1  2  3  4 

Performance Management: Processes AND People

Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn sheds light on performance management, arguing that both processes and people need to have a mutual respect for one another if performance management is to be a successful business driver. He also provides us with a number of practical tools to enhance the effectiveness of our performance management systems.

by Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn

Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn holds two Master’s degrees and a PhD in management. He also holds Fellowships of four UK professional institutions, including the Chartered Management Institute and the Institute of Business Consulting. He is a Principal Management Consultant for the international specialist risk management consultancy company and a Visiting Professor at the Salford Business School at the University of Salford in Greater Manchester. Following the success of, “The Essential Management Toolbox” he has written three sibling, “Essential Tools” titles, published by John Wiley and Sons. Contact details Email: profsimonbg@hotmail.com

It could be argued that almost every organisation in the world has the objective to, “go the extra mile” to meet, satisfy and even delight their customers, and hence contribute to their business in terms of market share, increased profits and building an enhanced reputation.  Some clearly achieve this and it is the modus operandi for the company. There are well known examples of such companies in high-street retail. This level of performance has often eluded other companies, mostly due to a mismatch between the management’s “talking the talk” and actually “walking” it.

Organisations that assume that rigid adherence to their processes and procedures is actually managing the performance of their employees, continually fail to get the best from this valuable and often expensive asset. It is therefore suggested that the potential for organisational performance could not only be realised, but be further enhanced, if there is an inward desire to achieve higher levels of employee satisfaction and motivation, rather than paying lip-service to it merely though annual employee surveys and staff appraisals.

This can be compounded with a false belief that the more recent trend of measurement through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be undertaken with a tick-box mentality and result in improved performance. This article argues that treating employees as individuals can provide advantages both for the business through increased organisational performance and for its staff in terms of motivation, job satisfaction and increased self-esteem; and with an added benefit of contributing to a more harmonious working environment.

Processes AND people
The main title and above heading are not typing mistakes! The intention is to emphasise that both processes and people need to have a mutual respect for one another if performance management is to have any chance of succeeding as a business driver.

Whilst business processes are evident in companies of all sizes and complexity, perhaps it is the larger, multi-national organisations that have invested the most through engaging teams of people to design, develop and deliver processes for every element of their corporate life; and with the expectation that staff will comply with all process-driven decisions.

Having a standard approach to the minutia of business and those aspects that need to be regulated and audited, has been widely accepted since the 1970’s with the widespread introduction of Quality Assurance ,followed by TQM, the balanced score-card and the encouragement of processes in line with the USA Baldrige National Quality Program or in Europe, the EFQM Excellence Model. Despite the best of intentions and the level of investment made, these are heavily reliant on processes and often results in a limited regard for the people element.

If one thinks of the HR aspects of an organisation, the key activities of dealing with recruitment, retention and leavers come to mind. Whilst there may be some variation in how successful these activities are undertaken within the area of the HR responsibilities – and perhaps with a consequential impact on performance – the main task of managing performance undoubtedly comes from the organisation’s functional managers and their role during the employment period of their staff. This is especially true where employees are, in some process-obsessed organisations, controlled by the policy and rule-book rather than from interpretation of overarching guidelines, good business sense and trained and qualified managers. 

This is not to suggest that people and process cannot live in harmony and each contribute to business performance. Clearly both can co-exist and thrive, but only where there is some latitude and flexibility to meet changing or special circumstances and reflect the dynamic environment of the business. 

1  2  3  4