Performance Management

Performance management has become something that we at DBS have been dealing with extensively over the last few months, and thus we feel it necessary to advise about the issues surrounding the process.

The key factor in Performance management is the need to improve the levels of an employee's output, or the quality of the output, if it does not measure up to the expectations of what the employee was employed for.

The process can be broken up into a few stages, so as to ensure that the person is guided through this process and is given every opportunity to improve to the levels required by the employer.

1. Notice must be given of a performance measurement or appraisal.
2. Performance appraisal must be heard and evaluated
3. If the employee does not measure up to expectations, an incapacity hearing must be held.
4. In the outcome, the employee must be informed that he/she will be placed on a performance management program to improve his/her levels and bring him/her up to the standard required.
   • If the employee refuses, he can be charged with insubordination.
   • If the employee agrees, the performance management program is implemented.
5. Closely monitor the performance and have regular meetings with the employee, explaining what has or hasn't improved. The employee must be given a reasonable time frame in which to complete the program; this time frame is largely decided by the complexity of the work and needs to be reasonable.
6. If at the end of the process the employee has:
   • Made some improvements that are regarded by management as acceptable, the performance management may be given again highlighting the areas which the employee needs to seriously focus on.
   • If after completion the employee has not improved to an acceptable level, another incapacity hearing must be held prior to dismissal or demotion to a more appropriate level for the employee.
   • If after a second run the employee has not improved to a level of satisfaction the same process as that above must be followed, with either dismissal, or demotion.

This is the basic flow of the performance management process, it is a long process, but the object is to improve your employees' output and productivity. As each sector and company have different needs it is difficult to state and give a complete format for a performance management document.

The most important aspects that need to be in a performance document are:

1. Complete breakdown of all tasks for the employee per day,
2. Complete breakdown of all tasks for the employee per week,
3. Complete breakdown of all tasks for the employee per month,
4. All task must be measurable, and quantifiable, so as to monitor completely the progress that the employee is making,
5. The document must be concise and detailed, so the employee knows exactly what they need to do,
6. All tasks must fall within the scope employee's work,
7. It is vitally important that every step is documented in detail for any future references.

In conclusion, this process will always stand you in good stead. If the employee improves and grows from the experience they will grateful for the opportunity and chance to improve. It will also assist the employee to focus on all future tasks, and promotions that they might undertake, as they will be fully aware of what they are applying for and ensure that they can do all the necessary tasks.

If the employee is demoted or dismissed for incapacity or insubordination and decides to further the matter at the CCMA or Bargaining Council, the company will be able to prove that the employee was given ample opportunity to improve their performance and either refused, or did not improve to the levels that needed to be attained. The documented proof will be available.

For more information, please feel free to contact us at the details below.

Watch out for our next newsletter on Pre-school education for the workplace.