Human Resource Management's Functional Responsibilities in Employee Performance Management
Performance management is a workplace program that helps employees understand their job duties and their employer's expectations. A performance management system also provides structure to your company's compensation and benefits practices. Human resources management plays two important roles in performance management--strategic planning and functional support. Strategic planning means developing a coaching and counseling philosophy for the organization's performance management system. Functional support consists of the legwork and tactical processes necessary for seamless implementation of the performance management system.
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Job Descriptions
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The first level of functional support human resources provides in implementing a performance management system is creating job descriptions. Job descriptions document the tasks, duties and responsibilities for each position or occupational group within the company. Recruiters use job descriptions to screen applicants and identify viable candidates. During the recruitment and selection process, recruiters and hiring managers ensure prospective employees have the skills and qualifications to perform successfully. When a new employee comes on board, a copy of the job description becomes a part of the employee's personnel file and during annual appraisals, managers refer to the job description when they conduct annual performance appraisals.
Performance Standards
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Human resources' functional responsibilities include establishing performance standards. Performance standards define the level of work required to meet or exceed job expectations. A sample performance standard for an executive assistant is: "Record and transcribe minutes and disseminate copies to the board of directors within two weeks after each meeting." The executive assistant is exceeding expectations by distributing copies within a week; however, if directors receive copies of minutes a month later, the employee is not meeting the job expectations. For rating purposes during an annual evaluation, managers compare the employee's actual performance to the performance standards.
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Leadership Training
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Training supervisors and managers how to conduct performance appraisals is another functional responsibility of your human resources department. A training specialist develops the learning objectives, methods and curriculum that teaches company leaders how to evaluate employees. Typical leadership leadership training for performance management systems consists of techniques for providing constructive feedback to employees, mentoring the work force and conducting an effective appraisal meeting. Supervisors and managers also learn how to identify employee goals for professional growth and development.
Compensation and Benefits
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Well-structured performance management systems provide guidelines for compensation and benefits practices, such as starting salaries, annual salary or merit increases and year-end bonuses. In addition, a performance management system aids in determining pay practices for internal promotions. The functional responsibilities of human resources involve working with the company's financial officers to set department budgets, match performance standards to wage increases and determine bonuses and incentives. Human resources also processes all salary increases, changes and benefits deductions through its payroll function.
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References
- University of California, Berkeley: Guide to Managing Human Resources, Chapter 7: Performance Management
- Boston College: General Compensation FAQs
- Entrepreneur: The Performance Management System: Applying and Evaluating a Pay-for-Performance Initiative
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Performance Management
Resources
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