Question:
Discuss about the Performance Management of lawyers Staff working at the Attorney General Office (AGO).
Performance management has been a major part of the business strategy of the organizations in the contemporary organization. The performance management system mostly includes the employee development and the performance appraisals which are two of the significant concerns of the human resource departments. However in reality most of the organizations suffer from several flaws in this department, where the managers and the employees lament regarding their ineffectiveness on a regular basis. In a recent survey in Australia, around forty percent of the entire employees stated that the systems in their organizations had established clear goals regarding their performance within the organization, generate sincere feedback or utilized the technological advancements for helping the employees in improving their performance (Van Dooren, Bouckaert. and Halligan2015). In most cases the management system of the organizations indicate the performance management system has been designed poorly, however, not only the poorly designed processes and tools cause complicatedness, it is also due to the fact that in most of the organizations, the performance management system is personal and it is quite a threatening procedure for the employees and the managers. Similar thing has happened in the chosen organization where the managers are not informing the employees regarding their poor performance as they themselves know that the employees are not happy with their job. There are numbers of organizations where the managers do not provide honest feedback and have discussions with the employees due to their fear of damaged relationship within the organization as they mostly count on these individuals for completing the work (Buckingham and Goodall 2015). This report will trigger this very issue of performance management of the staff lawyers who are working at the Attorney General Office (AGO). This study will also demonstrate the relevant theories and models on this issue and after drawing necessary sources for analyzing the issue, this essay will also recommend the possible changes that can be made within this organization.
According to Seuring and Gold (2013) the term performance management refers to the “continuous process of identifying, measuring and developing performance in organizations by linking each individual’s performance and objectives to the organization’s overall mission and goals”. It is an ongoing procedure that includes an infinite procedure of setting fixed objectives and goals for the employees, observing their performance and giving and at the same time receiving feedback and providing necessary coaching to the underperforming employees. Van Dooren, Bouckaert. and Halligan (2015) states that, The performance management also needs the managers to make sure that the outputs and activities of the employees are congruent with the goals of the organization. At the same time, the entire procedure of performance management also requires to gain a competitive advantage for the organization. Therefore it creates a direct connection between the organizational goals and the employee performance along with making the contribution of the employees explicit to the organization (Mone and London 2014). It should also be labeled that there is a slight difference between the performance appraisal and the performance management. A performance appraisal system only includes the evaluation of individual employee at least once in a year without making any effort of providing honest feedback about their performance within the organization and mentoring the underperforming employees. However, the performance appraisal is a significant part of the performance management procedure, but it is not the whole system. The performance management also includes creating transparent job descriptions and the plans for employee performance along with the performance indicators (Buckingham and Goodall 2015). It basically sets the platform for the employees for getting rewarded by aligning the objectives and mission of the organization with the individual accomplishments of the employees.
Figure 1: Performance Management System
Source: Buckingham and Goodall 2015
There are numbers of motivational theories which are utilized for improving the performance management. Goal Setting Theory, Expectancy theory, Social Cognitive Theory, Control Theory are the major ones that are used for the performance management within the organization. The theories are discussed below:
This theory states that the willingness of working towards accomplishing the goals is the primary motivation of the job. This theory includes two of the main eventualities, those are: Self efficiency and Goal commitment. The self efficiency is the faith and self confidence of the individual employees that he or she has the required potential to perform certain task. This theory also presumes that the employee requires being committed towards the goal for not leaving in midway (DeNisi and Smith 2014). Specific and difficult goals will lead the employees to the higher performance compared to the nonspecific vague goals. In the chosen organization, it can be seen that around 80% of the employees do not meet their deadlines and target. This may be because of the reason that they do not have specific goals. Therefore they are not at all committed towards their goals either.
Figure 2: Goal Setting Theory
Source: DeNisi and Smith 2014
This theory deals with the behaviors of the inputs and the modification of the behavior with the help of feedback. The primary objective of the theory is controlling the system while the output of the system is the desired signal of the control. Therefore this theory can be referred as the cybernetics or the feedback controls (De Waal 2013). It can also be described in the self regulating terms where the ongoing procedure is aimed at the reduction of the discrepancy standard of the behavior and the impacts of the actual behavior. In Attorney General Office (AGO), the employees are never given feedback from the higher management. Even if there are poor performers, the management taken no actions for them as well. This has affected the well performing employees to a great extent.
Figure 3: Control theory
Source: De Waal 2013
This theory entails to the theoretical perspective where the learning is done by observing. This theory is mostly grounded by the few basic assumptions. Firstly, this theory says that the learners can acquire the knowledge and behavior by observing a model where the model can be considered as the senior employee. According to Pollitt 2013 this theory also says that the learning is also an internal procedure which may or may not turn into a behavior because it will not occur right away. However the behavior can be goal directed as well. Therefore it can be said the motivation of learning is influenced by the three major factors, the thoughts of performer, the work environment and the performance of the individual. Therefore, strong performance of the employees will require more positive beliefs of efficacy. In Attorney General Office (AGO), the employees do not get any model to look up to, rather around 80% employees are not happy with their jobs. They also do not have any integrated performance appraisal. This can be the primary reason for employees leaving the organization after a certain point of time.
