One in five large firms do not use performance management

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

One in five large firms do not use performance management

Almost a fifth of the UK's largest organisations do not operate a performance management system, according to a survey by Personnel Today and HR software supplier, PeopleSoft.

Overall, the 893-employer survey found that 27% of surveyed organisations have no performance management system in place. But virtually half of those with fewer than 100 employees say they have no system whatsoever. A fifth of organisations do not include those operating below supervisory level in their performance management arrangements.

Pay awards

Less than half of respondents say they link their performance management system to pay awards, although this overall figure masks some important sectoral variations -- nearly three-quarters of banking and finance firms had established a link.

New technology

Almost half of survey respondents (47%) say their performance management system is completely paper based. "Only a fraction of respondents have embraced new technology to put in place a highly functional, automated performance system -- a mere 11% say their system is purely computer based," the report says.

The figures collected by Personnel Today and PeopleSoft suggest that those with computer-based systems were more likely to carry out reviews on a half-yearly or quarterly basis than those with paper-based arrangements.

Other key results

• the vast majority of survey employers (86%) say that the introduction of performance management has had a positive impact on the organisation
• the main goal for performance management is "employee motivation' -- cited by three-quarters of the sample
• the main use of the information gathered through performance management systems is to develop training and development plans, cited by 82% of the sample.

Want to know more?

Title: The Performance Management Survey, by Personnel Today and PeopleSoft.

Methodology: The report is based on a questionnaire that was emailed in December 2003 with the PersonnelToday.com newsletter, as well as appearing as a link on the site.

Sample size: Information was received from 893 people, two-thirds of whom classed themselves as a manager or above and a third as staff.

Business sectors: Two-thirds of respondents were private sector employers. Some 14% of respondents were from the professional services/consultancy sector, 13% worked in manufacturing, engineering or processing and 12% were in finance.

Availability: The survey is available from www.personneltoday.com/resources, price £25, tel: 01371 810433, email: personneltoday@esco.co.uk