Performance Management for Technicians (How do you do it?)

[garethedmondson]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm looking to start monitoring the technicians a bit more closely than I used to do. There are reasons for this which I will not go into on a public forum.

 

I'm looking for a performance criteria that I can measure against. Also what happens if those targets are not met.

 

Who does your monitoring and what steps are taken to ensure transparency and fair play across the process.

 

Many thanks

 

GJE

[ChrisH]

Monitor them via a help desk so you can see who is doing what and how long it is taking. If not a help desk then job sheets or diaries with a list of jobs each day then any extra they do, they also write it in.

[CyberNerd]

remember to back them up with some training.

You'll get yourself into a stick mess if your thinking about disciplining people for not doing things properly if they haven't been explicitly trained in how to do it.

[Psymon]

Monitor them via a help desk so you can see who is doing what and how long it is taking. If not a help desk then job sheets or diaries with a list of jobs each day then any extra they do, they also write it in.

 

Agreed, if you dont have a helpdesk, get jobsheets. How long they take on jobs, average time to close a job based on job difficulty, how many jobs done a week etc...

[tim.dalton]

Performance management at our place is a fairly open thing- we don't measure against set criteria for all members for example.

 

At the start of the year each member sits down with relevant department head and they come up with 4/5 targets for the year. These can be things related to a specific project they are taking on, keeping some service/equipment up and running, installing some new service that's in our development plan, etc. We also tend to set some kind of target for learning a new skill as well. The key with all the targets is they have to be measurable in some way.

 

For example, this year we have staff with targets related to keeping the Moodles up to date, one about putting new printing network in place, some have research projects, one wanted to learn CSS, etc, etc.

 

We look at progress halfway through the year, & then at the end look at whether they have been met.

 

Current system for rewarding is staff who meet their targets move up a grade on the pay scale, staff that exceed go up two, staff that don't meet them stay where they are. This is (just about...) the only way to improve your pay so people tend to be very motivated.

 

I think the key for us is the targets are decided on by the employee themselves. With the line manager in we can obviously direct towards areas that we are looking at, but they are always agreed. It is also discussed at that point how they will be measured, and it's down to the employee to come up with that evidence where required.

 

Cheers,

 

Tim

[TheCrust]

Tim, we do something along the same lines at the place I've just moved to - only there is no performance-related pay to encourage / motivate support staff.

 

Staff progress up the pay spine in one point increments every year, until they reach the top of the scale for their particular job grade. Then they stay at that point until the job is regraded or they leave the post which means little financial incentives to improve their performance or meet targets.

 

As such although I am "obliged" to do the PM reviews for my staff, as they have no incentives to meet them, nor do I get any for achieving my own, I am seriously wondering what's the point as it seems to be more a paper exercise designed to tick a box on someone's target sheet rather than because anyone actually wants to achieve any improvement in the support staff as a whole and it frustrates me.