t nearly
as hard as he’d imagined.

Weighting Results
Several months later, Sam’s boss, Bob, told all employees
that he wanted them to take part in a Quality Circle. Sam told
Ed all about it.

Ed complained to Sam that he just wanted to run his machine.
That’s why he accepted the job. That’s what he wants to do.

Sam is now smart about results, measures and standards. He
sends Ed to a seminar on Quality Circles. Maybe that’ll get Ed
going in the Circles. Ed took the seminar and, sure enough, came
back all excited about Quality Circles. Now he spends a lot of
time around the coffee machine, telling other employees how great
Quality Circles are, where they started, etc.

Soon Sam tells Ed that he’s not running his machine anymore.
How’s he going to produce his results? Ed explains that he’s doing
his part for his Quality Circle. Ed complains that Sam needs to
make up his mind about what he wants Ed to do.

Sam goes back to Boss Bob, asking for advice. How can he get
Ed to work the machine and be a good member of the Circle?

Bob explains that Sam needs Ed to run the machine and take
part in the Quality Circle. Bob notices that Sam seems puzzled.
Bob explains, “Ed can do both: run the machine and be a good
Circle member. You just need to let him know what your priorities
are. Let Ed know how much time he can spend on his machine and
how much time in the Circle. Be as clear as you were before about
his results and how you’d measure them. In the performance system,
this is called weighting the results.”

Measures: Some You Can Count
and Some You Describe

Sam nods that he understands Bob. “But how can I measure
what he does in Quality Circles?”

Bob explained, “Remember when we talked about measures?
There are a couple of ways to look at measures. You can count
them or you can describe them — hopefully you can do both. With
the machine, you could count the number of prints Ed produced,
right? You noticed if the prints were high-quality or not. High-quality
meant the images were clear and the paper was not torn. Right?”

Sam nodded.

Bob went on to explain, “About Ed’s Quality Circle, though,
it’s really hard to count something — at least not without going
crazy! Sure, you can count how many suggestions he makes. But
if you do that, he’ll be talking all the time and not saying anything!
What other ways can you realistically measure what Ed is doing
in his Circle”

Sam thought this for a minute. “Maybe I’m making this
harder than it is. How about if I notice the attendance record
for Ed, you know, you make sure he goes to meetings. I don’t want
to write down everything that Ed says. Heck, Ed only talks in
conclusions anyway!”

Bob responded that Sam seemed on the right track.

Sam explained the new situation to Ed. Ed seemed pleased. “That
straightens things out. Sure, I’ll try it”.

Performance Problem: Inconsistent
Results Across the Organization

Over the next few months, Ed ran his machine just fine. His
Quality Circle made lots of good suggestions to Sam and Sam’s
boss, Bob. Soon, though, Ed and Sam notice that nothing was really
being done about the suggestions.

Sam confronted his boss, Bob. “You’ve got plenty of ideas
from us. How come nothing is being done about them?” Bob
replied, “I know. I’m wondering about that myself. I’ll find
out.”

Bob talked to his boss, Management Mike. Mike looked puzzled.
Then he remembered, “Oh, that’s right! The Quality Circles!
Yeah, those Circles are sure keeping people happy. Keep up the
good work, Bob!”

Bob replied, “I thought the Circles were to improve quality,
not to keep people happy. What am I missing here?”

Mike explained that he really couldn’t implement any of the
suggestions from the Circle. “They’ll probably just cost
more money. Right now the company needs to cut costs as much as
possible.”

Now Bob was getting really irked. He said, “I thought
our performance system was supposed to make sure that everyone
was working toward the same goals. Why not have the Circle guys
focus on cost-cutting ideas?”

Mike warned, “That could scare them big time! No, keep
’em coming up with good ideas. They’re doing great!” Mike
looked at his watch and said, “I’ve got to take off. Sorry.
Keep up the good work, Bob!”

Bob left Mike’s office feeling very disappointed and sad. He
thought, “We have a performance management system. Ed’s doing
fine. Sam’s doing. I’m doing fine. Our department’s doing fine.
We’re performing, right? Sure doesn’t feel like it, though.”

