The Performance Management Cycle

1.

The Performance
Management Cycle

2.

What is the Performance Management
Cycle?
It is a continuous cycle that ensures Performance
Management is conducted in a way that is beneficial
and constructive to the employees and the organization
It aligns the efforts of managers/supervisors and
employees with organizational objectives
It promotes consistency in performance reviews
It motivates all employees to perform at their best
This process should be conducted with fairness and
transparency

3.

What does it involve?
There are many versions of the Performance
Management Cycle depending on the organizational
strategy and managerial needs and expectations.
Depending on the type of organisation, the
management cycle may take place over a year's
period or month by month.
The performance management cycle works best if it’s
used as a series of mini-cycles, throughout the year.
A typical performance management cycle which
contains 5 stages to consider when implementing a
performance management scheme.

4.

The five stages of the Performance
Management Cycle
Stage 1: Planning
Stage 2: Developing
Stage 3: Monitoring and Performing
Stage 4: Reviewing
Stage 5: Rewarding

5.

Stage 1: Planning
Managers and employees get together to
evaluate the employees’ current role and
performance, identify areas for improvement,
establish clear and specific performance
expectations and set achievable targets.
By Involving employees in the planning process,
employees are able to understand the goals of
the organisation, what needs to be done, why it
needs to be done, and how well it should be
done.

6.

Stage 1…Continued
During this stage, a helpful tool is to set S.M.A.R.T
objectives, meaning goals that are:
-Specific
-Measurable
-Achievable
-Realistic/Relevant
-Time- bound

7.

Stage 2: Developing
It focuses on improving an employee’s current expertise
but also to develop new skills and knowledge as well as
abilities and potential
This is achieved through training, giving assignments that
introduce new skills or higher level of responsibility,
improving work processes, or other methods
Development efforts encourage and strengthen good
performance and help employees keep up with
changes in the workplace
This stage is also about providing support to an
employee at all times and ensuring that the appropriate
systems and tools are available to maximise
performance expectations

8.

Stage 3: Monitoring and Performing
Monitoring and performing is about consistently
measuring performance and providing ongoing
feedback and relevant tools to employees to
enable and support them in achieving their
goals.
Ongoing monitoring provides the opportunity to
check how employees are doing and deal with
potential problems or obstacles early on.

9.

Stage 4: Reviewing
Reviewing is all about evaluating employee or
group performance against the goals, criteria
and standards that had been agreed during the
Planning stage, by using a number of tools such
as the 360 degree assessment, self-assessment,
competence-based assessment etc.
A review will examine the results, both tangible
and intangible, and determine where to
concentrate efforts as the cycle returns to the
planning stage.

10.

Stage 5: Rewarding
If all of the objectives have been met, the final
stage of the performance management cycle is
to reward employees.
By rewarding employees, managers
acknowledge the employees’ contribution to
the organization and provide incentives to
further motivate and engage them
There are many ways to acknowledge good
performance, from informal recognition to
formal reward and recognition programmes.