guide to performance standards

7/29/2019 Guide to Performance Standards

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Out l ine

z What are J ob Performance Standardsand why are they important?

z Setting J ob Performance Standards

z Understanding the Employees Role

z Constraints Affecting J ob Performance

z Communication

z Measuring J ob Performance

What are J ob Per formanc eStandards?

z Way for supervisors to measure jobperformance and productivity of employees

z Way for employees tomeasure their own jobperformance and productivity


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Why are J ob Per formanc e

St andards Impor t an t?z Help employees understand the expected scope,

key responsibilities, required knowledge and skills,and duties of the job

z Support equitable evaluation of allemployees doing the same job tasks

z Facilitate communication between the supervisorand employees regarding job related activities

z Help supervisor ensure that employees have theresources necessary to do their jobs

Wit hout J ob Per formanc eStandards

z Supervisors and employees mayhave different understanding andexpectations about job requirementsand performance

z Supervisors may have difficulty identifyingperformance issues

z Supervisors and employees may have difficultyseparating whatshould be done from how itshould be done.


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Key Ac t i vi t i esz Supervisor and employee collaborate

z Evaluate different levels of job hierarchyusing different standards

z Identify the top 3-5 job responsibilities of theemployee

z Identify specific skills and knowledge required to

do the job well

Key Ac t i vi t i es

z Define specific performance standards andmeasurement criteria

z Establish method to monitor performance

z Implement standards at beginningof the assessment period

z Set short-term (90 day) and long-term goals

z Develop plan for supervisor and employee tocommunicate about job related issues


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Key Ac t i vi t i es

Write it all down!

Comm on Mis tak es

z J ob performance standards used tomicro-manage staff

z Writing/implementing standards rightbefore the annual performance assessment

z J ob performance standards are neverreviewed or updated

z Setting unrealistic job performance standards

z Creativity about how things get done is limited(based on standards for whatmust be done)


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Understanding theEmployees Role

Sarah Lincoln

Charact er is t ic s o f a High-Perform ing Organizat ion

z All employees understand the mission of theagency, and how their jobs help achieve thatmission

z High levels of trust, commitment,enthusiasm, and fun!

z Effective, empowering labor-managementpartnerships


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Charact er is t ic s o f a High-

Perform ing Organizat ion

z Healthy in all aspects morale, individualsphysical and mental health, and agencysphysical environment

z Opportunities for employees to use diversetalents

z Self-sustaining and

self-generating

Im por tanc e of Engagement

z Organizations that fail to engage theirpeople fail to achieve their fullpotential.

z Engaged employeesreduce costs, work

harder, and createmore satisfiedcustomers.


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Retent ion i s Keyz Costs of employee turnover

Lost productivity during a vacancyDiminished productivity of team/managers

covering for a vacancy and training new hire

Increased labor costs due toovertime or contractors hiredto cover for a vacancy

Recruiting and hiring costs

Constraints AffectingJ ob Performance

Steve Schmidt


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J ob Per formanc e Const ra in t sz Wide variety of factors may interfere with

optimum performance

z Consider and assess constraints beforeperformance discussions

z Consider the Golden Ruleof Psychology:B = f (P, E)

Behavior (B) is a function (f) of bothPersonal (P) and Environmental (E) factors

Personal Const ra int s

z Relationship/Marital Problems

z Children/Dependents

z Health self, family, others

z Stressful events (e.g., home move)

z

Loss/Deathz Other


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Envi ronment a l and Si t uat iona l

Const ra in tsz Relationships with co-workers/supervisor

z Equipment/supply deficiencies

z Working conditions (e.g., office space,ergonomics)

z Clerical support

z Excessive workload

Envi ronment a l and Si t uat iona lConst ra in ts

z Key personnel absent

z Poor co-worker performance

z Unclear performance standards

z Poor communication

z

Lack of authority to get things donez Policy problems

z Other


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I ve Ident i f ied Const ra in t s

Now What?z Collaborate with employee regarding ideas

to mitigate or eliminate constraints

z Different approaches for personal vs.environmental/situational constraints

z Determine how to document effects ofconstraints

z Address environmental and situationalfactors

Communicating J obPerformance Standards

Mary Gage


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Comm unica t ion i s Cri t i c a l fo r

Suc c essfu l J ob Per formanc ez Ever hearThats not in my job description?

z Written and verbal communication are vital!

z Goals are easier to achieve when managers letemployees know...

