Performance Improvement Programs

Performance Improvement Programs are programs designed to improve performance of employees in the areas of attendance, participation, productivity, product or service quality, teamwork, etc. Performance improvement highlights processes and systems that need to be improved. Then, there is a follow-up with an action plan to improve the outcomes.

Three critical elements of performance improvement programs are time spent on improvement, improvement skills and mechanisms, and improvement perspective and goals. The two main ways to focus on an improvement process is result focused and process focused.

Performance can be considered improved if the time spent on a product or service is reduced. Management support must increase when addressing performance improvement programs with time spent on improvement. When management support is increased, employee motivation is heightened. If the employee's efforts are rewarded quickly or if the positive results of the improvement comes quickly, then employee motivation if further heightened. Focusing on time spent on a product or service is considered a process focused action.

Performance can be considered improved by improving the skill-set of the employees and improving the mechanisms by which the product or service is delivered. As employees are trained to learn new skills or enhance their current skill-set, they are equipped to improve the service or product they deliver. Focusing on this area for improvement is considered a process focused action.

Thirdly, performance can be considered improved if the perspective or goals are improved to better meet the vision of the company. Items that fall under the category of perspective or goal improvement are scheduling, safety, quality, cost, and change management. Focusing on perspective or goals is considered a result-oriented action.

Employee recognition programs are programs designed to recognize employees for quality, outstanding delivery of a product or a service. Employee recognition programs are very popular in regards to motivating employees. Employees can be rewarded immediately upon their accomplishment or rewarded at a later, specified date.

Performance improvement programs are focused on future outcomes. Two types of performance improvement programs are employee training and pay-for-performance. Employee training is any means of training that enhances the skill-set of an employee. Pay-for-performance is compensation for an employee's productivity.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both performance improvement programs. The advantage of employee training is that it better equips the employee to deliver a higher quality good or service. This, in-turn, motivates the employee to perform at a higher capacity; as, they are better prepared to meet the demands of their company. The disadvantage of employee training is that it prepares the "better trained" employee to seek employment elsewhere, which causes the company, who trained them, to suffer.

Pay-for-performance's advantages are first, increases are tied to productivity and results instead of length of service, provides greater job satisfaction, and provides a benchmark for the employee to gauge himself against. The disadvantages are it can cost a considerable amount to install and monitor a pay-for-performance system or model, and it focuses more on the outcome and could bypass delivering a quality service or product.

There are several types of employee performance improvement programs. Attendance, training or certification, suggestion or idea program, productivity, safety, teamwork, referrals, quality, and customer service are several examples. Of the examples listed, the referral program is very popular and has the advantage of finding potentially highly skilled employees for the company and rewarding existing employees for the referrals.

Employee recognition programs are most popular amongst sales employees, but they are also utilized as a means of motivation for other types of employees as well. Employee recognition programs are more effective when managers think more strategically about how to tie awards directly to results, reward employees for great work in a much more timely manner, and use a wider menu of options for employee recognition. Rewarding employees immediately after their success proves to be more successful than rewarding employees at a later time, such as at annual or bi-annual awards banquets. "Since so much time elapses between awards cycles, the awards are typically granted for work that was accomplished many months in the past." (Jacobson)

One form of employee recognition that is underutilized is, simply, praise. Many managers feel that too much praise can diminish the praise's effect. However, as Stonehewer explained in his article, recognition for a job well done far outweighs pay as a key motivator. Employees who are recognized for their efforts, are more content and, in turn, are absent less often and have lower medical costs.

Benchmark Hospitality International, a company that manages 28 award-winning resorts, launched a "Best of the Best" employee recognition program in 2005,