Performance Management Assessment Assignment Sample

Introduction of Performance Management Assessment Assignment

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Performance Management is a technique that helps managers to observe the work of their employees. The main target of performance management is to produce an environment where the employees can work at their full capability. A performance management programme can synchronize the career advancement, goals, and expectations of managers and employees (Tweedie et al., 2019). If done in the right way, it can really help in improving the bonding among the employees of different levels of the company. It can make the employees understand how the work can affect the organization’s goal. Performance management includes basic techniques like setting objectives and milestones. It makes every employee feel special, and it also shows how any employee can contribute to the company’s success. Ludlow Global Foods needs to adapt the performance management technique in order to overcome the challenges faced recently and fix up the business. Both the gourmet and the supermarket divisions are facing severe challenges, and the company and performance management might be the tool that can be used to fix this (Franco-Santos and Otley, 2018). Performance management, when done in an organized manner, can improve staff quality too. It can help the company to adapt staff perfectly suitable for their job, and it can increase their efficiency, which will eventually lead to the completion of the goals of the company on time. As the company has two divisions (gourmet and supermarket), this report will also focus on how the divisions can be standardized and to what extent they can be done. Apart from that, this report will also focus on different HR strategies in order to implement the performance management plan for the company. This report will also address the problems that can occur while trying to implement performance management strategies. Lastly, this report will also have an implementation plan of performance management strategies to help the Ludlow Global Foods company for future references.

Benefits of employee performance management

Performance management can prove beneficial for Ludlow Global Foods in the following ways:
1. Importance of training

This is really important to increase the productivity of the employees. The company should regularly provide reviews to their employees; this will help the employees to understand their work properly. There can be things that an employee can lack, like adapting to new trends, increasing work speed, etc. (Helmold and Samara, 2019). All of these can easily be fixed by providing training programmes to employees through experienced personnel.
2. Morale boosting

An employee with low morale can never perform well. Everyone likes to be praised. Just like that, the employees should be praised from time to time. This will boost the morale of the employees, and it will act as a fuel to boost the work speed (Armstrong, 2021). Recently done research shows that almost 69% of employees stated that the employees could have done a lot better if the organization had praised the work.
3. Identifying the right employees for promotion

The promotion and increment process of the company should be completely transparent and fair. This will lead to equal opportunities for all the employees, and eventually, it will increase the loyalty of the employees towards the company.
4. Defining paths for career

The organization should state the career path of every employee clearly. This will help the employees to understand the roles properly. This will not only increase the efficiency of the employees, but it will also boost their morale of the employees (Armstrong, 2021).
5. Planning the workforce

All the future and current works should be discussed with the employees from time to time. This way, the employees can strategically plan the job and can complete it on time. In case an employee is struggling to complete a current task, the company can also take the initiatives to share the work with other employees; in return, the company can offer rewards to the employees.
6. Increase in employee retention rate

This point is really important and can directly impact the performance of the company. Researches show that companies that have higher employee retention rate have better turnover figures than companies that have low retention rate. This is because employees working in a particular company for a long time will understand the strategies and working style of the company very well (Mor et al., 2018). This will lead them to perform extraordinarily well and can significantly impact sales. So a company should always try to retain efficient, loyal and experienced employees.
7. Providing freedom to the employees

The company’s policies should be built in a way by which every employee can get a considerable amount of freedom. Everyone hates to work in restricted conditions. Providing strategic freedom to the employees will allow the employees to make their own decisions, and the employees can work in their own ways. This will increase the value of the work too.
8. Accountability

