Requisitos de exigibilidad

Performance Management Systems were introduced by the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (Resolution 13 of 1998), setting the framework for senior managers and all staff from Levels 1 to 12 to agree to individual performance agreements. Performance management is regulated by the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation 103 of 1994): the Public Service Regulations, 2001 and collective agreement. Employees falling under the Senior Management Services (SMS) and all employees from Levels 1 to 12 (General Worker to Managerial Levels) are dealt with differently in terms of the prescribed principles. Performance management is, however, applicable to both categories of employees.

According to Wilson (2005:157-158), performance management is a broader term than appraisal and, as a concept or philosophy, should ideally be a systematic approach that encompasses the following:

 Motivation of employees to perform.

 Vision by employers as to what performance standards they expect of employees.

 Ownership of management of performance at a variety of levels within organisations.

 Monitoring and measurement of the performances achieved by employees (Wilson, 2005:157-158).

Joubert and Noah (2000:18) define performance management as a formal management process for harnessing and directing, measuring, evaluating and rewarding human effort, competence and talent in realising an organisation’s mission and vision within a framework of core values.

According to Grobler, Warnich, Carrell, Elbert and Hatfield (2002:260), performance management is a systematic process through which an agency involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organisational effectiveness in the accomplishment of the agency’s mission and goals. It therefore involves a comprehensive approach to performance, which includes planning work and setting expectations, continually monitoring performance, developing the capacity to perform, periodically rating performance in a holistic fashion, and rewarding good performance (Grobler, et al., 2002:260).

Armstrong (2003:261) states that the principle of management by agreement or contract is what performance management is based on, rather than that of management by command. Performance management therefore emphasises the development of self-management learning plans: It also provides for an integrated and coherent range of human resource management (HRM) processes that are mutually supportive and therefore contribute to the improvement of organisational effectiveness (Armstrong, 2003:261).

According to Armstrong (2003:263), when performance management is effectively carried out, employees are made aware that their contributions are recognised and acknowledged. In support of accomplishing the strategic objectives of the organisation, performance management is used as an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor and an employee that occurs throughout the

year. The communication process includes clarifying expectations, setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and evaluating results (Armstrong, 2003:263).

Roberts (2001:12) also describes performance management as an ongoing communication process, undertaken in partnership between an employee and the immediate supervisor. This process involves establishing clear expectations and understanding about the following issues:

 The essential duties the employee is expected to perform.

 How the employee's contribution fits in with the organisational goals.

 What executing one’s duties well means in simple terms.

 How the supervisor will assist the employee in sustaining, improving or building on existing performance.

 How employee performance will be measured.

 The identification and removal of barriers to performance (Roberts, 2001:12).

According to Bloisi (2007:253), performance management is a process through which managers ensure that their employees’ outputs match the organisation’s goals.

Therefore, performance management is vital if an organisation is to gain a competitive advantage. A performance management system should consist of the following three parts:

 It must specify which aspects of performance are relevant to the job (this can be achieved through the use of job analysis).

 It must measure the relevant aspects of employee performance (one method of doing this is through a performance appraisal system).

 It must provide feedback to employees so that they can adjust their performance to match the organisation’s goals (Bloisi, 2007:253).

Carrell, Elbert and Hatfield (2000:224) refer to performance management as the toolbox that management uses to control, guide and improve the performance of employees. Tools such as reward systems, job design, leadership approaches, training efforts and performance appraisal can all be seen as part of an effective human performance management system and a big part of most managers’ jobs.

Furthermore, performance management is a management tool that links

organisational performance to individual performance. It seeks and identifies opportunities for growth and development. It should therefore be considered as a vitally important system within companies or organisations (Carrell et al., 2000:224).

5.2.1 Purpose of Performance Management

Performance management generally has three major purposes according to Minty and Bennet (2001:58):

 A process for strategy implementation.

 A vehicle for culture change.

 Provision of input to other HR systems, such as development and remuneration.

Furthermore, Minty and Bennet (2001:58-63) state that, traditionally, organisations viewed performance management as serving human resources purposes, resulting in performance management systems being owned and driven by human resources departments. However, in organisations today, it is of critical importance that the primary purpose of performance management is seen to both serve as a process for implementing business strategy and as a vehicle for changing and creating the desired culture (Minty & Bennet, 2001:58-63).

