| The first place to start is to align your sales | | | | their engagement. |
| performance management system and subsequent | | | | - Business objectives need to be linked to team and |
| key measures to your organisation's strategy and | | | | individual accountabilities. |
| goals. It's then the job of the CEO and the Sales | | | | - Performance measures are developed for each |
| Leader to ensure the organisation (that means | | | | function and individual to ensure that their performance |
| everyone else who supports the sales effort) is | | | | is aligned with the needs of the organisation. |
| aligned to the sales performance management | | | | - Feedback is provided on an ongoing basis, not just |
| system. When this dimension is in place the | | | | during the annual performance review. For instance, |
| organisation is best placed to sustain high sales | | | | this would include coaching conversations. |
| performance. | | | | - Expectations and communication should be |
| Issues arise when the non sales teams impose their | | | | transparent and consistent at all times. |
| 'numbers' or 'tasks' on sales teams which are unrelated | | | | - Employee development and future behaviour are the |
| to the effective sales performance. i.e. | | | | focus of attention, not just past performance. |
| - The CFO being critical of missed forecasts and not | | | | - A partnership between the employee and manager |
| looking into or understanding the underlying reasons | | | | is developed based upon open dialogue, two-way |
| why | | | | feedback, and shared responsibility. |
| - The Executive team demanding more activity (i.e. | | | | - Employees are encouraged to take accountability for |
| make more sales calls) and not understanding the | | | | their own performance and success. |
| potential negative impact on effectiveness | | | | Benefits of an Effective Performance Management |
| - Marketing engaging in lead generation activities that | | | | System: |
| either generate the wrong leads or leads that require | | | | - Encourages open, constructive communication |
| out of scope qualification meaning they're in the | | | | between managers and employees. |
| forecast prematurely. | | | | - Provides feedback on how people are doing on the |
| This leads to competing motivation, confusion and | | | | job. |
| reduced sales performance across the board. | | | | - Allows for mutual understanding (between manager |
| Another key area worth noting is the importance of | | | | and employee) of each employee's job responsibilities |
| addressing and working with values and explicit | | | | and performance expectations. |
| behaviours. This is now much higher on the agenda of | | | | - Facilitates identification of individual capabilities, |
| many businesses now, not just the outputs of | | | | strengths and areas for development. |
| performance as we discussed last week. | | | | - Identifies factors negatively affecting employee |
| While the focus of this article is directed towards sales, | | | | performance (e.g. work environment, job design, |
| this principles presented here can be applied to any | | | | organisational policies and practices, personal issues, |
| role in your organisation. As you read through the items | | | | external factors, etc) so that action can be taken to |
| below, bear in mind that this is not prescriptive in nature | | | | alleviate them. |
| and you should use only what works for you. | | | | - A structured and documented process encourages |
| Principles of an Effective Performance Management | | | | objective evaluation and fair treatment. |
| System: | | | | - Assists in the achievement of strategic goals. |
| - Reflect an organisation's values and strategy. | | | | - A consistent way of setting goals, monitoring |
| - Commitment to the system should be obtained from | | | | performance and formally reviewing performance. |
| top management and communicated to all employees. | | | | - Self-managing for proactive individuals. |
| Ideally input should be sought from all levels to gain | | | | |