Monitoring and Measuring Performance

Managers monitor and measure performance by the following:

• Direct Observations - For example, watching an employee run a meeting or make a sales presentation are examples of direct observation.
• Discussion - Ask pointed questions to evaluate how the employee is doing relative to key job responsibilities and specific goals.
• Reviews - Budget reviews, written project summaries, and weekly reports are used to monitor/measure what's getting done.

Some of the problems that occur during this step include:

Confusing activity with results - some employees are very busy. And, although it looks like they are exerting a lot of energy, very little is actually getting accomplished. It's important to separate actions from accomplishments.

Insufficient observations - some managers will make one observation and then jump to various conclusions. It's important to make sufficient observation before making any single conclusion.

Halo effect - just because an employee does one thing very well the manager generalizes and rates him or her outstanding in all skills. Most people have strengths and weaknesses. It's important to be clear on each.

Horn effect - the opposite of the halo effect. Just because the employee has one deficiency, the manager concludes he/she performs unsatisfactorily at everything.

Managers need to be aware of these traps and avoid them.