Performance Management: A Roadmap for Developing Implementing and Evaluating Performance Management Systems

A Roadmap for Developing Implementing and Evaluating Performance Management SystemsBy Elaine D Pulakos Effective Practice Guidelines, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) The SHRM Foundation, 1800 Duke Street Alexandria, Virginia, United States of America 2004, Pages: 56, 27.30Performance Management: A roadmap for developing, implementing and evaluating performance management systems, mere purpose of this booklet is to provide Human Resource (HR) professionals with useful guidelines for developing and implementing effective performance management systems. The essence of book is targeted to achieve optimum organizational goals by unbiased assessment of employees. The author comprehensively elaborated different sources through which information of employees evaluation can be obtained. It includes managers, peers, direct reports or customers and this type of rating is often called as 360 degree feedback and the crux ingredient intricate in this process is unbiased feedback which needs careful rectification, management and control of feedback, whose inculpation in performance management system is a dominant feature. The most appropriate way suggested by book, for ongoing evaluation of employee's performance is collection of feedback from different rating sources in order to negate the concept of personal biasness and to introduce Competency Models for the conviction of effective organizational outcomes.The author exquisitely divided the book according to stages involved in performance management, embarked from Performance Planning and covered up to the legal considerations that can crop up the perfect execution of performance management System. First fiv e par ts of book delv e abou t e s s ent ial s trate gies requ ired for implementation of effective performance management in the organization and rest of the contents of book are written to delineate performance evaluation and performance re view, th r o u gh th e pro c e s s of ali gnmen t w i t h ot her HR sys t e ms i n wh i c h communication, automation, pilot testing and training of employees and managers are key themes of this book.Elaine D Pulakos points out that performance management is the back bone of human resource management in spite of its all effectiveness incorporates many flaws which is becoming cause of poorly designed performance management system in the organization. The keen identified issue behind the poor appraisals is often saturated with manager and employees reservations in providing honest feedback accompanied with fear of damaging interpersonal relationship and on other hand, being the nature of performance management system intensively bureaucratic and time consuming, make employees prone towards thinking of system ineffective in terms of developing their appropriate skills.The initial part of book identifies the stage involves in the rating cycle, consisted of performance planning in which identification of employee expectations in terms of achieving their targets in upcoming rating cycle should be primary tool for meeting organizational goals, along with the assessment of employees in relation to team working and mentoring behaviors.Further, the book discusses stage of result expectations which according to author should be associated with goal setting process where employees development needs should be aligned with organizational goals and en tan gl emen t of employe e's commitment, attainment, participation, motivation as well as feedback are primary tool to reach expected results, intervened under umbrella of performance management system. Now next in the cycle comes on going feedback and to make it effective two way candid and constructive communications between employees and managers is the single most determinant to achieve optimum and viable results from performance management system.Next in the sequence of book, moving ahead towards cycle, Chapter 6 enshrines employees input and evaluating behavior as key indicators of rating cycle.