What is critical for success?

Does anyone wonder if my friend Dylan is going to forget this time in his life when he mastered what was critical for success? Performance management involves coaching, discipline and also inspiration.  When we take the first step out, others will follow. We set the tone, show the way, model courage in the face of change. Many of you today are thinking about what lies ahead with ever tightening budgets.  My clients are talking about strategies to re-structure jobs and reward performance, in essence, to work smarter and maximize potential and capabilities in the work force.  Performance management provides a framework for accomplishing change, but it cannot work unless a leader is willing to talk the helm.

Leaders change the way we think and act. Performance management is part of the skill set of a leader. When we talk about a system, as in performance management system, we are talking about a perspective that takes in the whole of the organization. It is not just something you do once in a year, it is a way to thinking about how to build success into the organization.

The first step in building a performance management system is identifying critical job competencies. When I worked with the County of Lancaster on this, the management team came up with what they thought was a comprehensive list of critical core competencies. Timi Kirchner, then the County Administrator, recently recalled to me how she remembers that a focus group took a look and came back with something much more complete, descriptive and even more challenging then the management team. I have seen this in many other organizations too, which is why I recommend engaging your employees in this question:

What is critical for success?

Great questions

Next, profile your high performers using the list of critical competencies. Gather stories and examples of behaviors that demonstrate these competencies.  You can also use these questions to gather information from employees during an annual performance review, or ask these questions during an employment interview to see if the candidate fits in with your organization.

¨  Tell me about three challenges you faced in this past year. How did you deal with these challenges?

¨  What competencies do you think were critical to the outcomes?

¨  What did you learn about your strengths and what competency are you most interested in developing in the future?

Develop a dictionary

You can also develop a dictionary of critical competencies for your organization. You may want to start with an existing dictionary (one is available at www. njhessassociates.com on the resource page) and then customize it using data from your own organization.

Job Descriptions

You also want to develop job descriptions to document actual work duties and a list of competencies, including knowledge skills and abilities required for the job. Use a methodology that is structured and systematic so you can defend your job descriptions if need be. For instance, be sure to

¨  Use structured questionnaires

¨  Interview to confirm and gather additional data

¨  Allow for comments from supervisor and employee.

Create Clear Performance Goals

Two types of goals are common and important in the performance evaluation process:

¨  Job goals relate to organization mission, goals and strategies.

¨  Development goals relate to competencies.

 Lucca is my neighbor’s dog, and she also reminds me of what it means to be a natural performer. But she does not perform without clear direction. The minute I change my focus away from her, she begins to lose interest as well. So, focused and intentional direction, and communication of clear expectations is imperative!

Do’s and Don’ts

Finally, a few do’s and don’ts

¨  DO create a policy and procedure that outlines the process for an annual review. It can be…

¨  Short and sweet with a focus on review of job and development goals(an example can be found at www.njhessassociates.com)

¨  Or , it can be more extensive with a focus on competency development where employee and supervisor review job performance from the context of a  competency profile created for their job.

¨  DON’T confuse your performance program with your disciplinary policy.

¨  DO include an appeals policy.

¨  DO practice documentation of reviews.

¨  DO have someone review all evaluations for consistency and integrity.