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ans Serif">How you manage your employees is very important, as to be successful in business this means managing in a way that is:

• ans Serif">responsive to a more competitive market place and to changing business structures;
• ans Serif">closely linked to the organisation's strategic plans; and
• ans Serif">focused on quality, customer service and satisfaction, employee involvement, teamwork, and workforce flexibility.

ans Serif">But how do you manage your employees' performance to achieve this ideal?

ans Serif" color="#008000">There are 13 basic principles in managing performance:

ans Serif">People perform best when they know:

• ans Serif">What the purpose of their job is (role)
• ans Serif">What they will be held accountable for (responsibilities)
• ans Serif">Where their organisation is heading (strategic direction)
• ans Serif">Where their contribution fits into the picture
• ans Serif">What support and resources will be provided to enable them to do the job
• ans Serif">To ask for clarification if they are uncertain or if it is possible to interpret requirements in different ways
• ans Serif">What to do and what not to do
• ans Serif">What decisions they can make and what to refer up
• ans Serif">What level of performance is expected
• ans Serif">How well they are performing compared to the desired standard (corrective feedback)
• ans Serif">What they need to do, in terms of specific behaviours, to improve their performance
• ans Serif">They will get recognition and be rewarded for superior performance
• ans Serif">There are consequences for poor performance

ans Serif">That sounds great and logical, but the key question most people ask is "so what do I actually do?"

ans Serif">It is widely accepted theory that goal setting can drive desired performance. Theory, however, is not actual practice - and creating a system for developing goals that are challenging yet realistic, valuable and measurable is an issue that all organisations face.

ans Serif">Performance management is an on-going process. It does not only consist of an appraisal at the end of the year. When organisations want employees to make a difference, they must be clear on their objectives and make the plans positively reinforcing to employees.

ans Serif">The minute the performance management or reward program gets old, it loses momentum. Programs must be kept vibrant, vital, and responsive to employee needs. To engage in managing performance successfully it is important to always remember one rule:

People are an asset, not just a cost of doing business.

ans Serif">The cost of "doing things wrong" is, on average, 10 percent. "Doing things wrong" means missing deadlines, shipping the wrong orders, and making billing errors and other mistakes that require time and effort to correct. That means that if your business generates business of around $100,000 per year, then the cost of doing things wrong could be near $10,000 annually. When you figure in all subsequent paperwork, service trips to customers, and in-house time, the cost could be as high as 15-20 percent!