Essay on Performance Management Effectiveness

Introduction

Performance management is considered as an integral part of any organization’s managerial practices. Companies undertake this continuous process of performance enhancement by aligning the employee goals with the organizational goals, developing their capabilities, skills and experiences and then evaluating their performance progress (Armstrong, 2018). Organizations may adapt to several performance management strategies which includes training and development sessions to enhance the employee skills, incentive strategies to reward them and performance appraisals to evaluate their performance. An efficient performance management framework enables an organization to practice strategic human resource management. This practice would enhance the employee’s productivity and thereby would lead the company to prosper in the long run (Wild, Rhodes & Martinov‐Bennie, 2019). This report is designed to compare and contrast two different performance management frameworks. The analysis of the differences and the similarities will assert the unique patterns of performance effectiveness adapted by different organizations. 

Comparison between two performance management frameworks

The Haines et al and the Biron et al research papers assert different strategies to ensure performance effectiveness in the management framework. Haines et al, which conducts its research via a sample of 312 public and private corporations asserts that organizations that incorporate employee training, recognition and feedback in their performance management system tend to develop valuable frameworks (Biron, Farndale & Paauwe, 2011). Training and appraisal systems also tend to increase employee engagement, thereby strengthening the performance management dynamics (Mone, Eisinger, Guggenheim, Price & Stine, 2019).The research also analyses the effect of other variables like the organizational culture and the employee relations climate on the performance management frameworks (Biron, Farndale & Paauwe, 2011). The research tends to focus more on the practical implications of enhancing the performance management system, rather than on the theoretical framework and design of the system. 

The Biron et al, on the other hand, conducts it’s research via a sample from 16 leading firms and proposes a different theory that tends to explain the effectiveness of the performance management system. His model uses a signaling theory to explain how various factors within the organizational framework tend to communicate the organizational expectations to the employees, thereby reiterating a strong performance management system (Haines & St-Onge, 2012).The signaling theory also leverages the employees by providing them with the ability to interpret the organizational cues (Bergh, Conelly, Ketchen & Shannon, 2014). The paper proposes that performance management frameworks can be enhanced by embedding both the strategic and the tactical aspects of performance management in the framework, involving the senior management in the procedure, communicating the targets and expectations to the workforce and lastly, conducting formal training for the performance raters (Haines & St-Onge, 2012).

The performance effectiveness factors that has been tested in both the theories largely differ. The Haines et all research focuses only on the tactical approach of performance management such as performance appraisals and recognition and limited it’s emphasis on the strategic factors (Haines & St-Onge, 2012). However, the Biron et al research focus on a more comprehensive and an in-depth approach to performance management by covering both the strategic and the tactical goals and including other external factors like senior management involvement in the analysis. Furthermore, the Hiason research tends to establish a direct association between the effectiveness of performance management and it’s consequent variables, unlike the Biron research which establishes an indirect connection. Hence, it can be affirmed that both the articles depict a different perspective to performance management effectiveness (Biron, Farndale & Paauwe, 2011).

Contrast between the two performance management frameworks

The Haines and the Biron researches also share multiple common concepts that enables the articles to fall in the same performance management paradigms. Firstly, both the articles are developed towards a common objective of deriving measures that may enhance the effectiveness of the performance management system. Organizations may enhance their performance management frameworks via multiple approaches and strategies, however a collaborative effort of all the technique may enhance the efficiency of the system (MacMillan, 2019). 

Secondly, both the research papers shed some light on the tactical and the strategic approaches to performance management. Hianes et al discusses the tactical measures via employee training and incentives systems and describes the strategic approach by discussing the role of strategic human resource management in enhancing the performance management system (Haines & St-Onge, 2012). On the other hand, the Biron research findings discuss tactical measures via training and compensation, whereas strategic measures are tapped via a discussion of aligning the individual and the organizational goals (Biron, Farndale & Paauwe, 2011). The consideration of the strategic and the tactical goals in the performance management structure enables the organization to strengthen their performance indicators, thereby enhancing the employee performance and productivity (Schrage & Kiron, 2018).

Thirdly, both the research papers discuss managerial training as an integral factor in enhancing the performance management network. Hianes et all showers the most emphasis on this training asserting that the inculcation of training in the managerial framework enables the employees to deliver more valuable outcomes (Haines & St-Onge, 2012). Likewise, Biron et al also acknowledges the importance of training by affirming that trained managers tend to deliver enhanced performance appraisals than untrained managers (Biron, Farndale & Paauwe, 2011). Training facilitates the performance management framework by enhancing the skills and abilities of the employees, thereby making them adhered to the organizational goals and objectives (Qureshi & Hassan, 2013).

Conclusion

In order to conclude, it can be affirmed that organizations may resort to multiple approaches in order to ensure the effectiveness of the performance management framework. They may use tactical strategies like employee recognition, feedback and training and they may also use strategic strategies to enhance the performance of the employees. The organizations may also facilitate the performance network by involving the senior management into the procedure, communicating expectations to the employees and training the managers. These variables also act as potential signals to the employees to enhance their performance and thereby positively impacts the performance management system. Organizations should endeavor to enhance their performance management practices in order to increase the employee productivity and satisfaction, thereby enabling the organizations to succeed.