This is an old technique. Although this technique is not quite often used by companies, it can still be effective. In this technique, every employee is given the respective tasks and is given a particular time period within which the employees must complete them. This makes it easier for the employees to understand the work properly, and the employees can set goals accordingly. Sometimes old ways work the best.
The benefits of performance management mentioned above can impact Ludlow Global Foods in a great way. All the points mentioned above should be implemented gradually.
The first process is providing proper training to the employees. Ludlow Global Foods should first observe the capabilities of the employees and then implement strategic training programmes. This will help the employees to rectify the minor or major flaws, and the employees can work in a much better way which will ultimately benefit the organization.
Secondly comes morale-boosting. The food industry is bustling, and the employees always need to do the assigned work continuously. Many times this leads to a decrease in morale which hampers the work rate. Ludlow Global Foods should implement morale boosting techniques in order to keep the employees motivated. This will help the company to achieve its targets on time and can compete with its competitor's shoulder to shoulder.
Next comes promotion. Every employee will work at their full potential if the employees get proper recognition from the company. From time to time, promotions and increments will boost the minds of the employees, and the employees will work hard to achieve the targets.
Ludlow Global Foods should also state the employees' career paths. This will help the employee to understand their career paths, and the employees can work with a clear and determined mind.
Workforce planning has become a crucial part of these busy industries. Before starting any project, the company should report the assigned task to the respective employees properly. This will help the employees to plan the job properly and in a systematized manner. The impact of this can be seen in the performance of the company directly.
Companies like Ludlow Global Foods should give a lot of attention to employee retention. Since the company needs to provide a lot of training to its employees before giving the job, the employees should be retained from time to time, and the managers must see that the employees are happy.
The employees already face a very busy schedule and tight schedule. It is important for the company to understand the state of mind of the employees, and every employee should be given some working freedom. This helps the employees to implement their own ideas, and it can be seen in the quality of work.
Since Ludlow Global Foods has been under a lot of financial target pressure recently, accountability has become one of the most important factors. Every employee should be assigned a task, and a particular time period should be provided. In this way, the employees will know when to do work, and they can adapt the best way to achieve the targets on time.

Benefits of performance management, source: Mor et al., (2018)

The life goal of every employee is to achieve the desired career goals. Conducting regular meetings and discussing the work with the employees is very important. This will not only help the company to achieve its goal, but it will also help the employees to achieve personal agendas. Some employees can underperform even after continuous mentoring and training. This becomes the hardest part of the company, termination. Employees who failed to perform for a long time should be terminated with consonance. Ill-treatment while terminating the employees will impact the future career of the employee, and it can hamper the image of the company too.
In order to sustain and compete in this rapidly expanding food market, companies like Ludlow Global Foods need to have a strong human resource team, and the responsibility for this is taken by the Human Resource Management (HRM) team. So, the company must put a lot of effort into building the HRM team (Loishyn et al., 2018). This will help the company to provide sufficient human resources for the tasks. Another great tip to increase work efficiency is to distribute the employees in small groups. This will increase the efficiency among the employees, and the work pressure would be distributed to the whole group, making the task easier to complete.
Ludlow Global Foods can also adapt effective strategies like horizontal and vertical integration. In horizontal integration, the company can find out its competitors and merge with them. This way, the competition can decrease to some extent, and both the companies can enjoy a share of the profits. On the other hand, in vertical integration, the companies tend to buy the companies that provide the raw materials. This will help the company to lower the production cost and will result in an insufficient supply of raw materials.

The standardization process of both divisions

Standardization is very important for boosting efficiency and productivity. Setting up a few guidelines before starting any business operation can help to maintain order among the employees of the company.
1. Procedures

The main feature of standardization is that it helps the managers and employees to achieve their targets in a systematic manner. The company should apply the standardization process in every minute step. For example, in the reception of the office, while closing a working day off, dealing with any transactions, etc. Following the standardization process will keep the company in order, and there will be fewer chances of unwanted surprises (Calzavara et al., 2020). Standardization can be of two types, one can be human base, and another is automated. For example, if the company has a website, there can be scripts provided to the customer care team; if someone calls, the customer care team can communicate with them according to the script. On the other hand, in the case of automated standardization, the company can put computerized bots; the bots will have automatic replies and solutions encrypted in them. Once a customer calls or messages through the company’s website, the bot can start giving replies to the customer.
2. Measurements

Standardization also works really well to increase the production rate of the company and the efficiency rate of the employees. Every employee must be provided their respective roles and tasks. This will help the employees to understand the work properly, and the low-performing employees must be given proper training. Technology also plays a massive part in today’s companies (Akpoviroro, Kadiri and Owotutu, 2018)Companies like Ludlow Global Foods need proper standardization in the technology field. For example, the company would have employees working in remote locations where technological advantages are hard to find. In case of this, the company can equip the employee with proper gear so that the employee can continuously stay in touch with the company. Small things like this, when accumulated together, can make a huge impact on the company’s performance.
3. Drawbacks

Standardization can, however, have some minor disadvantages. The employees have to change the way of working and adopt the new standardization process. Standardization can also cause some expenses. The company has to buy goods according to the standardization process (Rehman et al., 2019). For these reasons, the production rate at first may become slow, but eventually, it will work fine. In order to achieve something great, it is important to come out of your comfort zone.

