The performance management process in a company is often the most abused process. Most HR heads and talent managers treat performance management as synonymous with appraisals. The article presents a holistic view of performance management, clearly demarcating it from mere appraisals and also suggests areas of improvement in typical deployment of the process in an organization. An attempt is made to develop a model in which the various aspects of performance management vis-à-vis planning, coaching, appraisal and reinforcement can be understood.

The performance management process in an organization is a key function which directly impacts the career of an employee in the company. Hence, it is extremely important that HR professionals exhibit adequate care and sensitivity while handling performance management as a part of their job.

All HR initiatives are successful only when backed by business buy-in. Performance management is no different. In fact, performance management is more of a line responsibility than a support function. Performance management goes beyond a mechanism to just evaluate an employee's performance at the end of the year. It ideally should involve planning at the unit or department leadership level and cascading the goals down. This way every task that an employee does, even on the frontline, contributes to the bottom-line or top-line of the organization.

A much underplayed aspect during performance management is the importance of discussions during setting of goals, mid-course performance coaching or feedback and final evaluation. The absence of such discussion fails to make the employees understand the overall context of the role he is playing in organizational performance. They would also fail to understand their shortcomings and strengths at the end of the appraisal process. They either would be happy and complacent without an inkling about what is it that they have done right, else they would be completely demotivated and would dub the entire performance management system to be biased and faulty.

Imagine a company where associates are given a free hand to work on what they want and when they want. The associates decide the level of quality and quantity needed and work according to their own perception of `accepted' level of performance. Prima facie, it looks utopian. However, on analyzing the implications of such a work culture, we can clearly foresee anarchy prevailing at the workplace. The concept of autonomy and participative work culture fail to motivate employees in the absence of a robust scientific mechanism to define, monitor, measure, improve and reward performance.

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