APPRAISAL & DEVELOPMENT

Achieving Success & Developing People

2005

PROGRAMME

1.PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT :

- The Council Priorities 2004-7

- Defining performance management

- Why it fails

- Test your culture

- Making performance breakthroughs

2. APPRAISAL :

- What it’s about

- The Appraiser role

- The Appraisee role

- Preparation

- Managing the appraisal discussion

3. PERFORMANCE COACHING :

- The coaching experience

- A personal coaching session

- Principles & skills

- Using the GROW model

- Review

4. RESOURCES :

- Questions that help

- Guidelines for feedback

- Constructive criticism

- Development planning

1.PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Bradford’s Corporate Priorities 2004-7

Enhancing opportunities for young people through education and life long learning.

Creating a more prosperous district. Developing more cohesive and safer communities. Improving waste management and the environment – cleaner. Delivering social care for vulnerable people. Transforming customer service, using e-government to the full.

PERFORMANCE :TWO MEANINGS

GETTING THE JOB DONE - Results/Objectives achieved - BUSINESS

HOW IT’S DONE - Competence demonstrated/developed - CAPACITY

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

A process for establishing shared understanding about what is to be achieved

An approach to managing people To increase the probability of achieving job

related success A CHANCE TO CATCH YOU DOING

SOMETHING RIGHT(Aquarius Consulting, November 2000)

“… it’s about getting results. Getting the best from people and helping them realise their potential…..An approach to achieving a shared vision of the organisation. It’s concerned with teams and individuals realising their potential whilst recognising their role in contributing to the goals of the organisation.( Pam Jones, The Performance Management Pocketbook 1999)

‘PERFORMANCE BREAKTHROUGHS : IMPROVING PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATIONS’

2002 Audit Commission report based on their work in 12 organisations in local government, the health service & the emergency services

“ The mechanics – targets, indicators, & plans – are only a small part of the whole process, & they are easy to deal with in comparison with getting the right focus, leadership & culture in place”

“The benefits remains strong : organisations that work at managing performance know what they need to do & how to do it”

WHY MANAGING PERFORMANCE IS DIFFICULT

Leaders aren’t interested There’s no time to learn There are too many priorities People don’t understand that what we do

has to change The system doesn’t help Some people don’t perform

LEADERS AREN’T INTERESTED

Leaders not making it clear to staff that managing & improving performance is important

Without this,managers can’t sustain this message

Staff unlikely to feel supported in trying to improve

THERE’S NO TIME TO LEARN

Structured approach found difficult & is avoided:

- no confidence that problems can be solved

- looking at personal problems difficult

- skill in designing & delivering sessions poor Taking feedback is uncomfortable No time or space is made available for it It takes time, focus & energy away from other

important matters

THERE ARE TOO MANY PRIORITIES No one at the top has translated the many &

complex demands from the outside world into a clear direction that makes sense to staff

Don’t blame others, take control! If you’ve done the thinking, communicate the

results clearly What are the priorities, & what can be

dropped?

PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT WE DO HAS TO CHANGE

Tough choices about services, to back new priorities, not made

How to motivate people to change not understood : people don’t change easily or quickly

Staff should be involved in developing priorities, so that they are prepared to make the changes needed to achieve them

What you say about improving performance must be put in plain language

People don’t how what they do contributes to improving performance

THE SYSTEM DOESN’T HELP

It’s only a system : it can help organise an approach but can’t do the hard thinking & decision making you need to undertake

Does the system reflect the needs of the organisation, & can it change with changing needs?

Is it clear that the system will help measure what is important or just what is measurable?

SOME PEOPLE DON’T PERFORM Managing people who perform inadequately is challenging &

therefore avoided If this is not done higher up the organisation, why should you

feel under any pressure to do it? You may not have been adequately trained & supported to

spot under performance, understand & deal with it How do you help people do their jobs to the best of their

ability? Do systems (eg rewards), processes (eg levels of delegation)

culture(accepted norms of behaviour) help people to perform

well?

