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Performance Action Plans: 10 Ways to Improve
Productivity
Use
Performance Action Plans to help
employees improve their performance at work by identifying goals
which are realistic, practical and measurable. Here are ten
practical ways to create performance reviews. Let’s get started.
Action Plan:
Chapter 1, Assumptions, Constraints, Dependencies
How to Write a Performance Action Plan
Before you start, explain to the employee
what is involved in this assessment. Show them what’s
expected of them and discuss how it will make their role at the business
more enjoyable.
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Pre-assessment - arrange
a meeting with the employee and discuss how the process works.
Give them examples of other reviews to reduce their anxiety and build
more trust. This creates better communications and encourages the
person to discuss their goals in a more informal manner. If you
overlook this step, the employee may feel ambushed and clam up during
the interview.
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Create the Action Plan -
in this document, identify what was discussed, what concerns arose,
what comments were made that expressed concern, fears or hopes from
the employee. List what
actions were agreed upon and what next steps
were agreed. If the person was hostile and did not agree,
discuss what contingencies were arranged.
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Employee Goals - while
most of the meeting is about goals for the future, you also need to
capture what areas they failed in or were less successful. The point
is to see where, how and why their performance has suffered
and then agree on steps to improve this. This may involve
reviewing the person’s job description and seeing which tasks they
have done best or worse that other co-workers.
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Morale - this involves
discussing how the person influences the performance on the
department, business unit, and company. To do this more thoroughly,
see where their performance affects coworkers, subordinates,
contractors and customers.
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Tasks - following this,
list the tasks that the employee is given and what performance goals
they need to reach within specific timeframes. State which
tasks the employee will perform and how you will help them to
improve during this period.
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Dates - to put this in
context, assign dates for each goal, where applicable. For example,
goals related to productivity can be assigned dates quite easily
whereas others may be more difficulty to estimate, for instance, those
to do with attitude.
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Monitoring - remind the
employee that you will be monitoring their progress and explain how
you will make these assessments.
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Make it Official
- Notify the employee of their expectations, verbally and in writing.
If necessary, send them a copy of the
Employee Manual and other
Policy documents.
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Feedback - the interview
should be a two-way dialogue. Ask them for their opinions. Ask
open-ended questions that encourage
conversation and help them share information.
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Signed Copies
- At the end of the assessment, ask them to sign the document
and give them a copy. You may also want to keep this for the
next review session so you can both look over the tasks you agreed on.
Send a copy to HR or enter it into the IT system.
Note: Remind the employee
to sign the Action Plan. This does not mean they agree with the
assessment but to acknowledge that the review took place.
Conclusion
It’s important to be candid with the person
and show them how the process works. You will gain more respect if you
show them that you are impartial and want to give them the best
opportunity to advance their career.
A performance review is not an
excuse to belittle or humiliate employees for poor results.
Rather it is a way to examine their weaknesses and develop these into
strengths.
About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a Business Plan
Consultant who has worked for IBM, Intel and NEC in the US, UK and
China. Get his
Action Plan Templates and
Free Business
Writing Tips here.
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