So: All the Parts Are Doing Just Fine — Yet the Organization
Isn’t Performing!

Employees, the department and management are all very committed
and very busy. Sam’s focused on getting the most from his people,
including Ed. So is Bob. They all know the results they want,
how they’ll measure them and what they consider to be great work.
Yet the organization really isn’t performing. It’s idling along.

This situation is not uncommon.

---

Additional Resources in the Category of Performance Management

Related Library Topics
Recommended Books

Performance Management: Traditional and Progressive Approaches

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Adapted from Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development

Suggested Pre-Reading

Overview of Performance Management Process for any Application

Sections of This Topic Include

• Traditional Performance Management Process
• Problems With Traditional Approach
• Progressive Approaches to Performance Management

---

Traditional Performance Management Process

Whether for organizations, teams or individuals, the traditional process is a top-down, linear-structured  and static process. It includes establishing objectives early in the year and presenting them to the employees who are responsible for achieving them. (If the goals are for organizations or teams, it still is the employees who ultimately are responsible for achieving them.)

Then management monitors the performance against those objectives during the year and shares their evaluations near the end of the year when it is time for the annual performance appraisals. Evaluations are against some types of specific performance standards established earlier in the year, for example, below expectations, meets expectations and exceeds expectations.

In the performance appraisal document and meeting, the manager shares his or her conclusions about the quality of the employee’s performance against the standards. If it is below expectations, then the manager works with the employee to develop a performance improvement plan. Often, the manager decides the employee’s compensation for the next year based on the employee’s performance for the previous year.

Problems With Traditional Approach

In Rethinking Stale Performance Management Practices by Joanne Sammer, she cites the results of research done by Mercer and explained in their 2016/2017 CA Compensation Planning Survey Report. The results indicated that:

• 90% of heads of Human Resource Departments believed their performance management system did not produce accurate information
• 95% of managers were dissatisfied with the system

The research went on to mention that potential root issues included:

• Poor goal setting because of unclear expectations and un-useful goals
• Coaching did not focus on career development and lacked transparency
• Feedback was insufficient and too infrequent
• Ratings were inconsistent
• Performance reviewed were inadequate

Additional issues were explained by Bradford S. Bell and Christopher J. Collins in The State of the Art in Performance Management: Learning from Discussions with Leading Organizations. They mentioned:

• Managers are less likely to give lower ratings when they know those ratings will influence the employee’s compensation.
• Managers tend to focus less on effective feedback and coaching when they know that compensation is a key result of the performance management process.
• In large and complex organizations, especially those with global operations (and thus, diverse cultures and values), there are can significant inaccuracies and biases in the process.
• Neither the manager or employee feel comfortable in discussions about performance when they center around rating scales.
• Performance appraisals near the end of the year are often rushed to completion and not done accurately and thoroughly.
• Because appraisals are done near the end of the year, managers tend to focus primarily on performance near the end of the year.

Bryan Hancock and Asmus Komm very aptly describe this situation:

“The worst-kept secret in companies has long been the fact that the yearly ritual of evaluating (and sometimes rating and ranking) the performance of employees epitomizes the absurdities of corporate life. Managers and staff alike too often view performance management as time consuming, excessively subjective, demotivating, and ultimately unhelpful. In these cases, it does little to improve the performance of employees. It may even undermine their performance as they struggle with ratings, worry about compensation, and try to make sense of performance feedback.”

Progressive Approaches to Performance Management

Because of numerous driving forces, organizations are changing like never before. Previously established goals can quickly become obsolete or changed significantly. In addition, new generations in the workforce want more of an ongoing voice in how their goals are established, including how they work toward them.

Consequently, the performance management process is evolving as well. More progressive organizations are seeing the process as much more of an ongoing and collaborative dialogue that is continually assessing the current situation, and then making adjustments and changing expectations as necessary. They might include the following practices:

• Continual feedback and coaching during the year, intended to enhance the employee’s learning,
  performance and advancement in their career.
• Understanding the unique motivations for each employee and supporting the employee’s engagement and ability to motivate themselves.
• Continually soliciting feedback from the employees about their impressions of the quality of their work and the resources they are using to do their work.
• Using more flexible and adaptable goals focused on the current needs of the organization and the employee.
• Use a more collaborative approach between manager and employee when establish goals.
• Using more flexible styles of leadership, for example, the VUCA agile style that is better suited to today’s dynamic and often ambiguous workplaces.