TESTING YOUR HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE : QUIZ

EIGHT WAYS TO BREAK THROUGH

1. Make it clear that performance matters

2. Join up your thinking & learn

3. Take action on what matters most

4. Make national agendas work for you

5. Sign up your staff

6. Find your own framework

7. Measure what matters

8. Help people to perform

1. MAKE IT CLEAR THAT PERFORMANCE MATTERS

Champion this, set an example Leadership throughout, not just at the top Don’t just say the right things, do things differently Show sustained commitment from the top Visit staff & speak to them about performance

issues Show strength, enthusiasm

2. JOIN UP YOUR THINKING & LEARN ‘A learning organisation is…where members of the

organisation question the operations continuously, to find mistakes or differences & fix these themselves by restructuring their organisation & operations’

Chris Argyris Question operations continuously Take time out in management teams regularly in well

facilitated sessions Get feedback from others about what they feel

works/could be improved

Use good performance information, which reflects specifically the results of the decisions you have made

Reflect on what you need to do differently, as an organisation, as a management team, & as individuals

Share this with the organisation, to guide action & reflection Combine this with encouraging people to experiment, try new

ways of doing things Accept that some things will not work – but make sure you

learn from your mistakes Take an hour out with a colleague to ask “what is really going

on here?”

3. TAKE ACTION ON WHAT MATTERS

It’s only possible sustain focus on a limited number of issues

Focus on priorities & do somethingGet the right people involved : clarify top

priorities by talking to local peoplePut resources behind what matters

most : allocate & re allocate

4. MAKE NATIONAL AGENDAS WORK FOR YOU

Make them mean something, rather than a burden to work round

How do national targets fit onto your agenda? The primary focus is to change what you do to

improve services to customers Don’t be a victim!

5. SIGN UP YOUR STAFF

You may redesign, reconfigure, reorganise for efficiency, but it is the performance of people in everyday jobs that cause an organisation to work well

It is easy to create systems to manage performance but much harder to make people want to use them to bring about change

Consult staff about how best to improve services Allow people to take responsibility & make them

accountable

People will perform better if they feel responsible for something

Stop upwards delegation! Use plain language to describe what good

performance should be ‘Jargon & ambiguous language can work against

you by creating confusion & resistance’

Peter Senge Communicate well

6. FIND YOUR OWN FRAMEWORK

‘… the moment performance management turns into a system, the battle has been lost’

Tom Lester Show a clear ‘line of sight’ from corporate objectives

to the jobs that people do Teams & individuals then understand what they

personally have to do in order for the organisation to achieve it’s aims

Force any conflicts between objectives out into the open, to help you manage better

Common Problems

Failing to think through why you want a new framework, & what you want it to do

Taking an off the shelf system & not tailoring it Focusing too much on the mechanics, rather than

the purpose – to improve services ‘Paralysis by analysis’ – collecting more than the

important information Making the system too complicated instead of

working to keep it simple Expecting the framework to do the hard thinking for

you

Failing to give high enough priority to getting the framework right

Failing to involve staff or prepare them for change

Not being prepared to update the framework continuously

7. MEASURE WHAT MATTERS

If measures reflect the organisations strategy, people understand better what they have to do

This is important when facing new external challenge, or there are improvement programmes

Some just collect what is collectable, or just what is specified nationally

Others discuss what constitutes good performance with stakeholders, ie focus on outputs as well as inputs & outputs

Large amounts of data may feel comfortable but do not of themselves improve anything

Interpretation must be intelligent

8. HELP PEOPLE TO PERFORM

‘Actually, you can’t empower people : you can only create a climate in which they can empower themselves’

M.D., Engineering Company Develop, train & support people to do a well

defined job Create a culture which motivates staff &

gives them responsibility Give honest, critical feedback the those

whose performance you are not happy with

Give feedback which is honest about problems but supports individuals

This discussion takes thinking & courage from both parties

If the employee sees feedback as accurate & useful, it can lead to a breakthrough in their performance & their relationship with their manager

Managers need to pursue poor performance issues, & not wait for someone to leave or someone better will join

Separating the person from their performance enables you to work with the performance of those you do not like

Also,concern about racial &/or sexual harassment can prevent people being honest & open - honesty & robust evidence from the manager are especially important here

2.APPRAISAL

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

An opportunity for managers & employees to have a dialogue about their key work objectives & how their work contributes to the achievement of organisational priorities

The means through which performance standards can be agreed & feedback provided on performance against them

Emphasising & developing continuous improvement

Supporting individuals to achieve objectives & standards as agreed

Supporting the development of competences required by the organisation

Helping individuals to maintain a wide range of skills in their personal portfolio

THE AIMS OF P.A.D.S.

