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Managing Performance of Workers

Guest post by: Gireesh Sharma

Article Overview: This article discusses issues related to performance management of workers - the blue collared workforce in the organizations.

Managing Performance of Workers

Organizations in the manufacturing sector and also those in the service sectors such as hospitality, infrastructure, Security, logistic & retail services have a large component of their work force below the supervisor levels. In general, the work force below officer / supervisor level may be called 'Workers' - the blue collared workforce in the organizations. This article discusses issues related to performance management of workers.

Special Characteristics of Workers This includes features such as :

They function as groups/ teams & seldom as individuals.

They have the rights to form unions as per the the industrial norms applicable in their country.

Generally workers have team targets, rather than individual goals.

Job - profiles for workers are based on 'skill sets'.

Their growth is linked with the expertise acquired in their skill-domain.

Occasionally a multi-skilled worker may get nominated as a team leader.

Their work schedules are time based & shift-driven.

Motivation includes over-time wages, profit sharing (in form of bonus), rewards and recognitions.

Most workers may not be accustomed to the use of computers at their work-place.

They may be agreeable to serving in the same role for an extended period of time given due pay increments and promotions.

Some organizations have merit based provisions for career growth of workers to supervisory level.

Why Performance Management for Workers?

Keeping in view the special characteristics discussed above, why should there be a need to manage performance of the workers? After all, workers do not have significant career changes and growth opportunities that are typically seen by the white-collared workforce.

1.In my opinion, worker output does have a measurable impact on the bottom line. Workers appreciate automation, efficiency and understand benefits of technology.

2.Since workers perform as teams, which are largely inter-dependent, it is important to counsel in areas of team work and mutual co-existence.

3.Workers form a large and loyal base of employees that can be groomed for supervisor and even higher level positions. There are many cases of employees in lower level positions getting opportunities at the highest level.

Parameters for Performance Evaluation

Irrespective of the type of industry, rating workers on the following attributes (Qualities) may constitute a good & simple Appraisal instrument for their performance evaluation:

1.Timely Attendance/ Punctuality

2.Compliance with the company policies

3.Acceptance of additional work

4.Professional knowledge

5.Completion of assigned tasks

6.Learning potential

7.Contribution to team effort

8.Initiative, Drive & Energy Levels

9.Quality consciousness

10.Safety Awareness

Note:

You may modify the attributes in the above list to suit your specific business environment.

You can use the Appraisal instrument to gather feedback on training needs of workers.

Choice of Scale

To rate the workers on the above attributes, a scale of '1' to '5' may be preferred. But defining the meaning of each step on the scale for each attribute in an unambiguous manner is important to ensure objectivity in evaluation.

This is a task to be completed by HR in consultation with Line Managers.

Reporting Channels

There is typically limited benefit of self appraisal at the workers level.

Initiation of performance reports on workers by the respective Line Managers/ Supervisors under whom the team is working is considered adequate. The concept of a 'Reviewer' is redundant, except for workers nominated as team leaders.

What more can Line Managers/ Supervisors do?

Read the rest at my Talent Junction Blog

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Article Tags: HR Software, Peformance of Workers, Performance Appraisal, Performance Management, Workforce



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