What was traditionally viewed as three general phases (performance planning, performance appraisal and performance improvement) would now occur as one or a few real-time conversations. In the progressive approach, the phases and the steps within them might still occur, but they would be viewed as a framework within which the continuing collaboration and dialogues would occur. The progressive approach to performance management requires a progressive approach to leadership and management, as attested by the kinds of practices listed above.

NOTE: Thus, the reader is encouraged to strongly consider this new and more progressive perspective when reading information about

• Employee Performance Management
  
• Group / Team Performance Management
  
• Organizational Performance Management

---

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Performance Management

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Performance Management. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Leadership Blog
• Library’s Supervision Blog

Also consider

• Related Library Topics
  
• Employee Performance Management
  
• Group Performance Management
  
• Organizational Performance Management

---

For the Category of Performance Management:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Performance Measurement for any Application: One Sample Framework for Selecting
Measurements

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Adapted
from Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development

Suggested Pre-Reading

Overview
of Performance Management Process for any Application

Sections of This Topic Include

Where do I focus my performance
efforts in the organization?
How do I identify which organizational
results to measure?
How do I know what measures to
make to evaluate results?
What about measures after I’ve
made efforts to improve performance?

(Author’s note: The publication “Performance Improvement
Theory and Practice” (in Advances in Developing Human
Resources, Number 1, 1999, by Richard A. Swanson) served as
a very valuable resource while developing the contents of this
library page. Professor Swanson’s document suggests approaches
that answer some basic questions when undertaking efforts to improve
performance. I only hope my overview does justice to his fine
presentation of ideas.)

---

Where Do I Focus My Measurements in the Organization?

Look for Domains (or Areas of Focus) in the Organization

Swanson suggests four performance domains in organizations,
including 1) mission, 2) process, 3) critical performance subsystem
and 4) individual. These domains suggest areas in which to focus
improvement efforts. More explanation follows.

Mission Performance Domain

The mission is the ultimate purpose of the organization. The
mission of the organization is identified or updated usually during
strategic planning. Typically, reaching the mission requires providing
certain outputs or services to external customers. Identify results
by establishing units of performance with these products or services.
Describe these results in terms of quantity, quality, time and
cost. For example, results might be increasing marketshare by
25% over the next fiscal year, increasing profits by 25% over
the next fiscal year or ensuring that at least 90% of unwed mothers
under 18 years of age in the Hopeful Neighborhood can read and
write.

Process Performance Domain

Swanson cites a process as “a series of phases designed
to produce a product or service.” Quality and reengineering
efforts focus on the process performance domain. Swanson explains
that processes typically cut across various subsystems. There
are numerous processes in an organization, too many to mention
here. Start by thinking about where problems have appeared in
the organization, or where improvement will be needed to meet
goals identified during strategic planning. To get in the mindset
for identifying processes, think about, e.g., processes of market
research to identify customer needs, product design, product development,
budget development, customer service, financial planning and management,
program development, etc.

Critical Performance Subsystems Performance Domain

This domain defines internal performance subsystems that always
directly connect to the internal environment, and frequently with
the external environment (the mission domain always interacts
with the external environment). These subsystems differ from processes
in that processes cut across multiple performance subsystems.
Examples include:
1. programs (implementing new policies and procedures to ensure
a safe workplace; or, for a nonprofit, ongoing delivery of services
to a community)
2. products or services to internal or external customers
3. projects (automating the billing process, moving to a new building,
etc.)
4. teams or groups organized to accomplish a result or an internal
or external customer

Individual Performance Domain

Swanson asserts that performance professions have generally
focused too much on this domain. Individual performance management
typically focuses on the individual working to achieve results
and goals with some performance standard. These results and goals
are recorded and referenced during a performance appraisal process.
Ongoing training and development is provided as needed. Ideally,
the supervisor and employee exchange ongoing feedback during the
appraisal period to enhance the individual’s performance.

