Preface
This book is an attempt to
provide some simple, workable answers to most, if nor all, of the questions I have ever
been asked on employee performance measurement and management. If you think the answers
are too simple then consider how successful any attempt at greater sophistication might
prove to he.
The concepts, ideas, tools
and techniques presented here have been developed over the last decade on a very tough
test pad. They have been tried our in a wide range of organisations, both commercial and
public sector. In addition, they have been bounced off hundreds of participants on the
public conferences, seminars and workshops that I run. The ideas that have made it into
this book are those that survived all of the questions, criticism and resistance thrown at
them by the disbelieving and cynical. You will nor come across the ones that did nor stand
up to this rigorous test; they have been binned.
This book not only looks at
the specifics of employee performance measurement but also the context in which we have to
apply it. There is no point in trying to reach someone how to fish without spending some
time considering the variety of factors that come into play, such as currents, shallows
and the weather. The organisational environment has a very important part to play in
performance measurement.
Finally, the terms
performance measurement and performance management will be used liberally throughout. They
are nor synonymous bur you cannot have management without measurement and there is nor
much point having measurement for rhe sake of it. The two should always be seen as totally
interdependent.