Performance Development Planning

Are you looking for the process that provides the heart of your performance management system? You've found it. The Performance Development Planning (PDP) process enables you and the people who report to you to identify their personal and business goals that are most significant to your organization's success. The process enables each staff person to understand their true value-added to the organization. They do so when they understand how their job and the requested outcomes from their contribution "fit" inside your department or work unit's overall goals.
Personal Developmental Goals
In the process, staff members also set personal developmental goals that will increase their ability to contribute to the success of your organization. The accomplishment of these goals also provides a foundation for their career success whether in your organization or elsewhere, so they ought to be motivated and excited about achieving these goals. Your system of Performance Management, with the PDP process for goal setting and communication, will ensure that you are developing a superior workforce. As one CEO remarks daily, "The only factor that constrains our growth is our ability to hire a superior workforce." Why not grow that talent from within your organization as well?
PDP meetings are held, at least, quarterly to review the staff person's progress on the overall goals and objectives. Your staff person's progress on the action plans, that result from the PDP goals, is reviewed at your weekly one-on-one meeting. This weekly meeting allows you to offer assistance and to identify any help or tools the staff person needs to succeed. Wonder what to do to make the Performance Development Planning (PDP) meeting successful? These recommendations tell you and your staff person what to do prior to the Performance Development Planning meeting.

• Schedule the Performance Development Planning meeting and define pre-work with the staff member.
  
• The staff member reviews personal performance for the quarter, writes business and personal developmental goal ideas on the PDP form and gathers needed documentation, including 360 degree feedback results, when available.
  
• The supervisor prepares for
  the PDP meeting by clearly defining the most important outcomes needed from the staff person's job within the framework of the organization's strategic plan.
  
• The supervisor writes business and personal developmental goal ideas on the PDP form in preparation for the discussion.
  
• The supervisor gathers data including work records and reports and input from others familiar with the staff person’s work.
  
• Both the supervisor and the employee examine how the employee is performing against all criteria, and think about areas for potential development.
  
• The supervisor develops a plan for the PDP meeting which includes answers to all questions about the performance development planning process with examples, documentation, and so on.
  
• Recognize that this process takes place quarterly and that the most time and work are invested in the first PDP meeting. The rest of the quarterly PDP goals, maybe for years, are updates to the initial goals.So, while seemingly time consuming on the front end, the PDP process, with aformal, effective foundation of solid personal and business goals, is less timeconsuming as quarters pass. The PDP continues to create business and employeesuccess and value during its lifetime. With quarterly updates, the PDP processcontributes into the future.
  

During the Performance Development Planning (PDP) meeting:

• Establish a comfortable, private setting and chat a few minutes to establish rapport with the staff person.
  
• Discuss and agree upon the objective of the meeting: to create a performance development plan.
  
• The staff member is given the opportunity to discuss the achievements and progress accomplished during the quarter.
  
• The staff member identifies ways in which he would like to further develop his professional performance, including training, assignments, new challenges and so on.
  
• The supervisor discusses the employee's performance for the quarter and suggests ways in which the staff member might further develop his performance.
  
• The supervisor provides input to the employee's selected areas of personal and professional development and improvement.
  
• Discuss areas of agreement and disagreement, and reach consensus.
  
• Examine job responsibilities for the coming quarter and, in general.
  
• Agree upon standards for performance for the key job responsibilities for the quarter.
  
• Discuss how the goals support the accomplishment of the organization's business plan and the department's objectives.
  
• Set goals together for the quarter.
  
• Agree upon a measurement for each goal.
  
• Assuming performance is satisfactory for the quarter, agree on a personal and professional development plan with the staff person, that helps him grow professionally in ways important to him and to your organization.
  
• If performance is less than satisfactory, develop a written Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), and schedule more frequent feedback meetings. Remind the employee of the consequences connected with continued poor performance.
  
• The supervisor and the employee discuss the employee's feedback and constructive suggestions for the supervisor and the department.
  
• Discuss anything else the supervisor or employee would like to discuss, hopefully, maintaining the positive and constructive environment established thus far, during the
  meeting.
  
• Mutually sign the Performance Development Planning document to indicate the discussion has taken place.
  
• End the meeting in a positive and supportive manner. The supervisor expresses confidence that the employee can accomplish the plan and that the supervisor is available for support and assistance.
  
• Set a time-frame for formal follow up, generally quarterly. I recommend you set the actual date for follow-up.
  

• If a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) was necessary, follow up at the designated times.
  
• Follow up with performance feedback and discussions regularly throughout the quarter. (An employee should never be surprised about the content of feedback at the quarterly performance development meeting.)
  
• The supervisor needs to keep commitments relative to the agreed upon personal and professional development plan, including time needed away from the job, payment for
  courses, agreed-upon assignments and so on.
  
• The supervisor needs to act upon the feedback from departmental members and let staff members know what has changed, based upon their feedback.
  
• Forward appropriate documentation to the Human Resources office and retain a copy of the plan for easy access and referral.
  

When your organization develops the discipline and commitment necessary to carry out regular performance development planning, your organization will win. This systematic method for cascading goals and commitment throughout your organization will ensure your success. Can you think of a better way to communicate and measure your key strategic objectives to ensure progress and success? I can't.

Performance appraisals, performance reviews, appraisal forms, whatever you want to call them, let's call them gone. As a stand-alone, annual assault, a performance appraisal is universally disliked and avoided. After all, how many people in your organization want to hear that they were less than perfect last year? How many managers want to face the arguments and diminished morale that can result from the performance appraisal process? How many supervisors feel their time is well-spent professionally to document and provide proof to support their feedback - all year long? Plus, the most important outputs for the performance appraisal, from each person's job, may not be defined or measurable in your current work system. Make the appraisal system one step harder to manage and tie the employee's salary increase to their numeric rating.If the true goal of the performance appraisal is employee development and organizational improvement, consider moving to a performance management system. Place the focus on what you really want to create in your organization - performance management and development. As part of that system, you will want to use this checklist to guide your participation in the Performance Management and Development Process. You can also use this checklist to help you in a more traditional performance appraisal process. In a recent Human Resources Forum poll, 16 percent of the people responding have no performance appraisal system at all. Supervisory opinions, provided once a year, are the only appraisal process for 56 percent of respondents. Another 16 percent described their appraisals as based solely on supervisor opinions, but administered more than once a year. If you follow this checklist, I am convinced you will offer a performance management and development system that will significantly improve the appraisal process you currently manage. Staff will feel better about participating and the performance management system may even positively affect - performance.

Preparation and Planning for Performance Management
Much work is invested, on the front end, to improve a traditional employee appraisal process. In fact, managers can feel as if the new process is too time consuming. Once the foundation of developmental goals is in place, however, time to administer the system decreases. Each of these steps is taken with the participation and cooperation of the employee, for best results.