How Can We Improve Our Performance Management System? Your Input Needed!

Hi all, Greetings. Kindly go through the list of various inputs that go into the development of a Performance Management System and suggest changes, if any:

1. Identification of various divisions in the organization.
2. Responsibilities and authorities of each division.
3. Top-level organization structure.
4. Organization-level objectives and their targets.
5. Departmental organization structure – identifying various levels/positions of management staff and their reporting mechanism.
6. Departmental objectives and their targets.
7. Job descriptions of various positions identified in each department/division.
8. Defining KRAs and KPIs of each divisional head and his management staff.
9. Measuring the current level of achievement of various departmental/divisional objectives and identifying the performance gaps.
10. Actions to be initiated to plug the performance gaps.

Dear Janak Joshi,

Of the list of points you have given, point 8 is the most important. This is because defining KPI and KRA is not an easy task. Though people work in certain departments for years or even decades, that does not mean they are capable of measuring performance on their own.

Before instituting the PMS, it is important to spread awareness about what productivity is and how to measure it. The second important thing is the measurement of the organization's performance. Certain measures denote an organization's as well as a particular department's performance.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Dinesh ji, Thank you for your prompt reply. As rightly put by you, the core of PMS is identifying proper KRAs and KPIs of various departments. Can you provide any generic inputs about department-wise KRAs/KPIs?

Dear Janak Joshi,

To design department-wise KPIs, it is important to study the systems and processes of each department. Every department receives input in the form of information, material, or both. Subsequently, the same department provides output to another department or directly to the customer. It is crucial to analyze the input and output, and identify the costs and ratios associated with each department. Additionally, the complexity of the operations plays a vital role in designing KPIs.

You have requested generic inputs, but providing a quick solution is challenging. This type of activity necessitates consulting.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Dinesh ji,

You have rightly pointed out the constraints of coming up with a generic list of department-wise KRAs/KPIs unless we study the process in detail. Thanks for your valuable inputs. I will get back to you at the appropriate time.