Performance management and performance plans
Manager performance
plans
Employee performance
plans
Performance is about delivering on goals and objectives of the organisation through the provision of products or services on time, within budget, and according to specification.
Delivering on the organisation’s goals and objectives is important now and into the future, which means that the creation and maintenance of your organisation’s present and future capability to respond effectively to any challenges is a critical performance issue.
Work-life balance is an important issue to consider in this context. The capacity of an organisation to deliver on its objectives and goals is reliant on both the quantity and quality of its workforce. The increased competition for staff, due to the increasing labour and skills shortages, forces organisations to offer better conditions than their competitors.
Work-life balance provisions can play an important role in the attraction and retention of employees as evidence shows that people will seek organisations where they are satisfied and generally will leave organisations where needs for work-life balance are not met.
In addition to an organisation’s capability to perform, in terms of having enough people to do the job, there can be a significant link between an employee’s work performance and the state of their work-life balance. For example, employees who are not able to balance work and lifestyle commitments may be suffering stress, and consequently work performance may decrease.
It is the people in organisations who drive performance. The commitment to performance is ultimately a personal decision by each employee. A high performance culture is created in an environment where:
- employment security is high;
- learning and innovation are actively encouraged;
- diversity in the workforce is positively supported;
- opportunities for work-life balance are available;
- relationships and networks among team members are actively nurtured; and
- employees understand that their contributions are valued.
Manager performance plans
It is the responsibility of managers to enhance staff capacity to deal with current and future challenges to meet organisational goals and objectives, and includes ensuring employees are able to access work-life balance policies to ensure work and family priorities can be met at the same time.
Managers should be recognised and rewarded for encouraging work life balance and managing staff on flexible working arrangements. Facilitating work-life balance and the associated recognition and rewards should be included as part of their own performance reviews.
A great example of a successful organisation which has included work-life balance in its performance management reviews is Ernst and Young, a large international provider of business services. Ernst and Young, has adopted a policy of having its employees rate their managers on how available they make work-life balance provisions, and using those ratings into performance reviews and bonuses.
It is important to ensure that any system of performance management or workplace rewards focuses on rewarding outcomes rather than rewarding hours worked. Directly or indirectly rewarding long hours will send a strong message to employees that the organisation is not supportive of work-life balance, and may financially disadvantage part-time employees or other employees using flexible work arrangements.
Employee performance plans
An employee’s working arrangements could be included as a standard topic for discussion at career development and performance review sessions. This would provide all employees with a formal way to discuss current work arrangements and potential changes to improve flexibility. Work-life balance objectives should be included in performance reviews throughout an employee’s career, that is, including in their induction plans and ongoing performance reviews.
The employee’s performance plan could include:
- key deliverables in the employee’s job description;
- proposed outcomes from any work-life balance arrangements;
- predetermined implementation issues including communication strategies, attending staff meetings, working different hours in emergencies, access to training;
- objectives and clearly defined outcomes for the individual and the work unit – quality/quantity of output, level of customer service, achievement of body of work, team maintenance, etc; and
- performance indicators for the individual and the work unit – to help evaluate the achievement of outcomes and identify barriers to success.
The above information is not meant to provide a comprehensive overview of performance management, but merely to highlight the specific role of work-life balance in managing performance goals.
Last updated 29 September 2009
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