The purpose of performance management is to establish shared understanding about what is to be achieved and to provide an approach to managing and developing people in a way that increases the probability that it will be achieved over the short and longer terms, according to Armstrong (2001:469).

5.2.2 Functions of Performance Management

According to Bloisi (2007:254-255), performance management serves strategic, administrative and development functions in organisations, which are explained below:

5.2.3 Strategic function

This is a continuous process, focusing on the future rather than the past. Taking a strategic approach to performance management involves aligning HR practices to both current and future performance.

A performance management system should be able to identify whether an employee's activities are meeting the organisation’s goals. To do this, measurement and feedback systems are needed to identify whether this is happening. To achieve the strategic purpose, the system must be flexible; it needs to keep pace with the changing goals and nature of the organisation.

5.2.4 Development function

The development function of performance management should enable managers to identify when staff members are not performing well and how they can improve. The performance appraisal system often focuses only on an employee’s poor performance, while it should also be used to develop the employee’s work performances so as to enable him/her to progress through the organisation.

5.2.5 Administrative function

Many organisations use performance management to make decisions about salary, promotions, retentions, redundancies and recognition of individual performance as purely a box-ticking exercise rather than as a motivational tool that can improve performance.

To be effective, performance management systems need to link employee activities with the organisation’s strategic goals. When this is done efficiently, competitive advantages can be achieved (Bloisi, 2007:254-255).

5.2.6 Leadership Development

According to Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2004:17), leaders can never be self-satisfied: given the turbulent white waters of the global economy, new challenges constantly emerge. It becomes very difficult for HRM to specify the capabilities required. The authors further mention that leaders must increasingly reconcile an

ever-widening spectrum of diversity. Different stages of economic cycles, different national cultures, different corporate cultures, different team roles, functions, status levels, learning styles, disciplines, and personalities all contribute to the distances a leader must somehow bridge (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 2004:17).

5.2.7 Developing Talent for Business Leadership

Eledge (2010:155) states that talent development consists of planned experience, training and guided growth provided by an organisation in order to ensure an uninterrupted supply of competency in the business environment. He further emphasises that this is not a once-off learning event; rather, it is a continuous process.

Eledge (2010:155) further states that the ultimate goal of talent development programmes is to improve the leadership capabilities of those who perform managerial functions and it enhance the future performance and effectiveness of an organisation.

Eledge (2010:156) also mentions that the comprehensive and systematic development of leadership is more critical now than three decades ago, not only because of the impact of globalisation and rapid technological changes, but also because younger people are taking over the global executive positions previously occupied by baby-boomers.

He further states that, in the past, development focused essentially on preparing managers to climb the career ladder; today, development concentrates on providing managers with a resilient career and transforming them into global executives. He further mentions that development should be designed in such a way that it has the capacity to remould managers into individuals who are sufficiently equipped and confident to take on the awesome, but intrinsically satisfying, leadership challenge of making their organisations great (Eledge, 2010:155-156).

5.2.8 Executive Training is not Talent Development

According to Eledge (2010:157), training is the process of bridging the gap in knowledge, skills or attitude that is believed to affect the performance of an employee.

The author further contends that development, on the other hand, is regarded as a process of acquiring leadership skills or preparing managers for leadership

responsibilities. He further states that training is tactical and linked to immediate performance gaps, while development is strategic and focuses on preparing for tomorrow’s leadership in organisations (Eledge, 2010:157).

Eledge (2010:158) further state that training improves performance, while development enhances potential, because the outcome of development programmes is not immediate and the development process is continuous. He further mentions that it is usually difficult to measure the success of each event on its completion, whereas the outcome of training may be measured within three or six months of the completion of the learning event. However, training in the form of leadership or executive development programmes is not the same as talent development (Eledge, 2010:158).

5.2.9 Executive Development Training Programmes

Furthermore, according to Eledge (2010:158), executive development training programmes are planned learning experiences, designed and delivered to enable executives to perform their current jobs effectively by increasing their business skills, while also preparing them for effective leadership in the future. He further explains that the purpose of executive training is not only to prepare talent for higher level positions but, more importantly, to equip them sufficiently to meet the challenges in the rapidly changing international business environment. He further states that training is usually just an event and not a process within an integrated learning agenda. Many managers return with a lot of knowledge, but with no visible change in their leadership behaviours (Eledge, 2010:155-158).