Reward & Recognition - Performance Management and the integral role of Managers in organisational and employee development.

Most companies have yet to arrive at the realisation of understanding the importance of appointing to management, capable employees who are talented in and committed to managing people well. Many fail to realise the accountability of poor performance at lower levels actually sits with managers, this means ensuring supervisors themselves are well-managed and engaged. Middle-management definitely needs more love. Achieveable by implementing a functional employee engagement strategy as opposed to tackling a range of problems caused by the lack of that overall strategy. Research shows that australians have been known to respond exceptionally well to great management, a 'cool culture', meaningful recognition and opportunities to take on new challenges. The overall employee output and the intensity of this output can be directly measured by the level of investment an employer makes in improving that overall experience at work. In other words, you get the engagement and performance you deserve. Nothing, absoloutely nothing is more important and more intstrumental than an awesome manager who has the ability to individualise the company's approach on behalf of that employee. And yet, only 9% of employees strongly agree their managers understand them, one in two employees think their manager is incompetent (hahaha). Yes, comical but this is derived from a 2013 Hewitt study of employee engagement. The relationship an employee holds with their direct manager is the most important. They serve as an intemediary between the employee and the wider organisation. Helping the employee understand and make sense of what changes are taking place in the wider business, and how this affects the employee. And when it comes to helping those who are interested to progress with their careers either within their roles or beyond, the immediate manager should act as a sponsor or a mentor, someone who connects people with opportunities and can secure the right resources and approval to make it possible. The concept CLEARLY DEFINING performance expectations is equally important. Making sure that general divisional teams and processes are aligned with objectives, managing cooperative relationships within cross-functional teams and providing people adequate resources and necessary support to kick goals necessary to do their job and push boundaries where possible. This all forms part of the BASICS of effectively managing people but what is equally important is the responsibility of middle management towards fostering an environment that enables high performance (ie HP>D not HP