Employee Management: Been There, Dunn That?

I want to take the earlier postings about evaluations several steps down the road. Let's take a look this week at the broader area of Performance Management, a critical area too often equated with only performance appraisals.

I invited Kris Dunn to share his thoughts about Performance Management and Employee Engagement in an e-mail interview. Hence, this posting's title. I've copied Kris's self-bio (directly from his blog) at the end of this posting. Too smoothly written for me to monkey with.

C2E: From your HR perspective, what is needed to make Performance Management a workable process for the employees?

KD: On the employee side, you'd love to have a system/process in place that includes employee involvement.  The missing link in employee involvement at any stage of the process is usually the coaching skills of the manager.  Can they ask open ended questions and engage the employee in
finding the answer? (example - what can you do to reach the exceeds level in this objective?  What do you need from me to get there?)  Are they a facilitator or an authoritarian?  The manager as
coach/facilitator usually creates an environment that is less about the annual review and more about dialog and feedback.  That usually plays into engagement levels as well.

C2E: What are the benefits of a strong performance management procedure? Both strategic benefits and tactical benefits?

KD: Engagement, clear communications of expectations and higher performance are all benefits of strong performance management.  If managers can coach daily, you'll have fewer employee relations issues as a result as well.

C2E: What roadblocks slow a company's progress toward the most efficient and most effective performance management program?

KD: Without question, it's the communication skills of the manager, and understanding how to coach.  If you can't coach day to day and hour to hour, everything else in the performance management process has a corrective action/transactional vibe to it.  That stinks, and business results erode...

C2E: While we can purchase quite good performance management tools "off the shelf," they are only part of the overall program. What must the company bring to the table to make its performance management program of maximum benefit?

KD: I have to come back to the skills of the manager.  Invest in training, and demand that your HR pros are consultants in how to coach on a daily basis.  If your HR pros can't model the skills for your young and less experienced managers, there's no way they'll maximize their performance opportunities with employees. 

C2E: How would you relate the practice of performance management to the hot new topic, employee engagement?

KD: I think effective performance management that places a premium on coaching skills is key to maximizing engagement.  Where are you going to be more engaged as an employee - in a relationship with a manager who positively affirms what you are doing well and brainstorms with you how you can maximize yourself and your career, or with a manager who only engages you on your performance on an annual basis?  I've had both in my career, and I think the answer is pretty clear.

Unfortunately, many managers, even at well respected companies, struggle with effective coaching skills.  They don't teach it in college or MBA programs.

C2E: You obviously feel coaching is an essential manager skill. Would you agree coaching helps a manager develop employees' abilities, motivation,  and engagement?

KD: Absolutely.  You'll always have some employees who are naturally engaged, as well as a few who are chronically unengaged.  For the majority who drift somewhere in between, a manager who's interested and has coaching skills creates performance and profit for the company they serve.

Kris Dunn's Self-bio
I’m a VP of HR for SourceMedical, a software company focused on serving the booming outpatient market. Prior to joining the team at Source in 2005, I was a Regional VP of HR for Charter Communications, a HR Manager for BellSouth Mobility (subsequently known as Cingular and AT&T based on which round of consolidation you are referring to), and a Project Manager in the market research division of Aragon Consulting (gobbled up by IBM Global Services). With that track record in mind, I can now say what I thought I never would – I have over a decade in the HR biz.

Thanks, Kris

Comments

[Gopal Shenoy]

Excellent article Tim. Recently there have been so many articles in the media including the Wall Street Journal how one has to get rid of performance reviews. I think the key point some are missing is that the problem is not with performance reviews (it is only a tool) but the lack of communication between the managers and the employees.

I think Kris hits the nail on the head when he says that managers have to be trained to be coaches to make sure their employees succeed. Unless managers understand that their success is determined by their employee's success, no matter what performance management tool you put in place, it will not succeed.

BTW, first time I am reading your blog, I will be reading it more frequently. Thanks once again.

[Tim Wright]

Gopal,

Thank you for the compliment, and I'll pass it on to Kris. All I did was ask the questions (and know a savvy guy to ask!).

Communication is the fundamental key to management success. Certainly coaching is a critical application of that skill.

I'm glad you're here for the first time, and I welcome you back any time. You may wish to click the "Communication" category, where you'll see lots of previous postings along this line.

Tim

[David Zinger]

Tim,
I have a session on Performance Management on Friday. My message was similar to this and it was good to get confirmation of the key of engaging communication. I teach a two day course in crucial conversations: how to talk about high stakes issues, with differing opinions, and strong emotions. I am finding that it is becoming more and more focused on performance.
David