Performance management

The purpose of performance management is to improve performance. It is an ongoing process. It includes informal and formal discussions.

Following on from our last column about staff retention, the performance review is a great opportunity for a team member and their manager to “get on the same page”. Our Business Manager, Linda, has retained some wise words from a previous manager which are that “in exit interviews no team member ever says that they left a business due to over-communication”. The performance review is an essential communication tool and therefore it is an essential retention tool.

Linda recently attended a conference in Sydney called RECTEC12. It was an amazing day of displays and presentations by recruitment technology vendors and the interaction with attendees, both on twitter and in person, was second to none. Key themes of ‘do more with less’ and ‘work smarter not harder’ came through in all presentations however it was a small flyer placed on the table by an application supplier that grabbed Linda’s attention. Having returned to the office she was eager to check out their website and download a trial version. The application is described as “A web-based performance review system that simplifies 360 degree feedback, performance reviews and setting goals. Simple, pretty and affordable.”

PCA have recently implemented the review system portion internally and are sharing it with everyone who is interested in this innovative system. It facilitates the performance review in a straightforward, user friendly and actionable way. It focusses clearly and simply on three questions:

* What did the team member do well?

* What could the team member improve on?

* What training needs have been identified?

Feedback from our team has been “it’s really easy to use”, “it’s refreshed the review process”, “it focusses on what matters”, “my avatar or icon is a bit silly but it’s a fun system to use (and I could update it with a proper picture of myself if I really wanted to!)”, “as a manager this tool supports me by helping me understand my team better” and last but not least “my client is very interested in this, could we share it with them?”.

It was this last comment that provided the inspiration for this column.

For more information contact Linda Bennett on

02 6257 1010 or [email protected]