Process standardization, source: (process.st, 2022)
All the standardization processes mentioned above can help both the divisions of Ludlow Global Foods, i.e., the Gourmet division and the supermarket division. In the Gourmet division, the company can work to standardize the training program since training new employees to work in this field takes a long time. On the other hand, the supermarket division needs to implement standardization for its employees too. The company needs to focus on hiring permanent and capable employees. These employees can result in an increase in sales. Employees of both divisions should be treated equally. Apart from hourly pay, the company needs to introduce performance-related pay into the supermarket. This will motivate the employees to work hard and can eventually improve the performance of the company.

Suggesting Ideas to HR

Everyone in this world fears adopting changes, and so do the companies. A change is considered a huge risk in the business world. However, if changes are done through proper research and at the right time, it can prove beneficial for the company and its business. People are habituated to doing the same work in a particular way for a long time. For these reasons, it can be really hard to explain to people the need for a specific change. People are just too afraid to adopt changes because it brings the people out of their comfort zone. The same theory applies to all the employees of the company too. Here are some ideas that can be used to propose an idea to a company that can prove beneficial to it:

1. Gather feedback

Every idea at first sounds great; as the concept is implemented in real-life, many flaws can be found in it. For this reason, every idea should be given a trial first. The employees can share the ideas with others, for example, superiors, colleagues, friends, family, etc. After sharing the idea, people will find flaws in it and will report it to that particular employee (Armstrong, 2021). The employee can now work on that idea even more and make it a perfect one. This shows how important feedback can be; finding useful feedback and implementing it on the ideas before proposing it to the company can be really beneficial. It will reduce flaws in the idea and will increase the success rate. However, there will be negative feedback, but it's all part of the growth of the idea. If the idea has the potential, it will get success no matter how much criticism it gets.

Organizations who want to improve their performance management
source: (Calzavara et al., 2020)
2. Support of co-workers

In order to make the idea reach the top, an employee must consult with co-workers about the idea first. The co-workers are the people who can give valuable feedback about the idea. The practical knowledge about the work is what makes the feedback more valuable. This way, an employee can build a team with supporting co-workers first and then propose the idea to upper management. This will strengthen the idea, and chances of acceptance by the upper management will increase.
3. Risk factor

Every idea has a risk factor connected to it. No one can claim that an idea is perfect and it won't cause any risk. However, the risk is the only element that makes it interesting and worth giving it a try. Firstly, the employee should gain the belief of their superiors so that the superiors agree to give it a try. Secondly, the employee should be able to show proper proof of the reason for the change. The employee should be able to show the flaws and issues in the current business model.
4. Negative response

People will share their negative thoughts on a new idea, but that should never be a hurdle. One should always believe in themselves and keep believing in the idea till the end. All that matters is how the employee is dealing with the problem and how they are improving the ideas. Rejection is never the end; it only brings out new opportunities. Ideas can get rejected, but the most important thing is sticking with them and making them a perfect one, earning everyone’s trust (Armstrong, 2019).

Barriers

There can be many barriers that can come across the path of proposing an idea. The first problem is the risk. Risk is the main factor that restricts companies from adopting new ideas. Companies always try to stick to their older business model. New ideas can bring in success but it could also bring risks. Risks like financial losses are the most concerning. Negative comments are also a barrier that restricts many bright minds from sharing their thoughts. The most important thing is to keep believing in the idea and not lose it no matter what happens. However, no idea comes out perfect at once. One must keep improving their ideas continuously and bring out solutions that can solve the problems.
A new idea can help to turn around the situation of a company. It can also fix the problems of Ludlow Global Foods, the company needs to pay more attention to the suggestions of their employees, and they must not ignore the employees’ opinions.

