Article: Managers Need Training to Fulfill Performance Role

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Managers Need Training to Fulfill Performance Role
by Lindsay Edmonds Wickman

If an organization does not train its managers how to assess performance, the performance management process is doomed. Managers must know how to set expectations for each employee, gauge success, navigate conversations and address performance issues.

"Supervisors need to be trained to observe and measure performance and look at where there might be gaps," said Dr. Susan H. Jespersen, a faculty member in the human resource management specialization of the MBA program at Walden University. "At the same time, there should be a coaching process, where the supervisor is offering assistance and [supporting] the employee. In this sense, the performance management system becomes more of a full circle, where we're not just measuring, observing and putting it on paper, but also trying to bring about behavioral change."

When communicating with employees about performance, managers have to leave their feelings and fears at the door.

"We need to recognize that it requires a special skill," Jespersen said. "One thing I have worked on is this fear of feedback, the idea that supervisors would do anything rather than have to tell a person how they're performing. The primary reason for that is they're afraid of running into scenes of anger and conflict."

To avoid this, manager-employee conversations should be just that - conversations. Managers should ask questions so employees feel open in communicating how they feel.

"Make sure that we don't make our conversation personal or attacking by saying you did such and such," Jespersen said. "We can say, 'This is what I've observed.' For instance, try to uncover the reasons for an employee being late. Have them tell you what is happening that seems to make this happen frequently, and perhaps there are some strategies the supervisor can suggest that the employee has not considered."

Managers also need to be trained on what their role is when there's a performance issue. If there is a problem, the manager must navigate the discussion in a careful manner.

"The main thing is that it's a nonthreatening conversation, that the employee sees it as the manager reaching out to them saying: 'Look we've got a problem here. I really care about helping you make this change,'" Jespersen said. "When we counsel the employee, we want to gain their cooperation and involvement in the process."

Then the supervisor and employee will develop an action plan with a few clear goals and a time frame to meet those goals.

"Typically you try to keep that in a short enough time frame [so] that there are progress points where the supervisor checks with the employee to see how they are doing with those particular goals," Jespersen said. "Potential solutions [to performance issues] could be [arranging discussions] with specialists that are on staff, maybe product knowledge meetings could be developed with vendors."

However it happens, performance issues must be addressed; otherwise, they likely will affect the rest of the staff.

"It matters to other employees when we ignore poor performance," Jespersen said. "The rest of the workforce becomes demoralized. They begin to believe that management doesn't care. If Sarah is not doing her job and management doesn't do anything about it, then it doesn't matter to management how anyone performs. Insisting on accountability is a very rewarding process."

[About the Author: Lindsay Edmonds Wickman is an associate editor for Talent Management magazine.]