Figure 4: Social Cognitive Theory
Source: Pollitt 2013
Other than these theories, the concept of Henry Fayol has influenced several organizations to shape their work methods. Fayol has stated that there are five elements in the management. Those are:
These five management theories are still relevant in the contemporary world for improving the performance management within the organization.
Peter Drucker’s work also followed the work of Fayol and he also determined the five categories of the operations of management. Those are:
However both the Drucker and Fayol had completely different opinions regarding the role of the employees. Considering Fayol’s work, it can be said that he always considered the employees to be someone who can do whatever is told to them. On the other hand, Drucker’s theory was about empowering the employees and providing them the chance of using their talents and skills while the managers occupy the role of coaching and assisting the employees.
The term ‘performance management’ is closely related to the employee development within any organization. Even if apparently performance management is an objective setting method of performance appraisal procedure, an honest performance management process should involve all of these procedures. As stated by Budworth, Latham and Manroop (2015) the idea of performance management is significant in the system of the organization in order to manage the employee performance, organizational performance along with integrating the organizational management with the concept if employee performance. The concept of performance management involves various scrutiny stages which are linked to evaluating the human resources and the organizational performance. Performance management helps the organization to comprehend the effectiveness of the employees. This systematic procedure helps both the employees and the organization itself. It helps the employees by providing individual feedbacks and helps the organization to collect the organizational data that can be utilized in the future planning of human resources and the program evaluation. According to Mone and London (2014) performance management is a continuous process for recognizing, assessing and further developing the employee performance within the organization. The initial stage of this procedure is to gather the necessary data through systematic observation and not only for measuring the present performance of the employees, but also for providing honest feedback to the employees so that they can improve their performance in future. The main purpose of the performance management is to measure the improvement of the employees by differentiating their performance level, determine their training requirements, authenticate the rewards and identify the particular employees for further promotion. The performance management system is an integral part of the human resources practice therefore it has been organized that there should always be a positive link between the strategic human resource practice and the employee performance. As per Wolpert et al. (2014)’s view, the progressive practice regarding human resources include the staffing in a selective way, training and compensating them in a way that is related to the improvement of organizational performance.
In any organization, the performance management procedure begins with setting goals. These goals tend to define the method the employees will aim for achieving the organizational objectives. The goals of the organization are the basic criteria of planning the performance, appraisal, improvement and the reward system. Wolpert et al. 2014 stated that, without such objectives and goals, the performance of the employees will not be able to contribute to the organizational performance as well. The goals of the organization should also focus on the resource they have and the time of the organization and the individual have for a certain job. Without these common goals, the employees will move to various directions and they will not be able to collaborate at a common point. According to Kerr and Hayward (2013) there should also be performance appraisal so that the employees realize that their performance is being recognized by the organization. A recent study also indicated that the performance management system has a significant and positive effect on the employee performance. Other than that, the competitive advantage will be strengthened through the practices of performance management which will also enhance the motivation for the employees (Wolpert et al. 2014). The appraisal system acts as an assessment system for the employees which can help the employees in enhancing their performances and can distribute the rewards on the basis of their performance.
The issue in the concerned organization, Attorney General Office (AGO), is that most of the employees are not meeting their deadlines even if they are working overtime. Within this organization, the primary work of the attorney general is to represent all the state ministries and the departments at the court and to provide the legal opinion to the ministry. The attorneys who are currently working at AGO are the civil servants; therefore they are under the rules of civil service. There are approximately twenty five lawyers at the Attorney General Office at the present time. It has been seen that around eighty percent of them do not meet their deadlines even if they work more than their allotted time. The management has also noticed that around seventy percent of the attorneys are not happy with their work. They consider that their performance management is unfair as they have to overwork. The data also shows that around eighty five percent of the lawyers do not stay in Attorney General Office for more than three years due to their dissatisfaction regarding their work. This issue has been a major one for a long time in Attorney General Office. The employees are not loyal towards their work and they tend to underperform most of the times.
Considering the current issues at the Attorney General Office, it has been recognized that the performance management in below the average. There are not capable personnel in the management of the organization to set the specific performance standard and control the performance of the employees, therefore it had led to weak performance and absence of employees. The employees have also taken numbers of sick leaves. The employees are also unaware of their particular positions within the organization or where exactly they stand considering their performances for the organization. This is also because there is no such performance appraisal procedure in the organization. The performance appraisal happens once in every six months but the employee only gets the information regarding his or her performance but they do not get to know that against the target of the organization. In this organization, if the employee does not score more than eighty five percent within every six months, he or she may also lose the promotion scheduled in every two years. In addition to that, there is not such integrated strategic approach for the performance appraisal as well. Even if the procedure is scheduled in every six months, the organization mostly utilizes the outdated methods which often provide unfair result and those are not capable of providing adequate success for the organization. For instance, the marking criteria of the organization may allocate particular marks for doing particular tasks, but the employees are most of the times allocated tasks which are out of their job descriptions. For such reasons the employee is given low marks in that category for the obvious reason, however this is a sheer result of unfair means within the organizations, Therefore this procedure does not really bring success for the organization as the employees are not much motivated with the performance management and the performance appraisal procedure.