Implementation plan

An implementation plan outlines the steps necessary to achieve a shared goal or objective. This plan is a combination of strategies, processes, and actions that includes everything from scope to budget and beyond. This guide discusses what an implementation plan is and how to create one. Projects require careful planning in order to be successful. An implementation plan is a blueprint for achieving a shared objective. For the project strategy budget, a list of people working on the project and how people are engaging themselves in it should be planned accordingly (Helmold and Samara, 2019).

An implementation plan is a document that outlines the steps a team must take to accomplish a shared goal or resourcefulness. The implementation plan is against the strategic plan. The implementation plan outlines the separate steps essential to achieving the strategic objectives. The implementation plan is critical for ensuring that the team knows everything they need to carry out a project successfully (Magupa, 2018). The specific task that might be very helpful to turn any plan into action. As per this report, Ludlow Global Foods (LGF) company faces a massive loss due to its poor planning strategies. So, Ludlow Global Foods (LGF) company now focuses on hand on hand approach with the HR management team and tries to build a long-lasting companionship with the employees. Thus, LGF company is now focusing on a structured plan like a performance management plan so that they can retain their workers.

Implementation Design

To make the implementation plan very useful and comprehensive for the project team, every company should include specific steps and consist of the right components to it. So the performance management plan will follow a particular structure.

Intent Goal

So this implementation process needs to be the goal familiarized with. Companies have to decide whether their goals are what they specifically want from the employees. So for the implementation plan for the successful and influential background of companies, they need to formalize a good intent goal which should be discussed among all the employees. 

Starting the company’s projects with lots of obstacles may lead the company to losses. To know employees' goals, management should ask questions regarding their goals or what employees' point of view regarding the projects. Seniors can go more depth into employees' thoughts so that they can brainstorm their goals and make them more productive.

Conducts research planing

After completing the goal research on employees, have certain research on those goals and involve each employee in it. Focus on the low loops, which can give the plannings new wings. Plan new interviews and surveys and keep engaging employees with them, so they do not feel left out of the projects (Lyon et al., 2018). Seniors keep on margining employees' performance and discussing performance management later on. Communication can help to collaborate manpower into performance.

Chart risks

It is necessary to evaluate potential risks that could affect the project for the company. In step three, map out all the potential dangers that could happen in the project. Risks may include all risks ranging from paid leave and holidays to budgetary constraints and loss of staff. A good way to map the chances to make sure the project will be successful is by using a risk register. This tool will help the management team to think about the potential risks associated with the projects and plan for them accordingly. Also, conduct a SWOT analysis to identify any weaknesses or threats affecting the project. Making a chart of risks is more than just a preparation strategy. If any kind of preventable risks during this stage of the implementation plan can be found, then take action to prevent those risks. This may mean adjusting the initial project goals.

Responsibility and tasks assignment

Every action plan must include a list of who will be responsible for each part of the plan. Assigning responsibilities helps assess the performance of each team member and to monitor progress more closely. Using a RACI chart can help the company to understand better who is responsible for what tasks and projects. The difference between assigning responsibilities and assigning individual tasks is that the former assigns a group of people to complete a task. In contrast, the latter assigns an individual to complete a task. Assign three other team members to deliver and communicate the project to various teams for review. One member may be responsible for overseeing the project review (Moullin et al., 2019). Make sure that expectations have to be very clear when assigning tasks and responsibilities. When assigning roles, responsibilities, or tasks, then communication is the key. It is best to communicate when it is about choosing one team member over another. If team members enquire questions about their roles, use this step as an opportunity to highlight team members' strengths. Project management tools can be used to track workforce responsibilities.

Allocation of resources

One of the best ways to reduce risk is using resource allocation. Arranging some valuable recourses can help the company to run out from the mid-project risks. The company has to be very sure about the resources if they are ensured about the specific risks, and they also found to know there might be a chance to deal with it, so the company should implement plans accordingly.

Resources can be money or equipment, or they can also be any software. Even time can also be included as a resource in this implementation planning.

