Training Magazine Middle East March 2015 | Page 27

Talent Management

Another reason is traceable to poor planning during the design phase. This potentially leads to failure of performance management systems even before it began. It is considered prudent to consult with employees during the planning stage; after all, they are the end-users! They crave ownership and participation, and desire to be truly part of the organization. If they are not carried along, it becomes ineffective or mediocre at best.

Sometimes, cases of sabotage have been recorded because of perceived alienation. In other words, employee participation largely guarantees buy-in and they will become your champions and ambassadors who will sell and spread the positive energy to other employees.

Feedback is an important tool in the performance management process. Globalisation opened up borders, birthed diversity, and today, employees from different national cultures and orientation work together to achieve unified goals. However, feedback is given and perceived differently. The manner an individual from a collectivist culture will give and receive feedback as part of the performance management process will differ from that of another from an individualist culture.

Again, globalisation has come to our aid. When people study abroad, acculturation takes place and they become accepting and tolerant of other cultures and perhaps imbibe them. This lightens the burden for HR.

Lack of comprehensive training is also a major contributor. Often times, HR, especially the learning function overlook and de-emphasise the importance and impact of detailed training before launching the performance management system of choice. Employees should be trained not just on how to use the system, but to truly understand what performance management is and how the system supports the process. Clearly-defined and SMART objectives lead to quality performance outputs, and employees need to be trained on how to accomplish this task.

Again, appraiser training is paramount in achieving unbiased and near-objective performance reviews and appraisals. Appraisers need to appreciate the different errors they are prone to make during assessment which is a vital part of the performance management process.

Appraisal biases reduce the credibility and reliability of the system, and the awareness and avoidance of biases through training and coaching will ensure that the system remains untainted.

Another reason that has been identified is the inability to deliver on promised development outlined in employees’ personal development plan. This causes disillusionment and disinterest to participate in development planning in the next performance cycle. When development element is missing or poorly managed in the process, it becomes yet another reason to discredit the system. Granted, pay is a motivator, but for many, the intent to remain with an organization transcends pay. Having a development plan shows the employee a roadmap in their career path and they will commit to the organization.

Granted, organizations are cutting down on cost and the first item that readily comes to mind is TRAINING BUDGET. However, development can be structured in ways that cost less money where necessary, yet yield results; and where money needs to be spent to ensure the needed skills are available, so be it! We cannot keep shying away from this truth that stares us right in the face. Ironically, the future and sustainability of an organization lies in the quality of talented employees it has. At the end of the day, intellectual capital is one of the major assets that contribute to a company’s market value!

Development is one sure way to nurture talent.

So why are we not effectively maximising and taking advantage of this powerful tool to bring credit to the function and earn its rightful seat at the strategy and decision-making table? More worrisome is the perception that learning and development is the least value-adding HR function when clearly in most organizations, it is the specialists in this field that deliver organizational goals by ensuring that employees are performance-managed in a structured way.

Josephine is Assistant Manager, Learning and Development for APM Terminals in Apapa, Nigeria, and also supports a number of development projects within the whole Africa Middle East Region