Interview with Lindiwe Sebesho, past president and current EXCO member of the South African Reward Association (SARA), a professional association that develops and advances ethical total reward practices in South Africa.

Q: Why are year end performance appraisals still a popular tool?
A: Although many companies have moved away from traditional once-a-year appraisals in favour of more regular performance engagements throughout the year,  the year-end performance appraisal is still a key focus in many organisations as it summarises the full year’s performance and guides various talent decisions.  There is an appreciation of the need to focus on the quality of appraisal conversations to improve the motivation impact thereof.

One way in which the quality can be improved is through forward-looking conversations where past performance is referenced mainly for the purpose of acknowledging great outcomes and guiding actions to sustain or improve performance in the future.  This enables both managers and employees to focus on how they can optimally contribute towards business success and achieve career growth.

Q: Why are performance review conversations a source of worry for managers?
A: Some managers do not set clear expectations or regularly give honest and constructive feedback. This leads to difficulty in addressing common performance challenges during year end appraisals when the stakes are high with regards to the post appraisal talent decisions e.g. reward. This becomes the source of stress as they don’t feel confident that they can deal with the robust interactions that are part of the performance management process.

Q: Should performance appraisals be left to HR professionals, or can line managers be trained to conduct performance conversations with confidence?
A: Anyone can be guided or trained to manage performance discussions with confidence. SARA is offering a free webinar on 24 October, 9:30-11:00, for anyone that wants to prepare themselves for great performance appraisals. Register in advance for this webinar at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/89e5e8e648899e2c4ac87b605f06faf5

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, juanita@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  

For more information on SARA please visit:
Website: www.sara.co.za  
Twitter: @SA_reward
LinkedIn: South African Reward Association
Facebook: SARA – South African Reward Association

Despite the changes being made to many organisation’s performance management processes, setting clear performance objectives is vital. It ensures that employees focus on work that helps them contribute optimally to both team and business success whilst growing their careers. 

“If done right, goal setting is still considered key in enabling employees to start any performance period or role with an understanding of their role priorities and what success looks like,” says Lindiwe Sebesho, Executive Committee Member, South African Reward Association (SARA). “It can also direct development efforts as employees can use this as reference for refining their capabilities for the short and long term growth. Most importantly, setting effective objectives reduces the stress associated with performance reviews for those organisations that still hold these formally.”   

Whilst performance objectives used to be set annually at the beginning of a performance period, more organisations now encourage shorter objective setting cycles e.g. quarterly, as this helps them adjust their focus in line with changes in their environment.   

“It is important that employees optimise the objective setting processes in their companies to align their career goals with those of the organisation,” says Sebesho. “As goal setting discussions usually happen in teams and/or directly with an employee’s line manager, employees can use these goals to understand key business priorities and the contributions they can make. Not only should this ensure that their performance is in line with what the company expects from them, but it also enables them to work proactively towards a common result which benefits all.”

Clear performance objectives are imperative 
There are various ways in which organisations guide the development of objectives to ensure that they are output focused and drive valued results.  The most common of these is the CSMART principle:  Challenging, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Using this guide, employees can ensure that their objectives are clearly defined and can be used to indicate intent and substantiate achievements.    

Sebesho says this is particularly important as many organisations use performance outputs to determine different reward elements. “Salaries, bonuses and incentives are usually tied to the level of achievement against stretched performance objectives and targets. So, to set yourself up for success, not only for reward purposes, but in terms of career progression, it is important to be clear about the contribution you have to make and the standards against which your performance will be assessed. Setting effective objectives is therefore a key part of owning your success as an employee.”

​ENDS
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za 
 
For more information on SARA please visit:
Website: www.sara.co.za 
Twitter: @SA_reward
LinkedIn: South African Reward Association
Facebook: SARA – South African Reward Association

Managing employee performance remains a key element of ensuring that businesses remain competitive by executing their strategies better and more efficiently. Performance improvement cannot be achieved through traditional performance management approaches that focus primarily on employee assessments. For this reason top organisations are improving their practices.
 
“In order to bring your organisation’s performance management up to date, the setting of clear performance objectives at the right levels of stretch, followed by more regular, real-time and forward looking conversations on performance between managers and employees is key,” says Lindiwe Sebesho, President of the South African Reward Association (SARA).
 
The right level of stretch
“This is the level of performance that encourages employees to do more than what is normally expected so that they can improve or sustain desired performance outcomes,” Sebesho explains. “It is important that performance objectives are defined in very specific terms.”
 
Various guides are available to help organisations, managers and employees define stretch objectives including the widely used CSMART approach. This approach refers to defining objectives that are challenging, specific, measureable, achievable, and realistic and time bound.
 
Real-time conversations
Sebesho advises that organisations should endeavour to create an environment where great conversations about the business are the norm and people are generally encouraged and feel it is safe to participate in them. “Performance focused conversations should be held whenever support is required to make progress or when progress has been made.  It is especially important to ensure that issues that impact on performance are addressed quickly,” says Sebesho.
 
Keep it regular
Traditional performance management approaches advocate set intervals, however, whilst this may work for some environments, it does not work in others. Sebesho agrees: “Flexible approaches are often necessary to cater for any event that may impact on an employee’s understanding of what they need to focus on and get the support they need to deliver great results.”
 
Using a Reward Specialist
Where organisations are aiming at improving their performance management practices, Sebesho advises the use of a Reward Specialist. “Reward Specialists generally ensure that their organisation’s total reward strategies and policies are formulated and implemented in a way that rewards people fairly and consistently in line with the value of their skills, knowledge and experience,” she says. “They particularly have to ensure that performance based rewards encourage employees to maximise their performance.”
 
Bonus plans, incentive schemes or stock options must fairly reward employees for achieving stretch performance objectives and contributing optimally to the success of the organisation. 
 
“As performance is a key decision factor for such schemes, a Reward Specialist has to ensure that their organisation’s performance management practices are effective and are therefore a sound basis on which to make performance based reward decisions. It is also important that they ensure that such schemes are motivational and speak to the needs and desires of the employees.”
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ENDS
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MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  

For more information on SARA please visit:
Website: www.sara.co.za  
Twitter: @SA_reward
LinkedIn: South African Reward Association
Facebook: SARA – South African Reward Association