All of the following can be used as an implementation planning tools. Whenever any company fails to retain or absenteeism occurs in the employee's company can use this as their retaining tool for the employees (Armstrong, 2019).

So far, this report about a company named Ludlow Global Foods (LGF) faces absenteeism, and employees have no motivation to work over there. This company also thought about the change in planning, so, the HR management team and also the higher management chose performance management to rebuild the employee's enthusiasm and productivity. This report can also suggest the implementation of planings for the company's growth.

Benefits of implementation planning

While talking about the benefits of implementation, planning can benefit the company and the employees equally. Employees feel comfortable while talking with the clients and also with the management. The resource and the management will get better. Accountability will improve while people get engaged with the project. The daily workflow will increase as the planning is more structured. The collaboration between the team members will be there.

development of an implementation plan, source: (Moulin et al., 2019)

Conclusion

This report shows how Performance Management can help Ludlow Global Foods. All the benefits of performance management have been discussed in this report. The benefits include the importance of training, boosting the morale of the employees, planning the work, and many more. This report also talks about the importance of freedom and how freedom can impact the working quality of an employee. Standardization also plays an important role in the development of a company; it is discussed how Ludlow Global Foods can benefit from standardization and how it can help to overcome the problems of the company. The negative impacts of standardization have also been discussed above. In the end, the report contains ways in which a person can explain their idea to their superiors. It also states what the risks and problems of these ideas can be. The possible barriers are mentioned, too, as well as the solutions to these barriers.

References

Aguinis, H., 2019. Performance management for dummies. John Wiley & Sons.
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Akpoviroro, K.S., Kadiri, B. and Owotutu, S.O., 2018. Effect of participative leadership style on employee’s productivity. International Journal of Economic Behavior (IJEB), 8(1), pp.47-60.

Anon, 2020. Why process standardization improves quality, productivity, and morale: Process street: Checklist, Workflow and SOP software. Process Street. Available at: https://www.process.st/process-standardization/ [Accessed May 7, 2022].

Armstrong, M., 2021. Performance management.

Armstrong, R., 2019. Revisiting strategy mapping for performance management: a realist synthesis. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management.

Calzavara, M., Battini, D., Bogataj, D., Sgarbossa, F. and Zennaro, I., 2020. Ageing workforce management in manufacturing systems: state of the art and future research agenda. International Journal of Production Research, 58(3), pp.729-747.

Franco?Santos, M. and Otley, D., 2018. Reviewing and theorizing the unintended consequences of performance management systems. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(3), pp.696-730.

Helmold, M. and Samara, W., 2019. Progress in performance management: Industry insights and case studies on principles, application tools, and practice. Springer.

Loishyn, A.A., Tkach, I.M., Liashenko, I.O., Zinchenko, A. and Lobanov, A.A., 2019. Research of main international approaches for risk management processs standardization in the context of internal control standardization in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and providing national security. Revista Espacios, 40(20).

Lyon, A.R., Cook, C.R., Brown, E.C., Locke, J., Davis, C., Ehrhart, M. and Aarons, G.A., 2018. Assessing organizational implementation context in the education sector: confirmatory factor analysis of measures of implementation leadership, climate, and citizenship. Implementation Science, 13(1), pp.1-14.

Magupa, M.J., 2018. Implementation of the performance management systems and the Performance of public enterprises in Tanzania: The case of Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) (Doctoral dissertation).

Moullin, J.C., Dickson, K.S., Stadnick, N.A., Rabin, B. and Aarons, G.A., 2019. Systematic review of the exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment (EPIS) framework. Implementation Science, 14(1), pp.1-16.

Rehman, W.U., Ahmad, M., Allen, M.M., Raziq, M.M. and Riaz, A., 2019. High involvement HR systems and innovative work behaviour: the mediating role of psychological empowerment, and the moderating roles of manager and co-worker support. European Journal of work and organizational psychology, 28(4), pp.525-535.

Tweedie, D., Wild, D., Rhodes, C. and Martinov?Bennie, N., 2019. How does performance management affect workers? Beyond human resource management and its critique. International Journal of Management Reviews, 21(1), pp.76-96.