Performance management is a necessary task for many line managers, but HR professionals can play an important role in making the process easier. Human Resources examines how HR professionals can work with line managers to improve business and performance management
For many organisations, ensuring employees are performing to their best and are of benefit to the business can be a difficult task. However, research has found that a major factor in the performance of an employee is the quality of the relationship with their line manager. A recent UK study of 107 HR practitioners found 90 per cent felt that individual or team performance was an issue for their organisation, while less than one in three believed line managers were confident or competent in dealing with under-performance. These results were underscored by the fact that 93 per cent of organisations reported that line managers were responsible for performance management, with just 26 per cent of these seeing it as a shared responsibility for HR and the line.
What people want from L&D
Increasingly, companies are looking for targeted training specific to the needs of their particular organisation and delivered to smaller focus groups, according to Shayne Bakewell, executive director of EMA consulting. While classroom-based learning may still be in strong demand, there is an increasing trend towards online learning where clients can maximise the numbers of participants in a cost-effective manner.
Theoretical-based training is supplemented by practical demonstration of competencies learned through smaller group exercises or on-the-job practical assessment, says David Dickson, managing director of e3Learning Solutions. ¡°The trend to online learning is driven not only by its cost effectiveness, but also by improved productivity as online learning is quicker to complete, and the learning is available at any time and is self-paced. It alleviates the need to have employees offsite or inaccessible for extended periods.¡±
Dickson says the quality of online learning has improved dramatically over the past year, with the use of sophisticated Learning Management Systems driving highly engaging and interactive courseware.
Working with line management
Part of the challenge for HR professionals is in ensuring line managers understand the need for successful performance management practices and initiatives. This means HR professionals must aim at ¡®selling¡¯ the benefits of performance management to line managers ¨C personally, for their teams and the business as a whole, according to Bakewell.
Another part of the challenge lies in the attitude of line managers, who often put performance management in the too-hard basket. ¡°The process of performance management is normally associated with conflict or confrontation and is usually way down the priority list for line managers,¡± he says.
To counteract this attitude, Terence-Liam Preece of Dale Carnegie Training recommends both HR and line managers realise the difference between a performance results description and a position description, which is usually just a sophisticated ¡®to do¡¯ list. They must look closely at the outcome and requirements of a position and why a position exists.
¡°Performance results descriptions are measured through a series of quantifiable performance standards which are identified by the team member, themselves, and validated by the supervisor. Team members support a world that they help create,¡± says Preece.
This makes it essential for HR to recognise their roles as providers of advice, practical training and professional support for line management, Bakewell says. ¡°It is not the role of HR to stand in for the manager to deal with people issues but to support, guide and partner the manager.¡±
Line management challenges
While managers often avoid the complex task of performance management, alignment and timing are common downfalls in the process. The performance review is often the only formal agenda to share the alignment between an organisation¡¯s vision, mission, values and the performance of the position, according to Preece. Often the opportunity to use the performance review as a means of inspirational communication of values throughout an organisation is not taken on board, simply because line management lack the skills in dealing with performance of staff.
¡°The challenge can be line management seeing the performance review as a mandatory process that is attended to once a year, and filed for another year. This is because they have little skill in dealing with the potential conflict, or they lack the knowledge and practice,¡± says Preece. To solve the alignment and timing issues, he says managers should undergo specific leadership management training, while taking a monthly review of key results areas.
Similarly, Bakewell says that appropriate training can overcome issues of mismanaging performance management whereby employees who had been identified as poor performers receive glowing reports. ¡°HR must provide appropriate coaching to managers and embed the process as an expected management activity. Line managers must regularly report to senior management, and use performance management KPIs,¡± he says.
Successes and benefits
There is no substitute for performance management in aiding an improved organisational culture, according to both Preece and Bakewell. ¡°Positive corporate culture still offers the greatest potential to any organisation,¡± says Preece.
From Bakewell¡¯s experience, there has been an improvement in performance and productivity as well as a reduction in costs to the organisation where training has been implemented effectively. ¡°There is often an improvement in succession planning and professional development while regular feedback on performance helps increase employee morale.¡±
Filling the leader¡¯s boots
Developing future leaders is a hot issue in management and HR circles. Craig Donaldson looks at some of the latest trends in succession planning, exposes the associated pitfalls and details how to make the most of succession planning initiatives
Succession planning plays a key role in developing future leaders in any organisation, however, many still struggle to identify and develop those potential leaders. Furthermore, factors such as skills shortages, changing generational expectations, shorter careers with individual companies and the ageing of the workforce make good succession planning vital if some companies are simply to survive in the future.
Over the next few years, around the world, more employees will leave the workforce than enter it, according to Helen Scotts, general manager of Hay Group. ¡°Current senior leaders are disproportionately represented in those numbers that will exit. Those employees who enter the workforce in the same period will not necessarily seek a career pathway ending inevitably in a leadership role. They will seek other options and make other choices,¡± she says.
Sarah Kearney, managing director of SHL Australia, says the growing interest in succession planning is fuelled by demographic changes such as an ageing but increasingly mobile workforce. The fact that the job for life notion no longer exists or appeals, combined with Generation Y showing limited interest in the long-term career path, has resulted in a stark realisation that many critical roles within companies may not have a successor, she says.
¡°Many of these critical roles are often at the senior levels, which is why leadership development has become such a buzz concept, but there are also many other critical roles that rely on unique skills or specialised knowledge which are also at risk.¡±
Succession planning gaps
There are a number of common pitfalls that occur when engaging in succession planning, according to Kearney. Some organisations are more reactive whereby they become aware of a potential ¡®critical role flight¡¯, or unscheduled resignation from a critical role, she says.
