PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS

HRM’s role in the performance management process and explain how to ensure the process aligns with the strategic plan.

In the everchanging environment of business and technology that we now face, Human Resource Manages have taken a significant role in the performance management process. As the business world constantly evolves and shifts so has the need for HR professionals to further expand functions into management and development. In the modern company structure HR focuses but are not limited to employee development, organizational development/ enhancement, employee relations, skill development and even promotions. Human Resource managers take an active role in the performance management process by ensuring a fair performance system is in place, training managers on performance systems, managing relationships between employees, and lastly recording performance reviews. (Bell, n.d.)

HRM’s are responsible for ensuring that the performance management process aligns with the strategic plan of the organization because the plan determines the direction that the company is heading in and the Human Resource functions required to successfully meet those goals. Based upon the strategic plan HRM’s must identify the needs of the company, recruit for those needs, develop those recruited and even plan for retention of current assets. When HR is aware of the direction the organization plans to move, they can plan to have the correct people in the correct position to facilitate a smooth transition. Utilizing the strategic plan can also assist with making sure the proper performance standards are set and evaluated for each employee.

Trait, behavioral, and results-based appraisal systems, providing an example where each would be most applicable.

TRAIT:Utilizing a trait based appraisal system allows an organization to focus on specific personality traits which in turn can strengthen unit cohesion, build moral and create positive work environments. Some of the traits that can be looked at during this type of appraisal include leadership, initiative, dependability, approachability and even reliability. The biggest disadvantage to using a trait appraisal system as a standard of judging performance is the fact that the results are often subjective for this type of system. It would be best to utilize a trait appraisal system in situations where it is necessary to build and maintain strong team moral or in a situation where building cohesion would create a more loyal workforce.

BEHAVIORAL: In using a behavioral based appraisal system it gives the organization the opportunity to evaluate the employees strictly on their behavior. Doing this you would measure what the employee does against what exactly the employee should be doing to complete job-related task. In order to effectively use this system, the HR department must have an established performance criteria to compare employee’s performance too. Using this appraisal system, it does offer straightforward more objective results in regards to performance evaluations. The biggest negative to using behavior to evaluate performance systems is the elimination of certain evaluation criteria such as customer interaction, contributions to meetings and optimism.

RESULTS:Using the results based appraisal system focuses on eliminating the subjectivity encountered in other forms of appraisal systems by evaluating the task and performance results. Individuals are evaluated based upon quantifiable outcomes resulting from their performance. This form of appraisal often looks at performance in terms of financial, customer, internal/ operations and learning or growth. With that being said utilizing this as a performance evaluation tool can lead to its own disadvantages such as not accounting for any external factors that could affect the employee’s results. (Griffin, n.d)

Identify best suited appraisal for the Maersk Customer Service –CARE Business Partner.

The best appraisal system for the Maersk Customer Service to use in regards of a CARE Business Partner is the trait based appraisal system. Within this position the employee would be responsible for all major customer contact, this in turn requires that certain traits are held by the individual. Utilizing this system would ensure that customers satisfaction remains at extreme high and the interaction between departments can be facilitated in an easier manner. The personality attributes that this associate must have will help with all areas of unit cohesion, further building great working relationships and improving company moral. All of these factors will assist Human Resources in meeting the company’s strategic plan and exceeding expectations.

Identify and describe a variety of performance rating scales that can be used in organizations including graphical scales, letter scales, and numeric scales.

Rating scales are used in performance management systems throughout organizations to assess an employee’s level of performance. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) appraise specific behaviors that represent levels of performance and are used as references to HR as to what various behavioral dimensions an employee holds. Next there’s the five or seven level performance management scales which is the most common used evaluation scale. The five level performance management scales provide better opportunity to differentiate between employees by offering two levels two superior performance levels. These levels include satisfactory and less than satisfactory levels, these also reduce tenancies of results to drift upwards or focus on the center.

REFERENCES

SHRM. (2014, October 21). Performance Management: Which performance rating scale is best, and what should an employer consider in adopting a performance rating scale? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/whattodowhendevelopingperfratescales.aspx

Ryan, N. (n.d.). Human resource management and the appraisal system | ACCA Qualification | Students | ACCA Global. Retrieved from http://www.accaglobal.com/us/en/student/exam-support-resources/professional-exams-study-resources/p5/technical-articles/human-resource-management-and-the-appraisal-system.html

Bell, E. (n.d.). What Role Does the HR Department Play in Performance Evaluation? | Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-hr-department-play-performance-evaluation-44928.html

Bobinski, D. (2004, February 26). The role of HR in strategic planning. Retrieved from http://www.management-issues.com/opinion/1137/the-role-of-hr-in-strategic-planning/

Griffin, D. (n.d.). Types of Employee Appraisal Systems | Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-employee-appraisal-systems-1908.html

Performance Management: Which performance rating scale is best, and what should an employer consider in adopting a performance rating scale? (2014, October 21). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/Pages/whattodowhendevelopingperfratescales.aspx