Mirror Streamline - Employee Performance Management

Mirror Business Solutions has recently launched the latest release of the Employee Performance Management module in the Mirror Streamline business management software suite.

This module eliminates the administrative hassle, and puts back the value into performance management for optimal employee outputs.

Most employees in today's economy want to believe they contribute to the overall success of the organisation. However, if the employee is not sure how his or her job fits into the bigger picture, an employee may suffer a reduction in productivity or morale.

So executives need to be clear on the goals of the organisation, and then be able to cascade down the required strategies and tactics into the role profiles and performance agreements of all employees.

Performance management can reduce the amount of “supervision” you need to provide by clarifying for employees what they need to do and why they need to do it. You can identify problems when they occur so you can fix them early. The need to discipline is reduced as a result.

Because of the performance management process being documented on the system, you are protected from frivolous lawsuits and complaints should you need to discipline employees for ongoing poor performance.

Employee Performance Management is a component of the Mirror Streamline business management solution. Line managers and employees work through the employee self-service interface.

The performance management (PM) process begins by defining the purpose of each post. We also indicate the internal/external clients/stakeholders, and the role profile for the post. A role profile can be unique for a specific post, or similar posts can be linked to the same profile.

A role profile defines key responsibility/performance area (KRAs), with outputs for each KRA. Per output, key performance indicators (KPIs) describe what an employee must achieve in order to be deemed: Fully Effective (score 3), Significantly Above Standard (score 4), and Outstanding (score 5). For the role profile, we also define the minimum and ideal qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills and personal attributes.

At the start of a new performance cycle (1 April to 31 March next year), the line manager sets up a new performance agreement (PA) for those employees reporting to him/her. Employees can also define their own PAs, where after the line manager would check, modify if required, and sign off.

The KRAs, outputs and KPIs as defined for the role profile of the employee's post, or as defined for the line manager's current PA, can serve as default for the new PA. Then the line manager or employee can expand on the standard/default, as appropriate for the specific employee and year of assessment.

Employees and line managers can also load training intervention requests on the personal development plan (PDP). This information is then used by the learning centre for training planning purposes.

During the course of the PM cycle, the line manager and employee can log comments against the various KRAs. Employees would typically log comments to provide evidence of performance, and managers would use comments to communicate progress to employees.

The scores of the biannual and annual reviews are also captured by the line manager or employee. As employees and line managers sign off the various stages in the process, the summary page is automatically updated and the information feeds through to the bonus calculations (optional).

When a PA is signed off by either the line manager or employee, the system seals the PA and will not allow further changes. To re-open a PA, for whatever reason, the current PA must first be written into the archive before the system will allow the unseal.

For a no-obligation evaluation, a trial copy may be downloaded from www.mirrorsa.co.za. You are also welcome to contact Mirror Business Solutions directly for more information.

Employees are your most valuable asset - give them the tools to excel!