Unit 16 | P5 | Explain how employee performance is measured and managed

Explain how employee performance is measured and managed.
You should discuss performance and targets in Section A and a range of methods used for measuring performance in Section B

Section A: Measuring performance:

SMART targets are set objectives either given by the managers / mentors / employers of the employees, or, it is given by themselves. These are set objectives that reflect on the work that a candidate may be doing, and it includes a set time period for when that objective needs to met. For example, at college, we can give ourselves SMART targets, such as improving punctuality. We will give ourselves for example two weeks to make an improvement based on our punctuality, and it's something that everyone tries their best to abide by. In a workplace, it is the same story. An employee could give themselves a SMART target, for example to come into work, get as much work done as possible, so they could leave earlier – and so on.

A business needs to monitor their targets constantly, whether it be on a weekly – or a monthly basis. If they can monitor these targets, they will be able to see where there is room for improvement, or where they might be focusing on one target too much, and leaving the others behind. Sales targets are common in retail businesses, such as Apple. When they have released their latest flagship device, the iPhone 7, they have made themselves a set number of sales which they had to meet in the shortest time possible, the generate their outgoings back. This is very important for such a big organisation. Growth targets should be made for every organisation, as it is something that they can abide by to improve their business. This could be the growth of their employee base, or it could be the growth of their bank accounts. Financial targets ties in with both sales, and growth targets as it is all about the money (for a business, specifically). Financial targets could be to do with their profits, that they make on a monthly – or an annual basis, or it can be to get themselves out of debt, if that's the case.

Section B: Managing performance:

Employees need to be mentored, in order to give them the ability to improve at their job. This can be done whether the employee in subject is new, or whether he has been working at the company for a long time now – it doesn't matter. It is a great opportunity for not only the employee, but the business as well, because if the employees are being mentored, they can improve and learn, and if they can improve and learn, they can do their job better – therefore be more productive, motivated, and earn more money for the company.

Monitoring employees are key. If an employee is not monitored, the business cannot make sure that the employee in subject is doing their job properly – or at all. If the employee is monitored, they will be more motivated to achieve the expectations of the organisation, as they are being watched. Also, since they are monitored, if the person who is monitoring the employee can see that the candidate in subject struggles with something, they can assign them for mentoring, or training to improve their abilities.

Training employees are key in any organisation, where the candidate is doing something that he or she may not have previous experience with. Employees could be trained to use the computers and Excel if their role is data entry, or if the candidate in subject is a barista, they can be trained to be fully responsible and a great barista – knowing how to serve, talk to customers and operate the coffee machine.

Managing workloads are key in any organisation, for both employees and employers. If the employer gives out loads of work for the employee in subject, but the employee is not capable of managing such amount of workload, they employer should try and decrease the amount to where they both find it suitable, and the employee feels confident that he can manage that workload. It is the same with an employee. If the employee was in the subject, and he has been given loads of work by the employer, the employee should try and manage their time as best as possible in order to get as much work done as possible – without firstly saying, stating that it is not possible. As long as the employer knows that the employee did its best to finish the work, there should not be any problems.