Performance Management Plan

HRM/531
October 29, 2013

Performance Management Plan
A performance management plan is a non-stop process of defining, measuring and assessing goals in order to effectively manage employee performance that is critical to organization’s business strategy.
This performance management plan developed for Landslide Limousine will be organized into three steps. 1. Define Performance, 2. Facilitate Performance and 3. Encourage Performance. According to Cascio (2013) the broad process of performance management requires that three things are done well.
Define Performance
This process involves three key elements: goals, measures, and assessments. Defining performance or expectations for employees needs to be clearly defined in order to provide direction to maintain or improve productivity. When goals are not specific, it triggers a cascade of problems all leading to poor completion of organizational goals. According to Wayne State University (2013) goals need to be S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time based). As mentioned, goals need to be measureable. An example of a measurable goal for a limousine driver is as follows, drivers should be given clear objectives such as, customer site punctuality at 95% of time or greater over an interval of 6 months. Not only is this goal specific by its punctuality percentage, but it can also be measured over a 6 month interval. This goal can be measured by way of a log sheet recorded by the dispatcher at the time of driver arrival. By having a clearly defined goal and measurable, performance outputs can be obtained.
The third element is assessments, which involves the review of progress towards the goal. Take for example the customer site punctuality goal for the driver. If a review of employee progress is not followed, what good does it do to set a specific, measurable goal if assessments for goal progress or completion are not performed? The key factor is complete commitment to follow through with all three elements to ensure goal completion. Performance appraisals fit well in this third element. Performance appraisals are designed to measure progress, provide feedback, improve work performance, and justify merit increases. “In general, appraisal serves a twofold purpose: (1) to improve employees’ work performance by helping them realize and use their full potential in carry- ing out their firms’ missions, and (2) to provide information to employees and managers for use in making work-related decisions”(Cascio 9ed, p. 362). Such as identifying developmental needs and establishing goals for training programs.
In addition appraisals can help differentiate performance attributes between effective and ineffective members of the organization. Performance appraisals are a critical process for measuring the employee’s skills and should be conducted frequently in order to properly monitor progress.
There are several behavioral-oriented methods for appraising employee performance. These methods “focus on employee behaviors, either by comparing the performance of employees to that of other employees (so- called relative rating systems) or by evaluating each employee in terms of performance standards without reference to others (so-called absolute rating systems)”(Cascio 9ed, p. 368).
The recommended method for your limousine business will be the Graphic Rating Scale. This method is less time consuming to develop and is easily administered. “They also allow results to be expressed in quantitative terms; they consider more than one performance dimension; and, because the scales are standardized, they facilitate comparisons across employees” (Cascio 9ed, p. 372).
I have attached a generic portion of a graphic rating scale pertaining to your limousine business to facilitate employee comparisons, but keep in mind that it can be further tailored to fit your business needs.
Rating Factors Performance Level Unsatisfactory Conditional Satisfactory Above satisfactory Outstanding
Job site Attendance
Customer site punctuality
On time arrival of guest to destination
Relationship with guest
Knowledge of area

As a summary to Define Performance, goals must be highly specific, measureable and assessments must be applied in order to determine goal progress. In addition assessments also involve the use of performance appraisals to monitor, correct in order to maintain alignment with organizational business strategy.
Facilitate Performance
In order to enhance performance management it is important to identify factors that would otherwise hinder maximum performance. According to Cascio (2013) these factors include the elimination of roadblocks, adequate resources and careful selection of employees. We will cover the careful selection of employees in greater detail in order to ensure a reduction of excessive labor cost and an increase of productivity to meet the target revenue growth of 5% for a couple of years and ensure that turnover rate of employees remains at 10% or lower.
Eliminating roadblocks come in the form of eliminating malfunctioning or outdated vehicles, office computers, dispatch equipment, two-way radios or inefficient work methods. Keep in mind that it is difficult for an employee to have good performance if the day to day tools are not functioning properly. Adequate resources in the form of capital resources, material resources, or human resources are also critical for employees to meet their goals.
The last section covers careful selection of employees, “the last thing any manager wants is to have people who are ill-suited to their jobs because this often leads to overstaffing, excessive labor costs and reduced productivity” (Cascio 9ed, p. 360). The employees you hire can make or break your business. According to Entrepreneur (2013) hiring the next person walking in the door can result in a mistake. “A small company cannot afford to carry deadwood on staff, so start smart by taking time to figure out your staffing needs before you even begin looking for job candidates” (Entrepreneur, 2013) Looking for the right candidates can start by the development of a Job Analysis for your office staff and limousine driver positions. A job analysis is initiated by understanding the exact requirements for the positions being filled. Some factors to consider for a limousine driver are as follows:
• The mental/physical tasks involved on weekdays, weekends, seasonal(ranging from judging, planning to cleaning, lifting, driving, navigating, dispatching, washing, delivering, stocking, overtime hours, etc.
• How the job will be done, what the methods and equipment will be used, for example when will the driver be assigned to pick up guest, during what hours of the day, from which locations, are they one way or round trips, which vehicles are designated for which events, etc.
• The reason the job exists with an explanation of job goals.
• The qualifications needed (training, licensing, knowledge of local attractions, skills and personality traits).
Once a comprehensive job analysis is completed for each position, the next item will be to develop a job description based on the job analysis. By conducting a job analysis an employee with the right fit for the position can be obtained thus reducing turnover rate and cost associated with retraining unfit individuals for the job.
Encourage Performance
This step is based on a rewards system to encourage good repeating performance of employees. According to Cascio (2013) rewards need to be valued by employees, for example pay, benefits, free time, merchandise or special privileges. Rewards need to be given immediately after a good performance to be most effective in reinforcing that performance. There should also be consistency in the way the reward system is handled by being unbiased, with a clear understanding among all employees of what renders a reward.
In conclusion a performance management plan involves several components including defining performance(S.M.A.R.T objectives and appraisal performance), facilitating performance (elimination of roadblocks, adequate resources, careful selection of employees, job analysis, and job description), Encouraging performance(valued rewards system) in order to effectively manage employee performance that is critical to organization’s business strategy. References
Cascio (2013). Managing Human Resources (9th ed.).Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Entrepreneur. (2013). How to write a job analysis and description. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/56490#ixzz2j4pfYeP3
Wayne State University. (2013). Wayne Leads Human Resources. Retrieved from http://wayne.edu/hr/leads/phase1/smart-objectives.php