The organization also does not set any kind of common objective and vision, therefore it has also been recognized that the employees tend to become confused regarding their purpose within the organization. There is no such common vision as well. There is also a psychological issue with the working timing. As the work time ends at 2 p.m., the employees who work after the scheduled time, they are mostly considered to be the hard working ones, whereas the ones who leave sharply at 2, they are considered as not being much devoted to their work. The employees are also not given honest and timely feedback for their job. The line managers do not make much effort for developing the employees who are underperforming; rather they tend to highlight their underperformance. They also do not have sufficient time for managing the underperforming employees.
Considering the issues in the Attorney General Office, this study will recommend some solutions to it. There are some serious lacks within the performance management system in the organization as their system is below the average. The recommendations in this situation are as follows:
The organizations should upgrade its entire performance management system. It can be done by using the contemporary guideline or criteria or any specific written criteria. They should utilize the modern tools so that it does not produce wrong results. For instance, the organization can segment the employee lawyers in different departments according to their job descriptions and their academic specialization. Therefore, the organizations would be offering the fair jobs to the employees so that they are given tasks according to their specializations. This will also motivate the employees because they will feel happy and content with their job. Moreover, this will bring success to the organization.
The organization should set their specific mission and vision, so that the employees have a common vision. They also should have it as they are not confused with their purpose of the job and they can all work together for achieving the same goal.
The organization should have a definite system to set the performance standard. This will make the organization capable of controlling the employee performance. Therefore the organization will easily be able to know if there is any employee with continuous low performance rate. In this way the organization will be capable of identifying the employees who will require the further mentoring and coaching
The organization should make sure that the senior management provides continuous and honest feedback to the employees. For this reason, they have to conduct the performance management procedure after a regular span of time. Therefore, the management can provide regular feedback to the employees. This will make the employees aware of their position within the organization and they can work for their future improvement.
The employees should have regular deadlines. They should also have fixed numbers of the deadlines, they have to meet. In this way, the employees will know their workload and they can work accordingly. This will also provide the employees their performance objectives which can be worked together as well.
The organization should rate thee performance level of individual employees and as a groups using certain definition. They should judge the performance of the employees against the deadline or the fixed target, so that they can understand the level of the employee performance on a regular basis. The factors that should be fixed for determining the employee performance are:
|
Job description |
Rating |
|
Administration: Showing effectiveness in the planning of the task Efficiently handling and organizing the activities Eliminating the pointless activities |
· Exceeds Expectations · Meets Expectations · Below Expectations · Unsatisfactory · None of the above |
|
Teamwork: The rate of getting along with the coworkers Respecting the employee rights for others Showing corporate spirit |
· Exceeds Expectations · Meets Expectations · Below Expectations · Unsatisfactory · None of the above |
|
Decision Making Effectualness of comprehending the possible problems within time Make solutions of the issues Taking practical decisions |
· Exceeds Expectations · Meets Expectations · Below Expectations · Unsatisfactory · None of the above |
|
Communication with others Effectively listening to other employees while they express their ideas Writing and speaking ability while managing Staying within budget |
· Exceeds Expectations · Meets Expectations · Below Expectations · Unsatisfactory · None of the above |
|
Knowledge of the work Considers the level of skills of the employees Understanding all the phases of thee takes and provides feedback to the employees honestly. |
· Exceeds Expectations · Meets Expectations · Below Expectations · Unsatisfactory · None of the above |
The organization should prepare the performance factors which will be responsible on reviewing the performance of the employees. These performance indicators will be fixed for each job description and will help the organization in evaluating the work performance of each of the employees. The performance rating definitions can be like this:
The organization should fix the performance indicators; therefore the senior management should always provide the honest feedback to the employees. This will make sure that the employee knows about their individual contribution to the organization. Therefore, the organization will also get to know which employees will require more mentoring and coaching. The organization should also fix a team for continuous training and development of the employees.
The organization should adapt the necessary tools for motivating the employees. However, in order to do that, they should not exceed the allocated budget as well.
The organization should also take the effective steps for the poor performers. If an employee has been showing poor performance for a long time they should be sacked. However, they should give a legal warning to the individual employee previously.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that, there is a constant link between the organizational performance and thee performance management practices. Therefore the performance management practices would help the organization in achieving the sustained growth. The study has shown that the organization should address the issues within organization immediately and take actions for it. There should also be a performance appraisal procedure which can determine the position of the employees within the organization. After that, the study has also recommended few measures that could be taken for improving the existing performance management system in the Attorney General Office
Reference List
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