Performance Management Cycle | Meaning

What is the Performance Management Cycle?

The performance management cycle implies a phenomenon that occurs annually in the workplace which entails the evaluation of employees during the year. Every employee must undergo this cycle, initiating with goal-establishing in the year’s start followed by backtracking the progress, facilitating them to perform better, and finally, culminating with a formal assessment later.

The performance management cycle intends to create and implement performance plans for employees that also align with the goals of an organization. The explicit purpose of the performance management cycle is to enhance employee performance which can be implemented for teams as well.

There are four main stages of the performance management cycle, namely, planning, monitoring, reviewing, and rewarding. This model is implemented on a year-long timeline and ends with a performance assessment, however, several organizations have discovered that frequent check-ins perk up employee performance. Let’s discuss the phases of the performance management cycle:

•   Planning: Planning here implies establishing the goals and expectations for employees and teams to concentrate their efforts toward accomplishing organizational goals.

•   Monitoring: Monitoring implies performance measurement and delivering consistent feedback to teams and employees when reaching organizational goals.

•   Reviewing: Reviewing implies the evaluation of accomplishments that teams/ employees have made when achieving the established goals.

•   Rewarding: FInally, rewarding entails the recognition and compensation of an employee for great performance at work.

Unlike the misconception, performance management is not a top-down procedure, instead, it takes managers and employees to work together. It is a shared responsibility that can render the whole process more efficient. When an employee feels that he/ she is being considered and involved in the process, they will experience higher motivation to accomplish the goals.