5 Actionable Performance Planning Steps You Need

An effective performance management system starts with the appropriate performance planning.

It’s like planning the schedule before heading out for a road trip. You need to list down your basic requirements and then make the necessary preparations. It’s unlikely that you’ll have a successful trip if you don’t plan ahead.

The same goes for planning out your organizations’ performance management structure. As a leader, you must learn to look at the bigger picture. It will help you to map out the long-term goals of the organization. And to do that, you need to have a proper plan to execute those goals.

This article will discuss the steps to kick-starting a good performance management program.

What is Performance Planning?

Performance planning is the process of drafting the steps to achieve company goals. One significant advantage of such planning is that, along with company objectives, it focuses on employee development.

The development plan is a planning process that involves both employees and employers.

This plan involves improving and developing the performance of the workforce to accomplish the business goals. During the brainstorming of the program, you need to focus on the critical areas like-

• The need for training and development

• Available resource allocation

• Highlighting the key areas for business and employee growth

What Is The Purpose Of Performance Planning?

Whenever we plan to do something, we have a vision and a purpose for doing it.

The same goes for performance planning as well. As a leader, you need to specify the targets and the goals you want to achieve. Without goal setting, tracking performance is futile. This will result in the failure of the performance management program.

As a head start, here is a list of a few of the objectives you can look out for-

• Define the organizational vision to the workforce

• Set realistic and achievable goals

• To improve the overall performance and team communication of the organization

• Providing a reliable benchmark to measure performance and make necessary changes

• Facilitating an active feedback culture

• To improve job satisfaction and promote healthy relationships in the workplace

Make sure that you are clear with your aims. The employees should be able to understand and connect with them. This will make it easier for the employees and will encourage them to work efficiently.

Importance of Performance Planning

Before taking on any task, we must be aware of its benefits. One of the many reasons is to gauge the ROI or return on investment.

Before spending your time and resources, you would want to know the returns of the investment. If you are not aware of it, then there are chances that it might result in a loss.

And it works the same for your performance planning. You need to understand the importance and the benefits of the program. Before you commit, here is a summary of the key things you should know about performance planning:

5 Steps Towards Good Performance Planning

1. Smart and Achievable Goal Setting

Let’s get one thing straight.

To achieve anything in the long run, you need to have a vision and a goal. And to successfully fulfill your goals, you must have a good plan.

Good goal setting will provide a roadmap of the path you need to follow. It will-

• Pinpoint the areas which you need to cover

• Measure the personal aspirations of employees and provide the necessary opportunities

• Help you become more specific regarding your efforts

Make sure that the goals are realistic and achievable. Set the goals and objectives in such a way that everyone in the company understands them. More obtainable goals will make the employees engaged, productive and improve their performance.

Read more: Tips for Setting Effective SMART Goals

2. Proper Job Responsibilities

If your employees are not put in the right job role, their performance will suffer. It is necessary that you provide them with the correct job description.

Its absence creates a significant roadblock in your performance planning process. To avoid it, you need to be sure about the roles you have to offer to your employees.

To assign an employee their necessary responsibilities, you need to-

• Assess their strengths and weaknesses

• Understand their skills and competencies

• Be aware of their core interests

Furthermore, you can hand them out the organizational chart that showcases their influence on the organization. This will make them more aligned with their job and increase their work effort.

3. Focus on Employee Development

Did you know that nearly 59% of employees had no training, and they self-taught the necessary skills?

That’s a high number of employees who didn’t receive basic or formal training during their onboarding. To address such discrepancies, you must keep a close watch on employee development.

To make sure that the employees do not miss out on development opportunities, you need to-

• Have a proper program that teaches the basic skills

• Assess the need for upskilling periodically

• Encourage employees to invest their time in their choice of extracurricular activities

• Design a good and future proof career development plan

• Make sure to conduct periodic performance reviews

The idea behind this is that a solid performance management structure will make your company thrive in the long term. Moreover, the proper development plan will keep your employees satisfied and boost their confidence levels.

4. Provide the necessary tools and resources

Without the help of the necessary resources and tools, accomplishing a task is difficult.

For instance, to complete a website-related task, you need a good internet connection and a computer. In that same way, while planning, you need to include the workforce’s necessary tools and resources to do their daily tasks.

It is an essential part of any organization. And as a leader, you must emphasize on finding the right tool that suits your needs.

To figure out what the employees need, you have to-

• Conduct spot based surveys

• Hold one-on-one conversations with the employees regarding their problems

• Understand their perspective on how work needs to be done

This will create a sense of value in your employees. In return, employees will become more loyal and dedicated to their work.

5. Facilitate Mentorship

To enhance the performance of your employees, they need proper guidance and mentorship. Therefore, it is one of the critical steps in your planning process.

As a leader, you need to make room for a mentorship program that will help employees to follow the right path. It will also help them to figure out the areas for improvement.

With the appropriate supervision, your employees will enhance their performance and increase their productivity. To do that, you need to-

• Assign senior-level executives for the new recruits

• Hand out manifestos that will describe their overall contribution

• Structure the long term goals that will help them improve their decision-making abilities

• Support the employees whenever they face difficulties

• Regular follow-ups to keep of their progress

Moreover, for successful mentorship, make sure that the experienced people are compatible with the employees. If you miss out on that crucial aspect, there are chances that conflict might happen. In return, it will affect the relationship between the peers and hinder their ability to work.

Summing it Up

To enhance employee performance you need to have a proper plan. It should be flexible, realistic, and measurable in the long run. Try to make it sustainable so that you can grow your workforce without any hassle and increase their productivity in every manner.

Mrinmoy Rabha is a content writer and digital marketer at Vantage Circle. He is an avid follower of football and passionate about singing. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com