Reference no: EM132196423

Develop performance management processes

Performance objective
You will need to demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to develop integrated performance management processes.

Assessment description
In response to a simulated business scenario, you will analyse business and operational plans and use information from key stakeholders to develop objectives and processes for performance management. You will then develop plans to implement processes. Finally, you will provide a written reflection on the activities you undertook to complete the assessment task.

Procedure

Part A

1. Review the following scenario:
You are the new HR General Manager at Australian Hardware.
In order to help the organisation realise its strategic goals, you will need to ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to performance management across the organisation. You will need to:
• analyseorganisational plans and policies
• create objectives for performance management and develop integrated processes
• consult with line managers and other management stakeholders to ensure support and smooth implementation
• plan the effective implementation of performance management processes.
In undertaking this activity you will be guided by your knowledge of building organisational capability and managing talent to achieve both shorter and longer-term organisational goals.
2. Review the Australian Hardware simulated business information provided in the Assessment Appendices and analyse the organisational documents - such as strategic and operational plans - in order to understand the Australian Hardware simulated business, including its vision and strategic objectives. Identify objectives and policies to be addressed in integrated performance management processes that you will develop for implementation.
3. Develop at least three objectives for performance management to support the Australian Hardware organisational strategy. These objectives could address areas of performance management such as KPI setting, ongoing performance monitoring and management and performance appraisals. Record these objectives in the first table in the planning template provided in Appendix 1.
4. Design a process - such as methods, a set of procedures or tools - to assist managers to develop KPIs for the employees reporting to them. Ensure that the performance management process is flexible enough to cover the range of employment situations that exist within the Australian Hardware simulated business.
5. Arrange with your assessor to role-play consultation with two managers (a line manager and the Chief Operating Officer) to ensure objectives, and processes for developing KPIs are understood, agreeable and feasible for managers to implement.

Ensure you act during your consultation in a way designed to ensure support for your processes. Be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge of the role of HR in building organisational capability, contributing to the development of a learning organisation, and achieving organisational success.
Note: As a result of consultation, you may need to amend your three objectives and your process - methods, procedures or tools - to meet the needs of various manager stakeholders.
6. Plan implementation of processes related to the objectives you have developed. You may use the template in Appendix 1 to record your plan. Ensure your implementation plan includes strategies to ensure concerns of stakeholders about KPI setting and performance appraisals are addressed. Ensure you include appropriate timeframes. Your schedule should cover one financial or calendar year.
Part B
1. Prepare a 1-2 page written reflection on the activities you have undertaken during this Assessment Task to develop performance management processes and plan implementation. Ensure you explain your planning choices with respect to:
a. relevance to specific organisational goals and the broader role of performance management in building organisational capability
b. characteristics of learning organisations
c. application of policies to your planning of processes
d. consideration and application of equal employment opportunity, privacy and confidentiality, diversity and anti-discrimination policies and legislation, as relevant to performance management
e. application of grievance procedures to your planning of processes
f. discussion of design options chosen or ruled out to build organisational capability and meet the needs of the organisation.
2. Submit the required documents for assessment as per the specifications below. Be sure to keep a copy for your records.
Specifications
You must:
• submit three objectives for performance management
• submit at least one example of a process for KPI setting, such as a procedure or tool
• participate in role-play/s with two managers
• submit implementation planning for performance management processes
• submit a 1-2 page written reflection of process undertaken to develop and implement performance management processes.
Your assessor will be looking for:
• analytical skills to ensure processes are practical and gather necessary information
• leadership skills to gain support for performance management processes across the organisation
• knowledge of characteristics of a learning organisation
• knowledge of policies and legislation relevant to performance management
• knowledge of grievance procedures
• knowledge of options in the design of performance management
• knowledge of role of performance management in relation to broader human resources and business.

Implement performance management processes

Performance objective+
You will need to demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to facilitate the implementation of performance management processes through the delivery of training to managers.

Assessment description
In response to the Australian Hardware simulated business scenario, you will develop and implement training for managers who are responsible for performance management. The training will need to be consistent with processes developed in Assessment Task 1 as well as consistent with Australian Hardware policies and procedures.
You will then answer a series of email questions in order to support a manager through the process of performance managing an employee.
Finally, you will provide a written reflection to evaluate the effectiveness of the performance management processes you have developed, trained managers in and implemented.

