| Performance Management Cycle |
| Topic 2. Performance Expectations & Standards |
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Overview |
Objectives
Participants will:
- Be introduced to the concept of performance expectations and standards.
- Apply information to designing performance expectations and standards for one of their employees.
Materials
Please have your position description or that of an employee you supervise to review as you work through this topic.
Performance expectations and standards build on the
employee’s classified or unclassified position description (PD). The PD includes a section entitled "Major
Duties" and/or "Duties" depending on whether the classified
or unclassified form is used. Expectations and standards are derived out
of these duties, and serve as additional documentation to evaluate performance.
Written expectations and standards are necessary to more clearly describe
what is expected and the related standards for acceptable work. Following
a review of the PD, the supervisor’s conversation with the employee
about related expectations and standards clearly directs the work of the
employee. It is the second major step in the performance management cycle
illustrated above.
Expectations and Standards Impact Performance
Case Study--Performance on a 20k March
This exercise illustrates an actual research study that examines the
performance level of four groups when provided with varying expectations
and standards about an upcoming march. After your "Best Guess,"
you will find the actual results and reasoning for the outcomes at the
bottom of the chart.
Drag the Group labels to the left to show your Best
Guess at ranking the order of performance of the following groups on a
20K march from best to worst. Performance criteria are based on:
- Time
- Which groups are able to best endure stress
- assessed by a pre- and post-test blood sample of cortisol and
prolactin whose levels rise when stress increases.
Best Guess
Best____________
Second_________
Third___________
Worst__________
Reveal actual results |
Group 1: Were told how far they were expected to go and were kept informed
of their progress along the way.
Group 2: Were told, "This is the long march you hear about...,"
and received no information about the total distance they were
expected to travel nor how far they had marched.
Group 3: Were told to march 15 kilometers, and when they reached 14 kilometers, were told to march 6 more.
Group 4: Were told they had to march 25 kilometers, but when they reached 14 kilometers, were told they had only 6 more.
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