New HR Head Seeks Guidance on Setting Up Effective Performance Evaluation Systems

Introduction

I am the new HR Head of an emerging IT Solutions Company that offers Unified Communications Solutions to Small and Medium Enterprises as well as National and Multinational Corporations. As a starting company, my boss transitioned me from one of her other businesses where I served as the General Manager, appointing me as the HR Head of this new IT Solutions Company.

Background and Challenge

I have a background in leadership and people management, but it is solely based on experience, without any formal management or HR educational background. This lack of formal education makes it challenging for me to develop HR standard operating procedures that align with established company practices.

Request for Assistance

Therefore, I would like to seek assistance on how to establish a Key Result Area (KRA), Key Performance Area (KPA), and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system to effectively and efficiently evaluate the performance of employees and my department.

Company Team Structure

The company's team consists of:
- 1 Office Administrator
- 1 Accounts Associate
- 1 Operations Manager (focused on sales)
- 2 Sales Representatives
- 3 Technical Engineers/Personnel
- 4 Call Center Agents (Outbound)

Any advice provided would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

Regards,
WilhJacobin
YM Corporation

I appreciate you for this performance management initiative. Leadership and people management skills acquired through experience are going to help you in this new role.

1. You require crisp information on people and profiles. If you do not have accurate employee information, please organize the same first.

2. From the profile (maybe while hiring, the hiring department/recruiter filled descriptions and detailed job profiles). Grab all that stuff.

3. Spend quality time and try to make Key Performance Areas of various roles applicable. While doing this, make sure that these KPAs are helpful in achieving key company goals, both long-term and short-term.

Apart from this, you may subcategorize KPAs into 2 or 3 categories; for example, Functional, Organizational.

4. Once the KPAs are ready, start writing Key Performance Indicators for each KPA.

5. You may seek the assistance of the concerned operation team to make KPAs - KPIs more realistic.

6. Organize one-on-one meetings of Employees and Line Managers and get a sign-off on KPA-KPIs.

7. After 3 months, plan for an interim evaluation and record HR observations.

I am not suggesting ending the performance plan with KPA-KPI alone. However, my suggestion is to achieve the KPA-KPI plan and tracker first, and then in the second phase, conduct competencies evaluation, and in the third phase, you may associate the process with TNA (Training Needs Assessment) as well.

Wishing you the very best!

Greetings and congratulations on being appointed as HR Head. If your management permits, you may appoint an experienced HR Manager to assist you. HRM is an ocean by itself, as there are many specializations within HRM where one needs expertise to work on it. There are certain areas that can be performed by clerks, like collecting and maintaining the employee database. HRM is a domain where HR and other professionals learn many things by doing it practically, i.e., real-time experience. I hope you will get an opportunity to learn HRM as time progresses, or I suggest you hire an expert coach.

I request you to search Google by typing "HOW TO DRAFT KRA." It will lead you to many websites giving you detailed information. Spend some time with a free mind, productively understanding the process involved. Once you are done, kindly let me know; I will share my limited knowledge to the maximum.

With profound regards,
Regards

It's a massive task. You can start by having a job description for each position ready. For that, you can assign targets to each department that align with the organizational goals. Next, assign roles to each department and then to each individual in that department. Set targets for each employee and then proceed to measure the KPIs. I am attaching a template for your reference. I hope it will help.

Regards.