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U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

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Performance Management

Measuring

"Measurement" encompasses the assessment of performance and results achieved by individual employees, groups of employees or teams, and entire organizations. Measurement provides a way to determine what has been accomplished and can serve as a basis for deciding when those accomplishments deserve special recognition. Within the performance appraisal process, measuring means determining the level of performance by judging the quality, quantity, timeliness, and/or cost effectiveness of the work against a set of standards.

Staff Recommendations    (What to read when you can't read it all.)

Title

Description

A Handbook for Measuring Employee Performance: Aligning Employee Performance Plans with Organizational Goals (9/01) PDF file 1.7MB Describes a method for developing employee performance plans that are aligned with and support organizational goals using an 8-step process. Provides guidelines for writing performance elements and standards along with hands-on exercises to give users a chance to practice their new skills.

Effective Performance Management: Doing What Comes Naturally (10/97)

Describes performance management as a systematic process that includes planning, monitoring, developing, rating, and rewarding.

The Fable of the Beekeepers and Their Bees (8/97)

Describes the advantages of measuring and rewarding results versus activities.

Good Measurement Makes a Difference in Organizational Performance (6/99)

Presents the findings of a study done by the Metrus Group on the value of using strategic measures to track customer and employee satisfaction, financial performance, and operating efficiency.


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Policy Documents

Title

Description

The Policy Perspective on 360-Degree Assessment (3/96)

Provides a summary of legislative, regulatory, and Governmentwide policies that relate to 360-degree appraisal.


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Resources

Title

Description

A Handbook for Measuring Employee Performance: Aligning Employee Performance Plans with Organizational Goals (9/01) PDF file 1.7MB

Describes a method for developing employee performance plans that are aligned with and support organizational goals using an 8-step process. Provides guidelines for writing performance elements and standards along with hands-on exercises to give users a chance to practice their new skills.

Performance Appraisal for Teams (8/98)

Describes how critical, non-critical, and additional performance elements can be used to plan, measure, monitor, rate, and reward a team's performance.


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Newsletter Articles

Title

Description

Achieving Success Through Results-Based Management (6/99)

Mr. Maurice McTigue, a former New Zealand Cabinet Minister and international authority on performance management, shares his views on results-based management.

Agencies Discover the Value of Evaluation (8/99)

Describes how two agencies had their performance appraisal programs evaluated, what they found, and changes they plan based on those results.

Balancing Measures of Performance (12/96)

Reviews the performance measures being used by the New York Regional Office of the Veterans Benefits Administration. This approach uses organizational outcomes that become the basis for performance ratings and rewards.

Balancing Measures: Best Practices in Performance Management (2/00)

Explains what balanced measures are and how they can help agencies achieve long-term goals.

Clear Goals Lead to Success in GSA (2/00)

Explains how GSA's Linking Budget to Performance initiative got Region 2 to focus on results and performance improvement.

Effective Performance Management: Doing What Comes Naturally (10/97)

Describes performance management as a systematic process that includes planning, monitoring, developing, rating, and rewarding.

The Fable of the Beekeepers and Their Bees (8/97)

Describes the advantages of measuring and rewarding results versus activities.

Good Measurement Makes a Difference in Organizational Performance (6/99)

Presents the findings of a study done by the Metrus Group on the value of using strategic measures to track customer and employee satisfaction, financial performance, and operating efficiency.

Making the Connection: Aligning Employee Performance with Organizational Goals (8/99)

Describes the Handbook for Measuring Employee Performance: Aligning Employee Performance Plans with Organizational Goals and explains how to obtain a copy.

Measurement and Rewards Improve Performance at GSA (2/00)

Explains how the General Services Administration (GSA) Linking Budget to Performance initiative improves organizational and individual performance.

Measuring Hard-to-Measure Work: Research Scientists (4/00)

Describes one approach to developing elements and standards that measure scientific work that often involves multi-year efforts before attaining final results.

Measuring Hard-to-Measure Work: Secretary (6/00)

Describes how to identify elements and standards that measure the results of a secretary's work.

Measuring Hard-to-Measure Work: Supervisor (8/00)

Describes how to identify elements and standards that measure the results of a supervisor's work.

OPM Survey Shows Agencies Successfully Practice Performance Management (Summer 2001)

Describes the results of OPM's Merit System Principles Questionnaire in the area of performance management through a review of related questions.

President's Management Council Committed to Performance Management (2/00)

Summarizes how agencies can become more accountable, performance-based, and results-oriented as covered in the "Report to the President's Council on Managing Performance in Government."


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Book Reviews

Title

Description

The Balanced Scorecard by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton; Harvard Business School Press, 1996 (8/99)

Reviews the book, The Balanced Scorecard, and briefly explains the balanced scorecard approach.

Designing Feedback: Performance Measures for Continuous Improvement (8/98)

Presents a concise plan for the design, development, and use of feedback in a variety of work settings that includes the use of different types of measures.


 

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