What is Performance Management?
Most employees want to be successful and productive. They want to know what is expected of them, be supported in their efforts and be acknowledged when they achieve those expectations. Performance management is a process of:
- Clearly defining performance expectations
- Providing regular feedback and coaching
- Acknowledging performance results at the end of the review cycle
A typical performance management cycle starts with the manager and the employee discussing and identifying performance expectations. Their success is supported with regular feedback and coaching. At the end of the performance period – usually a year – the manager meets with the employee to summarize and document their accomplishments.
Why is Performance Management Important?
The performance management process is designed to help each individual work towards goals and performance expectations that are aligned with the objectives of the funeral home.
The goals of the performance process are to:
- Maximize the performance of the funeral home and its employees
- Be a tool for managers and employees to plan and measure performance
Depending on your practices, the process may also:
- Create a fair and structured pay delivery system
- Provide a forum for career planning discussions
How do we develop a Performance Management Process for our Funeral Home?
As the performance management process is based on measuring effectiveness in the job, the first step is to have up-to-date job descriptions for each of your positions. Refer to the Job Description section of this HR Toolkit for information and tools to develop effective job descriptions.
The success of performance management is reliant on the skills and comfort level of the manager in having clear conversations about expectation and providing coaching and feedback. It is best developed and implemented in a work environment where managers are comfortable with their supervisory skills, have good communication and trust established with their employees, and employee engagement is positive.
It is also important to implement a performance management system that fits your culture, values and business needs. Following is an outline of a typical performance management process and sample forms are provided at the end of this section under Tools and Resources. You may find it helpful to start with these documents and customize to your specific needs.
Helpful Tip
When developing or revising a performance management system for your funeral home, it can be helpful to involve employee and management representatives. By reviewing the sample forms with them you can solicit their feedback on how best to adapt for their needs, develop their understanding of the process, and build buy-in to the final result.
What are the Steps of a Typical Performance Management Process?
Step 1: Beginning of the Cycle – Establish Performance Expectations
The first step in the performance management process is ensuring that each employee has clearly defined goals. It can be helpful to start with:
- The funeral homes strategic plan and/or business plan that describes your overall goals
- An up-to-date job description for the position. Employees should have an opportunity to review their job description and obtain clarification on any elements they may not understand. Reviewing the description at least annually with each employee is also a great way to ensure it remains current.
Based on your business goals and individual job responsibilities outlined in the job description, establish specific performance goals to be achieved within the defined review period (typically one year).
S.M.A.R.T. performance goals are:
- Specific – set clear expectations
- Measurable – identify what will indicate when the goal has been accomplished
- Attainable – reasonable and possible for the employee to achieve
- Relevant – the goal is important to the funeral home and worth monitoring and measuring
- Timely – specify the timeframe for accomplishing the goal
Goals are typically set in one or both of the following areas:
- Performance Results: These goals describe “what” is to be performed and are often production related. These are the easiest to established as S.M.A.R.T goals and flow from the job description and/business plan. For example, “complete X number of letters accurately and on time per month”.
- Competencies. These describe “how” the work is to be performed. They are typically behaviourally or skill based and therefore measures tend to be more subjective in nature. For example, “maintains effective performance under pressure”. To be meaningful they should reflect the unique values and culture of your funeral home. Samples of behavioural competencies are included in the HR Toolkit.
The performance planning phase is also an excellent opportunity to discuss and agree on training, development or other support the employee requires to be successful in their position and to meet the performance expectations.
Step 2: Throughout the Review Cycle – Provide Coaching and Feedback
Performance coaching and feedback provided throughout the review cycle will encourage ongoing, two-way communication between the employee and manager. It helps guide employees in reaching their performance goals. This means that good and unsatisfactory performance is addressed as it occurs and that there are no surprises at the performance review.
Feedback and coaching help:
- Assess progress toward goals
- Recognize and reinforce achievement and performance
- Identify and correct small problems before they become big problems
- Guide the employee through the necessary steps to enhance performance
It is recommended that at least once during the review period, an interim review or check-in is completed. The interim review provides an opportunity for the employee and manager to meet and discuss the employee’s progress towards the established performance goals. Progress is acknowledged, any areas for improvement, training, coaching and support are identified. This is an interim check-in to ensure things are on track, and if necessary make adjustments prior to the final review.
Step 3: End of Cycle – Review Performance
At the end of the review period, the manager completes a full review of the employee’s performance. An annual review is an opportunity to accomplish the following:
- Sum up an overall assessment of how work has gone over the previous year
- Identify goals that have been met and those where additional effort may be required
- Identify performance, achievement and/or development goals for the upcoming year
- Give the employee an opportunity to provide input before the review is finalized
- Document performance achievements for employee records
The performance review is jointly discussed with the employee and then signed by the manager and the employee. A copy of the performance review should be maintained in the employee file.
As one review is complete, the cycle begins again with performance planning for the following review period.
Unsatisfactory Performance
If an employee’s job performance is not satisfactory and normal coaching, counselling and training have not brought performance to an acceptable level, performance improvement may be necessary. See the Performance Improvement section in the HR Toolkit for additional information.
Tools and Resources
Sample Behavioural Competencies
Behavioural Competencies Listing
Sample Performance Review Form
Performance Assessment and Development Form – Template
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