Perfecting Employee Performance

If performance management is the process of ensuring employees perform better, you first must define what you mean by “better.” Front-line managers may define it as staff accomplishing daily tasks. Senior leadership may define it as improving the organization’s overall efficiency. A team member may define it as developing new skills to advance a career. Good performance management tools must link all three definitions. When you have clear performance standards—and straightforward metrics for demonstrating whether they have been achieved—you can fit those standards into your organization’s culture, leadership styles, and business model. With the dawn of the Industrial Age and its shift from farming to factories, came a more organized approach to performance management. A quick look at the history of performance management can help you decide on the best strategies, methods, and evaluation metrics for employee performance. Performance management is as old as work itself—our ancestors cou