¡°They then quickly scour the organisation for the person who seems to be most ready to take on the role. The risks are many associated with this approach, for both the organisation and the individual. In fact, it can be decisions such as this that can seriously damage a potential high-performing individual¡¯s career and create an even higher level of exposure for the organisation.¡±
Another common pitfall is identifying critical roles based on the incumbent¡¯s attributes, rather than the actual role requirements, says Kearney. So, when trying to find a potential successor, the organisation identifies people with the same qualities as the incumbent ¨C some of which may be relevant, but the match is against a person rather than what the role actually needs in order to be effectively carried out.
Another mistake many organisations make is in carrying out ¡®replacement¡¯ planning rather than succession planning, according to Justine Coleman, a senior consultant with the Australian Institute of Management (Victoria and Tasmania). This means that they earmark certain individuals for specific roles.
¡°The challenge with this approach is that the specified role may never become vacant, the successor identified may leave before the position becomes vacant, or they may not have the necessary skills when the position becomes vacant,¡± she says.
By identifying groups of high performers within the organisation and developing them so that they could take on a variety of roles if necessary, Coleman says the organisation will have a number of appropriate people to select from and high performers will be retained as the range of possible future roles for them is broader.
Kearney also says that many organisations adopt an acquisition approach to succession planning, where they consistently seek external experts and leaders to fill their critical vacancies. ¡°This is not only extremely costly, but also quite high risk. The risk relates to the potential fit between the acquired employee and the role, culture and values of the organisation,¡± she says.
Succession planning¡¯s season
There are a number of demographic factors at play that will make succession planning more vital for organisations than ever before, according to Coleman. As it becomes harder to recruit the right talent from outside the organisation, businesses will find more success by developing their own talent internally for key senior positions, she says. ¡°This in turn will assist with retention, as employees¡¯ desire to be challenged and developed will be met through accelerated development, whether a promotion is readily available or not.¡±
As demographic factors become magnified, Kearney says the pressure to retain individuals at all levels, but specifically within critical role domains, will reach critical levels. ¡°The catch phrase ¡®people are our most important asset¡¯ will swiftly move from rhetoric to reality,¡± she says.
¡°It will only be those organisations that have genuine and well thought-through succession and talent management strategies that will realise a competitive advantage. These organisations will have a stronger ability to hold onto their important talent and if they do experience ¡®critical role flights¡¯ they will have a selection of well-developed, motivated high potentials that will be ready to fill the gap.¡±
A window for HR
This presents a unique opportunity for HR in being able to step up to this challenge and deliver initiatives that genuinely add value to the business and contribute to its sustainability.
The first step is to learn as much as you can about how leading organisations are approaching succession planning, says Coleman. ¡°Think about which elements will suit your organisation¡¯s culture and needs and can help to deliver on specific strategic initiatives,¡± she says.
¡°The next step is to encourage the leadership team to see succession planning as something that should be owned and driven by them with support from HR (rather than the other way around). Highlighting the risks of not preparing for future leadership needs and the performance and retention benefits of accelerated development is key.¡±
Kearney also highlights the importance of working with the executive or leadership team, and the CEO, to determine a strategy for sustained retention and succession management and ensure that full commitment to this strategy is secured. The formalisation and execution of this strategy should then be carried out systematically and with rigour.
Critical roles should be identified and accurately profiled against role requirements, and not the individual in the role. The profiling needs to capture a visionary element as well so that the role continues to evolve for the changing market and business context.
Once the capabilities for the critical roles have been determined, Kearney says the next step is to execute the talent management component of the strategy. ¡°That involves identifying high performers in the organisation and assessing their potential to succeed in more senior and complex roles. The biggest pitfall here is that people assume high performance means high potential ¨C and it doesn¡¯t.¡±
Once you know who your high potentials are, Kearney says the next step is closing any of the capability gaps they may have against the relevant critical roles they are suited for. This ¡®gap closing¡¯ strategy should include a clear and targeted development plan that is both individually and organisationally owned. ¡°It should have clear timeframes for achievement. There should be at least two to three people on track for each critical role and these programs should be occurring at multiple levels in the organisation, so you have employees in different states of readiness for the opportunities (and challenges) that will arise through business growth and departures of critical employees.¡±
Securing executive support
HR professionals have traditionally experienced difficulty in securing executive support for some initiatives. Succession planning is one of those initiatives that is more important to executives, as they can see the immediate relevance of it.
Succession planning is already on the radar of more enlightened executives and they are often the ones driving this agenda, according to Kearney. ¡°In these situations what HR needs to do is demonstrate their understanding of the business imperatives and bring forward their technical and commercial skills to initiate and execute the appropriate strategy,¡± she says.
For those HR professionals that are trying to get succession planning on the agenda, Kearney says they need to arm themselves with the facts about the reality facing the organisation.
¡°HR professionals need to be compelling in their arguments about the risks to the business if they don¡¯t act now. Their arguments need to incorporate factors such as sustainable growth, risk mitigation strategies, competitive markets and the consequences of the demographic changes. They need to inspire their executives to take action and they need to inspire confidence that they can genuinely add value to a critical business challenge,¡± she says.
One of the most powerful ways to encourage executives to commit to a holistic approach to succession planning including a strong focus on development, according to Coleman, is to highlight the risks involved in not effectively planning for future leadership needs. Most organisations will have experienced a key senior role vacancy for an extended period, or appointed someone internally or externally who has not worked out ¨C these instances are serious indicators that succession planning and development in an organisation is not adequate.
¡°When the immediate and opportunity costs of such events to an organisation are considered it makes sense that a proactive and development-focused succession plan should not only be supported by the executive, but owned and driven by them,¡± she says.