How Do I Identify Which Results To Measure?

Look for System Outputs as Results to Measure

An organization is comprised of very complex and dynamic processes,
coordinated by various structures and other controls. In addition,
the organization is continually exchanging various resources and
information with its external environment. Consequently, organizational
performance management can be very complex. There are numerous
results, measurements and standards to consider among the numerous
levels and related areas (or domains) in the organization.

When thinking about results, measurements and standards in
the organization, it helps a great deal to think of the organization
as a system. This system has various aspects, including inputs,
processes, outputs and outcomes. Ongoing feedback occurs among
these aspects of the system. The overall system has various subsystems,
e.g., financial management processes, departments, teams, employees,
etc. Ongoing feedback occurs among aspects of these systems, as
well as with the overall organization and its external environment.

As noted above, when looking for what results to measure, consider
outputs from the system. Measure results in terms of units of
performance, considering timeliness, cost, quantity or quality.

How Do I Know What to Measure to Evaluate Results?

Look for Outcome Measures and Driver Measures

Swanson describes outcomes as measures of effectiveness or
efficiency relative to the core outputs of a system or subsystem.
Outcomes are generic across organizations. Drivers “measure
elements of performance that are expected to sustain or increase
system, subsystem, process or individual ability and capacity
to be more effective or efficient in the future” (p. 33).
Swanson adds that drivers are leading indicators of future outcomes,
and tend to be unique to the organization.

For example, a) management development and change, and b) employee’s
noticing the change and increasing productivity may be drivers
to the outcome of c) increased sales.

Must View Outcomes and Drivers Together

Drivers and outcomes should be considered together. Otherwise,
one gets a flawed picture of the performance system.

For example, focusing on drivers alone might lead one to believe
that the driver (e.g., learning) always produces the outcome (e.g.,
units of sales). Focusing on outcomes alone might lead one to
take short-term actions (e.g., massive layoffs) which adversely
effect long-term outcomes (e.g., sales).

Classification of a Measure (Outcome and Driver) Depends on
the Context

A measure can be either an outcome or a driver, depending on
the situation. For example, a specified increase in customer satisfaction
might be a driver for the organizational outcome of a specified
increase in sales. However, the specified increase in customer
satisfaction might also be an outcome measure for the Customer
Service Department.

Consider Outcomes and Drivers Relative to the Performance
Domains

For example, the performance driver measures of knowledge and
expertise in the individual performance domain may produce the
performance outcome measure of productivity for that domain. The
drivers of innovation and leadership might produce the outcome
of team effectiveness for the critical subsystem domain.

What About Measures After I’ve Made Efforts to Improve Performance?

Driver Results Assessment Matrix

There are a wide variety of results to measure and numerous
types of drivers that can produce these results. It may seem much
too complex to know what to measure and when. Swanson disagrees.

He explains that assessing outcomes from modifying drivers
to affect performance improvements (that is, from efforts such
as training people, instilling quality management, etc., made
ultimately to improve performance) differ in only two basic ways:
1) predictability of performance results and 2) timing of performance
results.

Four Types of Assessments of Outcomes

Swanson designed a two-row, four-cell matrix to depict four
types of drivers, or types of efforts to improve performance.

Basic

Outcomes are known in advance and expected to occur soon. An
example is training. Standard assessment techniques work well
here.

Type 1

Improvement efforts are rather straightforward, but take a
longer time to show results. An example is management development.
In this case, it’s useful to develop a “pattern of events”
(e.g., managers learn and change, employees notice and become
more motivated, and ultimately sales increase). Each step of the
pattern can be measured. Phases before the end result are drivers
to measure. The end result is an outcome to measure.

Type 2

Here, performance results may appear anywhere and take longer
to appear. An example is developing a learning organization. Open-ended
assessment strategies should be used. Emerging outcomes should
be measured, since known outcomes do not exist. Conduct ongoing
assessment over time and compare results.

