Employee Performance Management: Making It a Reality in Your Organization

White Paper:
Employee Performance Management:
Making it a reality in your organization
T 613 270-1011 F 613 270-8311495 March Road, Suite 500, Ottawa, ON K2K 3G1
© 2006 Halogen Software. All rights reserved.White Paper: Employee Performance Management - Making it a reality in your organization
Getting past the 'good idea' stageThe advantages of employee performance management (EPM) are widely recognized today. Thousands of compa-nies have implemented EPM systems-enhancing their employee performance appraisals and assessments, andobtaining greater strategic value out of their HR divisions. This is why more than 90 percent of HR professionalsrate EPM as a top priority. Yet considerably fewer have EPM systems deployed within their organizations.
The reasons for this are many, and almost all of them stem from issues By any other name.around planning and preparation. A good number of HR professionals EPM and related concepts can be referredexpress uncertainty about how to begin the process of acquiring an to in many different ways. Some of themost common permutations are:EPM system. Many more have concerns about securing upper man- Workforce Performance Managementagement support and financial commitment. Both of these latter con- Talent Management (a broader categorythat includes compensation, learning andsiderations hinge on the ability of the HR team to present a persuasive recruiting)case that the EPM project will be successful-and that it will yield a Workforce Lifecycle Management (a broadercategory that includes incentives andsatisfactory return on investment. learning)Human Capital Management (a high-levelWhile there are no short cuts to getting project approval, a structured categorization)and thorough approach to selecting, planning for and implementingan EPM solution provides HR managers with strong arguments for their organizations to move forward.
This white paper details such an approach, outlining all the key steps involved and indicating ways for HR practitioners to shine a bright light on the benefits of EPM.
Building a vendor selection planTo drive the acquisition of an appropriate EPM system, HR managers must establish a vendor selection projectplan. This involves creating a timeframe for progressing through eight critical steps:
1) Become familiar with solution pricing
2) Establish organization-specific business needs, priorities and benefit expectations3) Gaining initial management buy-in
4) Prepare a draft Implementation Plan
5) Evaluate EPM vendors6) Refine the draft Implementation Plan with preferred vendor in mind7) Present vendor recommendation to executive
8) Act on executive approval and establishing contract
© 2006 Halogen Software. All rights reserved. 2White Paper: Employee Performance Management - Making it a reality in your organization
The final stage, following all of the above, is the execution of the Implementation Plan. The following sectionsexplain each of these steps in greater detail.
1. Become familiar with solution pricing This is a straightforward activity that can be completed with minimal effort over the course of a day or two. It isimportant for an HR manager to appreciate, starting out, how the various offerings available conform to his or herorganization's budget. Any of the top vendors should be willing to estimate rough costs for this purpose, and many1provide license-pricing figures on their websites.
2. Establish organization-specific business needs, priorities and benefitexpectationsTo establish the business needs of their organization, HR managers should begin by documenting their currentemployee appraisal processes. Any modifications to this process-changes that it is hoped can be achieved throughEPM automation-should also be noted.
It is critically important that the organization's own unique needs are captured through this exercise. While vendorsmay offer generic matrices for evaluating requirements and benefits, these are of little use if a company's essentialEPM needs areas are left out of the equation. The ability to achieve a strong return on investment-which will bediscussed further in this paper-derives in large part from the requirements defined at this early stage.
The following points indicate the kinds of 'pains' organizations typically face with respect to managing employee performance:
Lack of goal alignment. Emplo... [download for more]