Communication between employee and employer is the key to achieving goals

4/19/2023

Performance management and its importance in the organization changes with time. Until five years ago, it was characterized by cyclicality and formality – with setting goals at the beginning of the year, checking the fulfillment of goals once or twice a year, and evaluation at the end of the year. Often, this system served as a basis for determining pay or promoting an employee. Currently, performance management has become a continuous process, where the hand is always kept on the pulse.

Remote work teaches

Every organization and its employees are strongly exposed to external factors. They can be completely unpredictable and change the set priorities. For example, remote work brought performance management to a new level, first of all, by showing that this process is urgently needed to manage employees in new conditions. Working remotely makes it difficult for the manager to assess the employee's workload, emotional well-being and other aspects "in person". Therefore, mutual communication should be paid even more attention than before.

At the same time, remote work returned the focus to the achieved result, teaching both parties to trust and to evaluate the work done instead of counting the hours spent at work.

No goals - no result

In order for work management and cooperation between employee and employer to be successful, it is necessary to start with the most important thing - determining the desired result and goals. It is necessary to determine what and in what way is expected from the employee - not only what must be achieved, but also agree on the expected behavior, attitude, mutual communication and cooperation with colleagues. Setting goals and embracing the organization's work philosophy creates accountability and helps keep the goal on track. Setting meaningful, specific and measurable goals is essential. Don't forget about resources - you must make sure that the employee has access to the tools, programs and other physically provided resources necessary to perform the tasks, as well as whether the employee has sufficient knowledge and information to achieve the goals.

Intrinsic motivation delivers more

In order to effectively manage work performance, the manager must understand what motivates the employee. There are two types of motivators – extrinsic and intrinsic. We often hear about the principle of "carrot or whip" motivation, and this is about our external motivation. Money is usually mentioned as external motivators - salary, bonus, bonuses, also promotions. Punishment, reduction of premium or non-payment also works psychologically equivalently. However, in order to achieve higher work performance, the employee must be helped to find internal motivation - the employee's personal satisfaction for the task to be performed or the added value of the work, which does not depend on the salary. Internal motivation has several drivers - the desire to improve professionally, the desire to manage oneself and work autonomously, to see direction or progress, as well as creating a more global goal and reason or mission at work. These drivers have an incomparably greater impact on motivation and job performance than extrinsic motivation. Once the drivers of self-motivation are found, they should be included in the employee's daily duties and individual development plan, allowing to take on new, more complex and wider responsibilities.

Attention is necessary for every employee

In the course of work, one cannot do without the evaluation and recognition of the manager. However, a paradox is often observed - the best and weakest employees receive the most attention from the manager. On the other hand, the employee who performs his daily duties well enough or according to the requirements, remains neglected. The manager must remember that every employee needs an appraisal, even if it is just for the performance of daily duties, because positive vibes and celebrating the small victories are important. Modern performance management lies in the regular and structured face-to-face conversation between manager and employee, and such a conversation should not occur less than once a month. The greater the manager's support the employee needs, the more often the negotiations should take place. During these conversations, topics related to the elimination of obstacles in the work process, the role of the employee in the organization,

The most important thing in the assessment is objectivity

When it comes to performance management, one must not forget about the manager's and the employee's joint responsibility for what has been achieved. When evaluating an employee's performance, it should be remembered that the evaluator (manager) must maintain maximum objectivity, using measurements related to the employee's main tasks and goals. In addition, the employee must be aware that these measurements will have a significant impact on the performance evaluation. It should be remembered that one and even several measurements cannot provide comprehensive information about an employee's performance, and the main goal of performance management today is to unlock the employee's potential, where the manager's ability to know his employee plays a huge role. Among them, early notice of difficulties, which can be solved with the help of clear goals and a regular negotiation system.

Figure Baltic Advisory senior consultant Kristiana Boša