Type 3

Here, results are still less predictable, but they occur more
quickly. An example is instilling a quality program. The same
assessment approach used in Type 2 is useful here. However, measurements
can be conducted sooner and usually only once.

Return to Performance
Measures.

Performance Management for any Application: Performance Planning Phase

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Adapted from Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development

Strongly Suggested Pre-Reading

• Performance Management: Traditional and Progressive Approaches
  
• Overview of Performance Management Process for any Application

---

Approaches to Developing a Performance Plan

NOTE: The term “domain” in the following refers to the focus of the performance management process, for example, an entire organization, a recurring internal process, a team or an individual.

Most of us are used to thinking of performance management focused on the employee, rather than the organization or a team. Therefore, when first reviewing the activities to develop a performance plan, it may be best to use the example of employee performance management as done below. The reader should keep in mind that the activities could also be focused on the entire organization or a team.

In the example below, the focus — or domain — of the performance management process is an employee. The employee is a machine operator. Consequently, the application of performance management in this example is rather straightforward for clarity in the example.

1. Review the organization’s preferred goals for the next year and associate preferred organizational results in terms of units of performance, that is, quantity, quality, cost or timeliness
Organizational goals are often established during strategic planning. Performance management translates these goals to results, which typically are described in terms of quantity, quality, timeliness or cost. Results are the primary products or services desired from the focus of the performance process. Examples are a percentage increase in sales, extent of impact on a certain community, etc.

Goals should be “SMART” (an acronym), that is, specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic to achieve and time-bound with a deadline. For example, an overall goal may be to increase the organization’s profit by 30% by the end of the next fiscal year. An associated strategy (or sub-goal), among others, may be to increase profit of the Catalog Department by 50% over the next fiscal year. This initial focus on overall organizational results would still occur in a more traditional to performance management.

2. Specify desired results for the domain — the overall organization, a team or an employee.
In our example, the operator’s desired results might be a certain number of high-quality, printed images for the internal customer, the Catalog Department. This aspect of performance management is sometimes called “goal setting”. Particularly in the traditional approach to performance management, the goals should be “SMART” and challenging.

• In a progressive approach, the goals would be established in highly collaborative manner. In our example, that would be with the machine operator.

3. Ensure the domain’s desired results directly contribute to the organization’s results.
Aligning results with organizational results is another unique aspect of performance management process. In our example, does the employee’s results directly contribute to the results of the organization? What organizational goals? How? For example, do the prints directly contribute to the desired profit increase of 50% of the Catalog Department? How? Is there anything else the operator could be doing that would be more productive for this goal? Should a job analysis be done to verify efficiency?

• In a progressive approach, it still would be very important that the machine operator’s desired results, or goals, contribute directly to achieving the overall organization’s desired results.

4. Weight, or prioritize, the domain’s desired results
A weight, or prioritization, is often in the form of percentage-time-spent, or a numeric ranking with “1” as the highest. For example, the employee’s results might be weighted as follows:
a) 80% of his time over an 8-hour period, Monday through Friday over the next fiscal year, to be spent running the machine
b)10% of this time in training
c)10% of this time in a Quality Circle.

• In a progressive approach, the goals for the machine operator would likely not be associated with a specific weight because the goals might change in real time as the needs of the organization and the machine operator’s internal customers change. The change in the goals would be done in a collaborative conversation with his or her supervisor.

5. Identify first-level measures (or indicators) to evaluate if and how well the domain’s desired results were achieved
Measures provide information to evaluate accomplishment of results. Measures are usually specified in terms of quantity, quality, timeliness or cost. For example, measures for the operator might be the number of prints over some time interval, a certain grade on a test during his training and attendance recorded on attendance sheets to his Quality Circle. Identifying which measures to take is often the toughest part of the performance management process. You have to look at the appropriate level or domain in the organization, its desired results, and consider what are the most valid, reliable and practical measurements to use. With complex and rapidly changing domains, it often helps to identify outcome and driver measures, and patterns of effects. More about these terms in Performance Measurement, which is also referenced back in Basic Overview of Performance Management.)

