Lessons on Performance Management from the Dog Park

Some of the most insightful conversations about business occur at the dog park.  Perhaps this is because people are relaxed, away from the work setting, and have a chance to reflect on their business. Jack, my high energy black/chocolate lab mix, and I visited the dog park again this week. Last week, we discussed On Boarding Strategies. This week we shift our focus to Performance Management as a tool for engaging employees.

A fellow small business owner talked with me about productivity issues at his firm. He works in a competitive industry and needs his employees to bring a high degree of passion, energy and creativity to the workplace each day in order to stay ahead of his competition. Yet that is not occurring in his business. I asked if he had a performance management system in place so that employees have clarity in their roles and responsibilities in order to move the business forward. He said they were too busy to implement a system. He also believed that employees should intuitively know their roles and responsibilities. He admitted there is some conflict in the workplace and several key employees have “resigned in place”. He is sincerely concerned about losing those valuable team members. We discussed the following key opportunity areas:

1. Do you have current job descriptions in place for all your employees?
As a result of the recent changes in the workplace, many firms have asked their employees to take on additional responsibilities. Employees are being asked to handle an increased workload with fewer resources. Have your job descriptions been updated to reflect these changes?

2. Have you identified the strengths, talents and competencies that each employee will need to be successful in their new and/or expanded roles?
Businesses are experiencing significant challenges in today’s competitive environment. As my husband often says, “we all need to get smarter every day”. Consider performing a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) on your team to identify strengths as well as development opportunities.  These development opportunities can help enrich corporate culture and bolster employee engagement.


3. Do you have a system in place for measuring success for each employee in their roles?
Employees lose their motivation if they are aimlessly moving from project to project and have no method for measuring their progress or determining how their work moves the business forward. Consider establishing regular milestones or checkpoints for the employee and manager to have dialogue about their progress. Look for opportunities to develop tangible methods for measuring performance. Focus on results and business outcomes, not just tasks.  Employees look for meaning in their work.

4. Does your performance management system support your firm’s mission, vision, values, goals and objectives?
Employees want to identify how the work they perform daily fits with the firm’s overall goals and objectives. They want to know their work provides a business benefit and is valued. For example, if your firm is focused on providing high quality customer service and this is an integral part of your culture, this metric should be reflected in the performance management system. Some companies will routinely utilize external and internal customer satisfaction surveys as a method for benchmarking and monitoring customer satisfaction levels. Those results should be included in the performance review process for every employee.

Many companies today are using the balanced scorecard tool to measure organizational performance. The balanced scorecard is a valuable tool as it includes both financial and non-financial measures so you can obtain a holistic view of organizational performance.
We would love to hear your ideas on performance management strategies that have worked well in your company!