On-The-Job Performance Factors

On-The-JobPerformance Factors Dr. James J. Kirk Professor of HRD

What You Will Learn • The definition of a OTJ performance system • 20 factors that impact OTJ performance • Selected human resources strategies for increasing OTJ performance

What Are OTJ Performance Factors • Issues, situations, and conditions in the work environment that have a positive or negative affect on performance • Factors may reside at the organization, department, team, managerial, and/or individual employee level • Collectively they help make up a “performance system”

Performance System Includes • The working business plans of an organization • All of the individual customer service and operations processes involved in producing a product or service • The organization environment (culture, climate, and management)

Selected Factors That Impact OTJ Performance • Employees don’t know what to do • Employees know what to do, but they don’t know how to do it • Employees know what to do, but they don’t know how their work relates to the work of their department/organization • Employees fail to follow prescribed policies, procedures, and managerial directives

Selected Factors That Impact OTJ Performance • Employees are unable to discern high priority work from low priority work • Employees choose low priority work over high priority work • There are no positive consequences for high performance • Lack of performance feedback • Ambiguous or unclear performancefeedback

Selected Factors That Impact OTJ Performance • Consequences of high and low performance are the same • A negative consequence for high performance is expected • There are negative consequences for good performance • There are positive consequences for low performance

Selected Factors That Impact OTJ Performance • Adequate resources are lacking to perform at a high level • There are obstacles in the workplace • Interference and disruptions in workplace • Poorly designed job • Personal limitations of employees • Personal problems of employees • There is low morale

Factors That Affect OTJ PerformanceAnd What To Do About Them

Employees Don’t Know What To Do • Improve communication skills of managers and employees • Improve delegation skills of managers and supervisors • Have managers regularly touch base with and be available to employees

Employees Know What To Do, But They Don’t Know How To Do It • Conduct front-end analysis • Conduct appropriate training • Assure that the new training is transferred to the workplace • Provide employee job aids • Provide employees mentors • Create a “performance support system” (PSS)

Employees Know What To Do, But They Don’t Know How Their Work Relates To The Work Of Their Department/Organization • Orientate new employees to the entire organization • Publish an in-house newsletter which helps to give employees an overview of the company’s operations

Employees Know What To Do, But They Don’t Know How Their Work Relates To The Work Of Their Department/Organization • Training managers and employees in “systems thinking” • Make systems thinking part of the organizations culture

Employees Fail To Follow Prescribed Policies, Procedures, And Managerial Directives • Improve communications of managers and workers • Explain, put in writing, and make available to employees relevant policies and procedures • Give employees input into policies and procedures • Frequently review and revise policies • Train managers and supervisors in delegation skills • Expect and reinforce adherence to critical procedures • Establish and enforce policies and procedures for dealing with insubordination

Employees Are Unable To Discern High Priority Work From Low Priority Work • Have managers communicate relative priority of current projects on a weekly basis • Have managers communicate the priority level of projects as they are assigned • Do not assign everything a high priority • Train managers and employees in systems thinking • Involve employees in strategic planning processes

Employees Chooses Low Priority Work Over Low Priority Work • Train employees in how to discern the priority level of current projects and tasks • Clearly communicate important deadlines • Cross-train workers so that they can perform a variety of tasks • Emphasize, expect, and reward employees for working as teams • Consider job-sharing work arrangements • Delegate specific tasks to specific individuals or groups of individuals

There Are No Positive Consequences For High Performance • Make it possible for employees to perform at high levels • Find out what your employee’s value most in terms of employee rewards • Reward large numbers of high performers on a regular basis

Lack Of Performance Feedback • Train managers in giving and receiving feedback • Evaluate managers on how effectively and how frequently they provide appropriate feedback to subordinates • Give employees candid and continuous informal feedback on their work performance • Conduct periodic performance reviews (more than once a year)

Ambiguous Or Unclear Performance Feedback • Training managers in communications skills that include giving and receiving feedback • Evaluate managers on how effectively and how frequently they provide appropriate feedback to subordinates

Consequences Of High And Low Performance Are The Same • Make it possible for employees to perform at high levels • Do not award low performance • Help employees to perform at high levels • Find out what your employee’s value most in terms of employee rewards • Reward large numbers of high performers on a regular basis

A Negative Consequence For High Performance Is Expected • Make high performance a core value of the organization’s culture • Maintain high employee morale by making the workplace a safe, stimulating, and positive environment in which to work • Acknowledge and reward high performance on regular basis

There Are Negative Consequences For High Performance • Immediately substitute any negative consequence for high performance with positive consequences

There Are Positive Consequences For Low Performance • Substitute any positive consequence for low performance with expectations of high performance • Accompany expectations of high performance with action plans and appropriate support to achieve them

Adequate Resources Are Lacking To Perform At A High Level • Determine what resources are needed for employees to perform at high levels • Prioritize the needed resources • Systematic secure high priority resources

There Are Obstacles In The Workplace • Conduct a force field analysis to determine the forces in the workplace favorable to high performance and the forces which work against high performance • Access the relative strength the forces

There Are Obstacles In The Workplace • Plan and implement ways of capitalizing on the positive forces with the greatest strength • Plan and implement ways of removing or neutralizing the negative forces with the greatest strength

Interference And Disruptions In Workplace • Train workers in time management skills • Effectively use various means of communications including the very misused “meeting” • Create a “performance support system” (minimizes interference from other employees)

Interference And Disruptions In Workplace • Rearrange work areas to minimize interference and disruptions • Create “get away” work areas in the workplace • Allow people to work at home as needed

Poorly Designed Job • Review and redesign jobs on a regular basis • The use of technology and downsizing has made job re-design a critical issue in many organizations

Personal Limitations Of Employees • Recruit and select employees with high potential • Make accommodates for employees with disabilities • Continually train, develop, and empower workers

Personal Problems Of Employees • Treat all employees as valued members of the company • Provide employee assistance programs and interventions as needed • Make “We help employees who help themselves” part of the organization’s culture

Remember • There are many factors that impact OTJ performance • This presentation only lists a few performance factors • Pat, short-term solutions to performance problems usually don’t work • Each performance problem must be carefully researched and analyzed in the context of a particular organization • The performance enhancement suggestions noted in this presentation represent only a small portion of the interventions available • What other interventions come to mind at this time

What You Have Learned • The definition of a OTJ performance system • 20 factors that impact OTJ performance • Selected human resources strategies for increasing OTJ performance

On-The-Job Performance Factors