• In a progressive approach, any indicators toward the operator’s achievement of goals might be changing as the goals change, as well.

6. Identify more specific measures for each first-level measure if necessary
For example, regarding the operator’s measure for operating his machine, he may have to produce at least 500 high-quality prints an hour for eight hours, Monday through Friday during the fiscal year. High-quality means no smears or tears. The Director of the Catalog Department evaluates whether the operator
made this goal or not.

• In a progressive approach, similar to indicators toward the goals, first-level measures might be changing as the goals change, as well.

7. Identify standards for evaluating how well the domain’s desired results were achieved
Standards specify how well a result should be achieved. For example, the operator “meets expectations” if the Director of the Catalog Department agrees that the operator produced 500 high-quality prints an hour for eight hours, Monday through Friday during the fiscal year. If he produces 600, he “exceeds expectations”, 700 is “superior performance”, 400 is “does not meet expectation”, etc.

• In a progressive approach, standards for performance might be agreed upon by the supervisor
  and machine operator, and any concerns about current standards of performance would be addressed as soon as the supervisor noticed them, rather than in an annual performance appraisal.

Discussions about the current performance would be focused on improvement, but also on new learning and career development for the operator.

8. Document a performance plan — including desired results, measures and standards
The performance plan describes the domain’s preferred results, how results tie back to the organization’s results, weighting of results, how results will be measured and what standards are used to evaluate results. Developing the plan is often the responsibility of the head of the domain (in this example, the employee’s supervisor). However, the plan should be developed as much as possible with participants in the domain. (Note that a performance plan is not the same as a performance development plan.)

• In a progressive approach, a performance plan might still exist, but it would be focused especially on how the operator’s mutually agreed-upon goals are aligned with the organization’s goals, and would include guidelines for how the operator’s goals are changed if necessary.

NOTE: Now is the best time to take stock of overall performance plans. Does the domain have the necessary resources to achieve preferred results, e.g., necessary funding, training, input from other subsystems, etc? Are the standards realistic? Can the domain realistically achieve the results within the preferred time frame? Does everyone involved in the measures really understand how to recognize the measures? Do they know their role in the performance management process?

Next, see Performance Appraisal Phase

---

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Performance Management

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Performance Management. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Leadership Blog
• Library’s Supervision Blog

Also consider

• Related Library Topics
  
• Employee Performance Management
  
• Group Performance Management
  
• Organizational Performance Management

---

For the Category of Performance Management:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Overview of Performance Management Process for any Application

• Much of the information in this topic is adapted from the books Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business and
  Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff.

Information in this topic describes the foundational performance management
process that underlies Employee
Performance Management, Team
Performance Management and Organizational
Performance Management. Although the term “performance” is conventionally
used in literature about management, some people might have an averse reaction
to that term. For them, they might use the term “effectiveness” instead.

Strongly Suggested Pre-Reading

Performance
Management: Traditional and Progressive Approaches

Sections of This Topic Include

Introduction

First,
What Do We Mean by “Performance”?
Key
Terms in Performance Management
Guidelines
for Implementation and Evaluation

Phases in Performance Management Process

Performance
Planning — Specifying Preferred Results
Performance
Appraisal– Evaluating Progress Toward Results
Development
Planning — Improving Progress Toward Results

Special Topics

Performance
Management: Benefits and Concerns
Performance
Management During Rapid Change
Performance
Measurement: Guidelines, Myths and Examples
General Resources

---

General Resources

Human Performance Technology
Listing of performance management articles
Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award
16
Ways to Derail Your Attempt at Building a Performance Culture

Balancing Measures: Best Practices in Performance Management
Performance
Management: How To Do It Right
Performance:
The Psychologist’s View
HR
Systems for the 15%

---

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Performance Management

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which
have posts related to Performance Management. Scan down the blog’s page to see
various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar
of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s
Human Resources Blog
Library’s
Leadership Blog
Library’s
Supervision Blog

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Employee
Performance Management
Team Performance
Management
Organizational
Performance Management

---

For the Category of Performance Management:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books