Share views on work & performance Discuss issues of importance concerning work &

future career development Establish & agree achievable performance

targets in line with Unit/Divisional objectives Praise & acknowledge work completed

THE APPRAISER ROLE

To grasp the purpose, processes & procedures of performance appraisal

To understand the key objectives of the organisation, their Department & the priorities for their area of responsibility

To translate these goals into objectives for an individual

To communicate these proposals clearly

Diagnose staff strengths & development needs Formulate & agree a development plan Coach staff on how to achieve performance

objectives Monitor staff performance & give feedback

APPRAISEE ROLE

To prepare thoroughly – consider their workload & key priorities

To self assess & seek feedback on work performance

To consider what aspects of work & their working environment helps & hinder their effective performance

To check out expectations of them To engage positively in the appraisal discussion

THE APPRAISAL PROCESS

PREPARATION

Give adequate notice Consider performance: -what were last year’s objectives? -what supporting facts are there? -what affected appraisee performance

(internal/external factors)

Identify what needs achieving in the current business plan

Look for ways of improving organisational effectiveness

Make sure you are familiar with the requirements of the job

Review employee history:skills, training, experience, past jobs & performance

Note any personal development which may be needed based on any assessed competence

Allow for time & privacy

MANAGING THE APPRAISAL DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTIONEstablish rapportState objectives of sessionExplain the process/procedure/approach you’ll take Keep the atmosphere positive & informal

MAIN BODY Encourage the employee to talk from the start Ask open questions to find out how they feel

about the job Use probing & behavioural questions to find out

facts about how they have performed over the period, to gain evidence

Use reflective questions to encourage them to expand on their points

Use summaries to keep the session on line, point out the progress made & the way ahead

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES SSPECIFIC MMEASURABLE AACTION FOCUSSED RREALISTIC TTIMEBOUND EENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT RREGULARLY REVIEWED

FROM SERVICE OBJECTIVES TO INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT

Select a service objective Create a SMARTER objective for a team member Work out any support they might need to achieve

this Specify any development methods which might

assist

ENDING & FOLLOW UP Complete any forms & get the appraisee to sign them Review the success of the session Agree & diary date of next appraisal session & intervening

review meetings Take any action you have agreed to take throughout the year

REVIEW Schedule & diary meetings throughout the

appraisal year before the end of the appraisal session

Without these, progress towards, & achievement of, targets will be missed

They will allow targets to be changed in the light of developments

Actions taken by appraiser & appraisee can be monitored

All this should be recorded

3. PERFORMANCE COACHING

THE COACHING EXPERIENCE‘Take your seat’

Work with a partner A stands up B instructs A how to take their seat from a standing position B uses a number of component parts rather than general

instructions, such as ‘Sit down’ You have three minutes Swop roles & repeat

‘TAKE YOUR SEAT’De - brief

Coachees : What was it like being instructed?

How easy or difficult was it to take your seat & why?

What would you have liked more of from the coach?

What were your feelings?

General comments :

Positive & negative, from coach

Positive & negative, from coachee

A PERSONAL COACHING SESSIONThe GROW model :Key principles Awareness & responsibilitySkills Effective questioning & active listening Steps G oals – what do you want? R eality – what is happening now? O ptions – what could you do? W ill – what will you do?(from ‘Coaching for Performance’, John Whitmore, Nicholas Brearley Publishing,

1996)

ACTIVITY(Plenary)

Think of something at work that you would personally like to be coached in

Take questions from the GROW model & record on the proforma What actions will you commit to? How much are you committed to them :

from 0 = low commitment

to 10 = high commitment ?

PRINCIPLES & SKILLS

What do you think the principles

AWARENESS

& RESPONSIBILITY

might mean in the coaching context ? What might be involved in the skills

EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING

ACTIVE LISTENING ?