(1)

performance &

developmentexpectations

(2)

how they

will bemeasured

Clear ly Com m unicat edEx pect at ions Help Em ployees

z Understand what is important, and what theyshould be doing

z Understand why they are doing their work

z Know how they are doing, and whento ask for support

z Recognize where performanceimprovement can occur


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Wri te J ob Ex pec t a t ions to

Get What You Wantz Crisp, concise statements

z Stated directly

z Prioritized

z Limited in number dont overwhelm!

z Focus on specific results i.e. cost,timeliness, quality, quantity, etc.

Wri t ing Job Per formanc eStandards

z Write in Objective Terms

Action verbsResults statementsTime targetedStandard of performance

z Standard of performance expectation =

action verb + deliverable + qualifier + datespecification

DO SOMETHING

SPECIFIC IN A SPECIFIC

TIMEFRAME


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Face-to-Face Communicat ionz Discuss expectations with employee in-person

z Make the discussion positive and two-way

z Communicate written expectations

z End with mutual understanding anddirection everyone on same pageNO SURPRISES!

z Eye-to-eye contact is important, but recognizecultural and personal preferences

Measuring J obPerformance

Nitza Pfaff


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Tw o Ways to Measure J ob

Per formancez Quantitative measures

referred to as hard datahow manyobtained through spreadsheets, databases or

mainframes applications

z Qualitative measuresBest described as soft datarelate to customer perceptions or experiences

obtained through customer satisfaction surveys ornumber and type of complaints.

Types of Per formanc eMeasures

z Input resources used to produce services(output)

Example: cost, labor hours, operating expensesz Output quantity of units produced by an

agency (volume)

Example: clients served, how many units of servicez Efficiency identify cost, unit cost or

productivity associated with an outcome/output

Example: cost per client, cost per transaction


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Types of Per formanc e

Measuresz Service Quality customer satisfaction,

timeliness and/or accuracy of a service

Example: average wait time, % of respondentssatisfied with service

z Outcome impact or benefit of the service onthe customer

Example: reduction in fire deaths/injuries, increase injob trainees who hold a job for more than six months

z Explanatory factors affecting performance

Example: weather conditions for road maintenance

What gets measured gets done.Anonymous

Unfortunately, what people measure

often is not precisely what they wantdone.Behn, 2003


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Why Should Publ ic Managers

Measure Per formanc e?

z Evaluate How well is my publicagency performing?

z Control How can I ensure that mysubordinates are doing the right thing?

z Budget On what programs, people, or

projects should my agency spend thepublics money?

Why Should Publ ic ManagersMeasure Per formanc e?

z Motivate How can I motivateemployees and citizens to do the rightthings to improve performance?

z Promote How can I convince politicalsuperiors, legislators, stakeholders andcitizens that my agency is doing a goodjob?


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J ob PerformanceStandards

Conclusions

Conclus ions

z J ob performance standards are critical tohelp ensure the success of theEmployeeSupervisorWork unitAgency

z J ob performance standards must be clearlycommunicated (written and verbal) to theemployee, and similarly understood by bothsupervisor and employee.


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Conclus ionsz J ob performance standards may be

measured using quantitative and/orqualitative methods

z Personal and environmental/situationalfactors can affect job performance

z J ob performance standards should be

reviewed and updated on a regular basis

References

z http://www.sideroad.com/Management/performance-standard.htmlz http://careercompass.berkeley.edu/jobstandards/resources/glossary.htmlz www.hawaii.edu/ohr/download/aptdocs/ExPEStmts.pdfz www.hr.uncc.edu/CB/AdminSupport/Writing_Performance_Expectations.pdfz Fairfax Countys Performance Measurement System, J une 2006z The State of Texas Guide to Performance Measure Management, 2006

editionz A Brief Guide for Performance Measurement in Local Government, Citizen-

Driven Government Performancez Why Measure Performance? Difference Purposes Require Different

Measures, Robert Behn, Harvard University, October 2003z Performance Measurement and Evaluation, GAO April 1998z The Chronicle, 4/22/2004: Performance Evaluations Can Help Workers

Improve--and Help Charities Reach Their Goals:http://www.stthomas.edu/hr/compensation/files/developPerfStandards.pdf

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