Procedure

Part A
1. Review the Australian Hardware simulated business information provided in the Assessment Appendices.
2. Review the following scenario:
You are the Human Resources General Manager at Australian Hardware. You have recently planned the implementation of integrated performance management processes.
You will now need to plan and deliver manager training to assist managers to implement performance management.
Your training will need to be consistent with any processes you developed in Assessment Task 1 as well as being consistent with Australian Hardware policies and procedures. For example, if you outlined a process of biannual performance review in Assessment Task 1, your training session should not present information that is contradictory to the biannual review process.
Manager training is to be implemented nation-wide. As a first step, you will plan and deliver pilot manager training to the Wollongong managers.
The learners include:
• mangers aged 25-50 years
• managers who like to observe others before doing
• managers who have requested lots of activities.
You will then need to support managers to performance manage employees in accordance with organisational policies and procedures.
Finally, you will need to continually evaluate the effectiveness of processes against objectives for performance management.

3. Use the template provided in Appendix 1 to plan training for Wollongong managers. Remember to plan objectives for the training and to monitor success against objectives (plan to conduct some form of test or evaluation of the training). Remember to plan strategies for winning the support of managers for implementing processes. You will plan a 20-30 minute session that:
a. briefly outlines the main features of the performance management process, such as:
i. regular monitoring of performance
ii. identification of performance gaps
iii. providing feedback
iv. managing talent
b. focuses on one of these four aspects of the process and give examples, introduce tools, or demonstrate skills
c. addresses storage of performance management documentation in accordance with recordkeeping policy
d. allows adequate time for managers to practise and to provide feedback.
4. Deliver training, making sure to:
a. outline the main features of the performance management process (as listed in the previous step)
b. meet the needs of your learners
c. present information that is consistent with processes you outlined in Assessment Task 1 and consistent with Australian Hardware policies and procedures
d. use a range of facilitation methods to cater for differences in learning style
e. follow the timeframe you outlined in the session plan.

Part B
1. Review the following scenario:
A manager contacts HR with the following enquiry:
Hi
One of my sales staff is consistently late, displays poor attitude and has performed below agreed level on his last two performance appraisals. The employee does not agree with the rating I have given him, however.
I have tried clarifying targets and coaching. Nothing seems to work. Maybe I'm just not delivering feedback in the right way. It's hard not to be frustrated and I do get angry sometimes. Actually, I feel let down and hurt because I have tried to develop the potential I once saw in this employee.
This terrible situation is now affecting team morale.
What should I do next? I think I might need to let the employee go.
Audrey Wu
Housewares Manager, Wollongong
2. Write an email to Audrey Wu, Wollongong's Housewares Manager to:
a. outline positive approaches to giving feedback and coaching
b. outline appropriate intervention options
c. outline a process for dispute resolution
d. outline the process for terminating the employee in case intervention is unsuccessful
e. outline the process for recordkeeping to ensure adherence to policies and legislative requirements.
Ensure you refer to any relevant policies and legislation, including specific reference to anti-discrimination, privacy and industrial relations legislation.

Part C
1. Prepare a written reflection in which you:
a. evaluate your performance
b. evaluate the effectiveness of existing performance management processes, particularly in terms of:
i. the level of guidance for dealing with underperforming staff
ii. their ability to help managers achieve the short- and long-term strategic aims of the organisation
c. recommend timeframes for regular evaluation of performance management processes.
Remember to evaluate processes in light of your knowledge of the characteristics of learning organisations and the broader role of HR in achieving business objectives.
2. Submit the required documents for assessment as per the specifications below. Be sure to keep a copy for your records.

Specifications
You must:
• deliver a simulated training session to managers
• submit a session plan
• submit your email to the Housewares Manager
• submit a written reflection to evaluate own performance and performance management processes.
Your assessor will be looking for:
• analytical skills to ensure processes are practical and gather necessary information
• communication and conflict-management skills to deal with grievances, disputes and disagreements
• leadership skills to obtain support and endorsement of the performance management processes across the organisation
• training, coaching, mentoring and facilitation skills using a range of methods to cater for differences in learning styles, to ensure managers are competent to manage performance
• knowledge of characteristics of a learning organisation
• knowledge of policies and legislation relevant to performance management
• knowledge of grievance procedures
• knowledge of models for giving feedback and options for skill development
• knowledge of role of performance management in relation to broader human resources and business.