AWARENESS

Helping the coachee focus on the reality of the situation as it is now

Understanding their role, involvement & influence Enabling them to explore fully the relationship between a

perceived understanding of the situation & the reality of what is happening

How they might change their behaviour

RESPONSIBILITY

Coachee finds solution Takes responsibility & ownership Leads to motivation Things that give us a buzz, or employ our unique talents, are not

found difficult Coach needs only to prompt or offer support

EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING

Framing questions to help the coachee think beyond the obvious & bland answer

Drawing out the coachee Remaining on their agenda Helping them move forward with their own ideas Not hinting what the coach would like to hear Not suggesting what the coachee should do in the future

ACTIVE LISTENING

At two levels:

- the meaning/content of the words (WORDS)

- the feelings carried by the spoken word (MUSIC) Undivided attention given to the coachee Maintain eye contact Close, but not threatening, physical presence Not invading personal space Not distant/distracted Hearing both words & music(hints at doubts, concerns,

reservations)

USING THE GROW MODEL Coach, Coachee, Observer triads No role playing Each person thinks of a real life situation on which they would

like coaching Select coach, coachee & observer for round one Coach works through the ‘GROW : Effective Questions’ sheet

with coachee Observer notes questions & reactions Coach, coachee, & observer complete a ‘Reflections’ sheet Observer debriefs first the coachee, then the coach Plenary discussion Change around within the triad & repeat & again!

REFLECTIONS ON COACHING PRACTICE SESSIONS

CoachHow I felt

What I thought went well

What I learned about myself as a coach

CoacheeHow I felt

What I liked

What I have taken away

ObserverMy overall feelings about the coaching are…

What I would like to offer the coach…

4. RESOURCES

QUESTIONS THAT HELP

QUESTIONS THAT HELP

OPEN QUESTIONS Cannot be answered yes or no Require opinion,feeling, explanation,

experienceExamples:“What is your opinion of…”“How do you feel about…”“What do you think caused…”

Advantages: Demonstrates your interest in them Confirms you value their ideas & feelings Stimulates thought Helps you understand their needs Encourages dialogue not monologue

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS Repeats a statement the other had made, as a

question Requires good listening Important to select the most important aspect

Example:

Employee: “Our results would be better if we modified the procedures to take samples”

Manager: “you seem to be saying that you definitely believe it possible to improve the results?”

Advantages: You are not evaluating what has been said-this

can avoid arguments You confirm your understanding of what has

been said They are encouraged to clarify & expand Encourages dialogue

PROBING QUESTIONS Solicit information about a particular point or

issue Used to deepen communication

Example:

Manager: “If you are convinced the results can improve,what steps would you take & when would you take them?”

Advantages: Generate information in the areas of most interest

to you Challenge the other to to explore ideas, defend

statements, contribute suggestions Foster clear thinking Raises personal responsiblity

BEHAVIOURAL QUESTIONS Seek specific examples, from past experience, of a

particular skill The other person can learn what you are looking

for & give you much informationExamples:“Tell me about a time when you…”“Give me a specific example of when you had to deal

with a poorly performing team member – what did you do?”

“Can you give me some examples of the kinds of decisions you have had to make on your own initiative?”

Advantages: Past performance is the best predictor of future

behaviour You will get specific names, dates, numbers,

times, locations…ie “real” evidence You will get beyond your preconceptions or first

impressions of the employee

GUIDELINES FOR FEEDBACK

GUIDELINES FOR FEEDBACK

Giving: Be sure of your motives Always own it Measure it Be descriptive & specific, not judgemental Focus on achievable change Give soon after performance

Negotiate understanding Try the sandwich:

- positives first

- negatives in the middle

- end on a positive note Maintain their self esteem

GUIDELINES FOR FEEDBACK

Receiving: Listen & acknowledge positive & negative

feedback Don’t crumple! Recognise your strengths Look for opportunities to improve Maintain you self respect Act on justifiable criticism

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

Confrontation causes anxiety Anxiety distorts: pussyfooting – not stating the problem

clearly clobbering – too much negativity Middle road: tell the truth – based on firm evidence, but

given with care

Focus on facts & behaviours rather than personalities & opinion

Communicate facts clearly & honestly Clarify what you think the problem is Commit both of you to an agreed course of

action to deal with the problem

If you can’t take it, you can’t give it!

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

WHAT THE PLAN SHOULD HAVE

SMARTER development objectivesMethods for their achievement

DEVELOPMENT METHODS

Team Coaching 1: 1 Instruction

Mentoring Placements

Shadowing Secondments

Delegated work Open & eLearning

Project work Off the job courses

GETTING STARTED

“ Changes which are self attributed are maintained to a greater degree than those which are believed to be due to external causes” Goodwin

It all starts with you & your desire to learn You must take a risk, a jump, a chance You need some SMARTER objectives You will need to assess yourself against these

You need supporters – friends, colleagues, networks

You will need perseverance, gumption