Performance Management - The essential ingredient

Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” Futurist - Joel Barker

Performance Management continues to emerge as a key priority for many organisations. This is in part driven by a need for greater productivity in tough economic times and a desire to understand individual contributions. Australia’s new “fair dismissal” laws have also increased the need for effective Performance Management.

The tough economic environment has certainly contributed to more organisations investing time and resources in improving internal systems. The uncertainty in workplaces has also contributed to Performance Management improvements being driven by staff members actively seeking constructive and meaningful feedback from their managers.

Whatever the reason, a commitment to Performance Management always provides a positive return on investment for an organisation. It is the single greatest catalyst for successful people performance and engagement. Unfortunately, it is often poorly implemented and supported with little focus on training the organisation’s leaders on its important practices. The consequence for staff is poor execution, a lack of understanding of the organisation’s strategy, a lack of personal ownership and accountability, and decreased productivity and morale.

People Axis specialises in Performance Management providing clients with a range of solutions including tools used for:

	Objective setting, performance notes & achievement results
	Development planning & learning resources
	360 degree feedback (reviews by managers, peers and direct reports)
	Performance reviews
	Competency management
	Behavioural and values reviews
	Talent management and succession planning

Align with the vision

Whilst the Performance Management process is largely aimed at the individuals that make up the organisation, (concentrating on individual objectives, behaviours and performance) an equally important opportunity coexists. To extract maximum benefit from the process it is vital that management aligns divisional, team and individual performance measures with the organisation’s vision

At Saward Dawson’s recent business seminar, Peter Irvine (co-founder of Gloria Jean’s Coffees) reinforced the fundamental role that vision and strategic goals play in shaping the organisation, mobilising action and testing opportunities along the way. Performance Management is the vehicle that drives the execution of the vision by aligning individual contributions to divisional goals and consequently to organisational goals. Without the right strategic framework in place, efforts at the individual level are never fully realised!

Our experience

Saward Dawson is working with People Axis to implement an effective Performance Management system. Bruce Saward comments, “We thoroughly endorse the People Axis approach having successfully implemented it with our management team. The benefits of a cooperative and constructive Performance Management implementation are already very evident.” People Axis has the expertise necessary to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your organisation’s Performance Management system and advise you on the changes necessary to optimise its benefits.

Published : 3 September 2009