Coordinate learning and development

Performance objective
You will need to demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to coordinate individual or group learning and development.
Assessment description
In response to a simulated business scenario, you will evaluate the effectiveness of previous development activities undertaken by an external provider. You will then develop new learning and development plans and renegotiate with providers to deliver them to an acceptable level of quality.

Procedure
1. Review the following scenario:
You are the Human Resources General Manager at Australian Hardware.
Three months of pilot training has been delivered by an external training provider to sales staff, and you are reviewing the effectiveness of the training that has been provided so far. Data gathered so far indicates the training is failing to meet targets.
You will need to develop strategies and a training schedule to ensure that the provider, Train Your Way Up, delivers effective training. You will also need to renegotiate the implementation of training with Train Your Way Up.
Consider the following training requirements agreed to by senior management team and HR at Australian Hardware.
• 4,000 sales staff to be trained, including the following characteristics:
? an average of seven sales people per product team
? four product teams per store
? 138 stores
• 30 trainers required
• only one person from each team may be trained at any one time
• sessions require one-day, face-to-face training
• staff need to be completely up-skilled and performing to targets within six months.
First, however, you will need to prepare a report for the senior management team to explain the results and your planned actions, one of which is to ensure line managers participate in regular monitoring and support of employees to apply sales training on the job.
2. Review the performance data in Appendix 1 of this assessment task.
3. Review the Australian Hardware simulated business information provided in the Assessment Appendices.
4. Prepare a 1-2 page report for the senior management team detailing:
a. training outcomes
b. your interpretation of the performance data
c. interventions you will undertake to rectify issues
Support your planned interventions with reference to Australian Hardware as a learning organisation and addressing performance gaps to achieve specific organisational objectives and broader long-term goals.
5. Using the template in Appendix 2, develop a training strategy and schedule to be used by Train Your Way Up to deliver future training. Take particular care to include activities to ensure that line managers monitor the employee's application of sales training. Prepare to discuss strategies in negotiations with training supplier in order to incorporate these into a revised agreement.
6. Arrange with your assessor to renegotiate service agreement with training supplier.
7. Renegotiate training agreement with training supplier. Using the previously negotiated agreement provided in Appendix 3 and your planned training strategy and schedule (which you completed in step 5) as a basis, renegotiate the agreement with the supplier.
Ensure you modify the agreement in Appendix 3 and include a schedule for monitoring against objectives.
8. Consider the following negotiation information:
As an opening position, you would like Train Your Way Up (TYWU) to take complete responsibility for the effectiveness of the training. You would like TYWU to incorporate your strategies, revised training schedule and monitoring schedule into the new agreement. You would like TYWU to pay a penalty of $100,000 (5% of the total $2 million fee) to offset costs that will be incurred by Australian Hardware as a result of the underperformance of the training program to-date.
You are willing, however, to offer an additional bonus payment of $200,000 upon successful implementation of your significant improvements to the program. Your bottom line is that this extra money (and an additional $300,000) is considered at risk if TYWU fails to meet mutually agreed targets. Such targets must include:
• completion of training of 4,000 employees
• simulated AND actual on-the-job demonstration of relevant skills as part of training assessment for all employees (an audit of training and assessment records will provide adequate proof, and line manager third-party reports will provide adequate proof).

You would like to ensure more regular reporting of progress and involvement of line managers in monitoring and support.
9. Submit the required documents for assessment as per the specifications below. Be sure to keep a copy for your records.

Specifications
You must:
• submit 1-2 page evaluation report on the training outcomes for senior management
• participate in a renegotiation role-play
• submit a training strategy and schedule including a monitoring schedule
• submit a modified service agreement.
Your assessor will be looking for:
• communication and conflict-management skills to deal with disputes and disagreements
• knowledge of characteristics of a learning organisation
• knowledge of role of performance management in relation to broader human resources and business.