Archive for Management Observation Program
Management Observation Program Warning Flag 1 – End of Period and Clustered Observations
Direct management observation and immediate feedback is the best tool for reinforcing performance expectations among employees. And while such reinforcement is optimally effective at maintaining high performance levels when given consistently over time, some management observation programs become a checklist task for executives, managers, and supervisors; resulting in the majority observations being performed at the [...]
Read moreManagement Observation Program Best Practice 8 – Cross Organizational Trending
Management observation programs generate a wealth of individual and workgroup performance data. All too often, workgroup managers view their employees job functions as being singularly unique and so don’t consider pooling their observation results with peers. Doing so, however, creates the possibility of identifying broader organizational trends that may be culturally driven and more economical [...]
Read moreManagement Observation Program Best Practice 7 – Documented and Signed Observations
Robustly implemented management observation programs offer many benefits to the organization and its managers. At their core, each of these benefits is derived from aggregation and analysis of the performance data gathered during the observations. Enabling required data synthesis necessitates the documentation of observed occurrences and conclusions. Desired behavior reinforcement and performance improvement, not to [...]
Read moreManagement Observation Program Best Practice 6 – Observation Announcement Timing
Philosophically speaking, no one, including managers, should ever be afraid to have ‘the boss’ know or observe what he or she is doing. Being human, we naturally feel self imposed pressure to perform well especially when we are being watched. Subsequently, management observations will always make the conscientious employee at least somewhat nervous. When then [...]
Read moreManagement Observation Program Best Practice 5 – Observation Training, Grading, and Quality Assessments
Management observations profoundly influence the behaviors of those observed. Done well, this tool positively reinforces desired behaviors. Performed poorly, this tool will undermine the management team’s credibility and fosters cynicism towards managers and their performance standards requirements. Therefore, it is critical that those performing these observations do so in a consistent, high quality manner.
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