Teams and Performance Management

The Performance management (PfM) is a scale, which helps to measure, monitor and maximize the performance of the job (Armstrong, 2000; Dransfield, 2000). This applies for both individuals and teams.

As the teams rely on individual and collective performance this is important to note in order to develop an effective team PfM.

Main characteristics of team PfM

According to Letts, Ryan & Grossman (1998), there are 4 main factors to be considered in an effective team PfM,

· Adoptive capacity – This refers to the teams’ ability to deal with the external stakeholders outside the teams (here the external stakeholders include fellow teams, employees, management from the same organization and clients out of the organization). In this context the team aligns its goals according to the needs & influences of the stakeholders.

· Leadership capacity – This refers to the team members’ ability to define goals and allocate resources according to the desired outcome.

· Management capacity – This is the ability of the teams on its use of resources. Without careful development & coordination the money, facilities, time and effort will be wasted.

· Technical capacity- This depend on the technical aspects of the task/service/product. The teams should be capable and competent enough to undertake the task.

With these four factors, a frame work to assess teams PfM can be developed and utilised to have an effective Team PfM. As team working are becoming increasingly common in organization this becomes crucial to manage them.




References

Armstrong, M. (2000). Performance management: Key strategies and practical guidelines. (2nd Ed), Denver, NH: Kogan Page Business Books.

Dransfield, R. (2000). Human resource management. (1st Ed), Oxford: Heinemann.

Letts, C.W., Ryan, W.P. & Grossman, A. (1998). High performance nonprofit organizations: Managing upstream for greater impact .San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.