In the process of project execution, the project manager not only needs to pay attention to the individual performance of team members, but also needs to consider the performance of the team as a whole. The external manifestation of team performance is the degree to which the team executes the project. Project goals are achieved through individual performance. Simply assigning project metrics to individuals may not be the best way to improve team performance. The measurement of team performance should also include the measurement of the team, such as the team’s overall innovation ability, the team’s overall work efficiency and so on.
In addition, as the assessment of the project manager, the assessment index should also include the efforts paid in team building, such as the number of training times organized by the project manager and the turnover rate of team members, etc.
In order to improve the execution of team members, the project manager should not only care about them, but also strengthen education and guidance, and give them enough attention. Just imagine, when the child shows the homework to the parents, if the parents just put the homework aside, it will consume the enthusiasm of the children. But if parents check carefully every time, the child’s progress will be much more obvious. So should team management.
Improving the execution of team members also requires the project manager to create a collaborative team atmosphere. Some teams often quarreled over small things. Later, someone explained that “quarreling” is the process of using “mouth” to “reduce” the positive energy. In the process of running a project, employees cannot tolerate each other, and the execution of the team will be less noisy in the end.
Project managers can use performance appraisal to strengthen the motivation of employees, cultivate and improve their ability to execute project activities, thus increasing the possibility of project success.
In the past, the “annual salary system” was favored by many companies, and employees were promoted and paid more according to their years of service. The system is designed to attract employees and increase their loyalty, and is usually better suited when the company is growing rapidly. With the change of enterprise internal and external environment and the increasingly fierce competition, the “annual work system” can not continue to stimulate the vitality of employees, resulting in the lack of enterprise innovation ability.
Later, the “performance system” that emerged in the 1990s effectively solved this problem. Through performance appraisal, on the one hand, employees’ task completion is checked; on the other hand, employees’ potential is discovered, and employees are allocated according to the results of comprehensive assessment. Due to different responsibilities, I have formed a positive and enterprising atmosphere in the company.
Performance appraisal is an important part of human resource management. It is according to a certain standard, comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the staff, attitude and other abilities, to determine their work performance and internal potential of a set of management methods. Commonly used performance appraisal methods include:
1. Scale grading method
This method is the most widely used performance appraisal method at present. It is a method to evaluate the evaluated object based on the designed rating scale.
2. Comment method
This method is to use the way of written assessment assessment, including the work performance of the assessed person, work performance, strengths and weaknesses, as well as the direction of efforts
3. Critical event method
In this method, the supervisor records key events (especially good and bad events) in the employee’s daily work. Within a specified period of time (e.g., once every six months), the superior will discuss with the evaluated employee based on the key events recorded above so as to provide the basis for the evaluation results.
4. 360-degree evaluation
In this method, employees themselves, their superiors, direct subordinates, colleagues and even customers evaluate their personal performance from their own perspectives, so that the evaluated can obtain feedback from multiple perspectives.
5. Working standard method
The key of this method is to find a person with average professional level, let him finish the assigned task at a normal speed in a conventional way, and record the time needed to complete the task (also known as the time standard), and other employee assessment are carried out according to this standard.
6. Objective assessment method
This method is to evaluate the performance of the employees on the completion of the set goals and the implementation of the work standards according to certain indicators or evaluation criteria.
7. Compulsory choice
This method uses a “forced choice table” (typically consisting of 10 to 20 groups of 4 behavior description options), in which the rater must select the best description and the least description of the respondent’s behavior. This method is simple to operate and greatly reduces the influence of the rater’s personal preferences or biases (the rater does not know the score for each option), thus ensuring the objectivity of the evaluation.
In the book Performance Management by Chen Quanming, the author summed up the ideas of performance management: “development-oriented, communication as the link, management as the pillar, evaluation as the means, incentive as the engine, training as the springboard. To do performance management well, project managers need to choose appropriate methods, determine the objectives of performance management, and design the corresponding reward and punishment mechanism (popularly speaking, “carrot” and “stick” policy, “carrot” refers to the reward, and “stick” refers to the punishment measures).
There is no “carrot”, doing well means that the efforts of employees are not found or valued, because without “satisfaction”, employees may slack off; If they don’t have a big stick, if they don’t do well, it means they can keep making mistakes, because if they don’t have a “sense of fear” they might make mistakes. In team management, the project manager gives regular feedback and constructive suggestions to employees. With good “carrot” and “stick”, can greatly improve the combat effectiveness of the team members.
Performance evaluation focuses on results (performance indicators), but rarely on process (individual effort). Also, estimates are generally periodic and periodic (not real-time). The effectiveness of performance appraisal methods can be enhanced if they can be combined with other methods, such as “drawer style” management.
“Drawer” management is a popular name, in fact, is a job analysis of the specific role of the employee. In the manager’s drawer, each employee should have a work manual, describing their work norms, can help the manager to strengthen the management of employees, to avoid the situation of employees passing the buck to each other. Most Fortune 500 companies implement drawer management, which is a very effective human resource management tool. Combined with performance management, it can effectively help project managers improve the effectiveness of team management.
Incorporating a “one minute” management approach. As the name suggests, this approach requires managers to set aside a small amount of time each day to supervise employees (one-minute goals: explain to employees what to do; One-minute praise: Praise an employee for a job well done; One minute — minute punishment: criticize the employee for doing something wrong), let the employee know their work situation and the direction of the next effort, so as to mobilize their initiative. This method is simple and practical, greatly shortening the management process, so it has been widely used in the world.
Either way, project managers need to be aware of some “politics” in team management. For example, a project personnel into the project, is completely the superior leadership of comrades training, in order to get training in the specific project. When dealing with such people, performance management alone may not help the project manager manage such people. Instead, the project manager should consider how to use such a person from the beginning of the project, thus adding a friend to the operation of the project, rather than creating obstacles for himself.
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