New, Old Answers<\/strong><\/h4>\nThere are virtually no new ideas.\u00a0 The key is making a commitment to what we know works.\u00a0 That is especially important today because of the costly impact of the COVID crisis, the strain on budgets, the need to address post-pandemic problems, and what promises to be a long-term problem \u2013 not becoming able to replace retiring workers.\u00a0 The need \u2018to do more with less\u2019 is here.<\/p>\n
A key difference between the private and public sectors is the leader\u2019s focus on workforce performance. It\u2019s common to find elected and appointed officials have little or no experience managing large employee groups.\u00a0 Many previously practiced law.\u00a0 Tennessee is one of the notable exceptions.\u00a0 Former Governor Bill Haslam had a long career in business executive positions and he of course led one of the more successful reform initiatives.\u00a0 Where leaders do not have similar experience, adding a strong Chief Management Officer will be important.<\/p>\n
Metrics should play a role but while relevant for \u2018production\u2019 jobs and at higher organization levels, there are few white-collar jobs where data can capture all the important results accomplished. Their value here is supporting appraisal decisions.\u00a0 Judgment is generally relevant to evaluating jobs that involve discretionary actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Expectations should also reflect the individual\u2019s experience.\u00a0 Performance expectations for an experienced employee are rarely appropriate for new hires even if they have the same title.<\/p>\n
The old \u2013 and here it\u2019s over a century old \u2013 approach to performance management dates to the era of time-and-motion studies when industrial engineers determined expected performance levels. Then employees were expected to do what they were told and to meet at a minimum the performance standards.\u00a0 It was in that era that pass\/fail — satisfactory or unsatisfactory — rating policies were first used and employers simply continued that practice.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been common for employers to base ratings on a five-level rating scale. It\u2019s also common to see badly inflated ratings — 80% or more rated as a 4 or 5.\u00a0 That\u2019s more common when generic, somewhat vague criteria \u2013 e.g., creativity and innovation adaptability, communication \u2013 are the basis for ratings. With vague criteria, managers are uncomfortable justifying ratings, and granting inflated ratings is the easy answer. Lake Wobegon exists only in fiction, however.<\/p>\n
A better answer is the use of a three-level scale — the stars, the poor performers, and the majority who are performing as expected.\u00a0 When three-level ratings are used, roughly 75-80% of the workforce are typically in that \u201cmet expectations\u201d group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The importance of recognizing the star performers \u2013 assuming high improved performance is a goal — argues against using pass\/fail policies. Studies show performance discussions decline when those policies are adopted.\u00a0 Added to that, when the best performers are not recognized, it affects their morale and their commitment.<\/p>\n
Today the pandemic experience shows performance planning and delegation are essential and can work in any virtually work situation. Objective setting does not fit every job but all employees should be able to state what they are expected to accomplish, what for their position is outstanding performance, and what is minimally acceptable performance.\u00a0 When individuals are involved in defining objectives, they are more committed.\u00a0 They want to be seen as a valued contributor.\u00a0 The pandemic, working remotely, and the increased autonomy now makes goal setting and agreeing on goals or expectations the only alternative for many jobs.<\/p>\n
Training in setting objectives is essential for both managers and their subordinates. Both should have coaches available to help.\u00a0 In Tennessee\u2019s reform, the state invested three years in training and coaching managers and supervisors.\u00a0 It paid off \u2013 agency performance improved and the state is now high on the list of best places to work.<\/p>\n
Focusing on performance relative to objectives involves a look back over the year ending. Many companies now combine that with a look forward with discussions of the skills and competencies important to the job, along with employee developmental needs and career plans.\u00a0 It makes the conversation easier and more positive.<\/p>\n
A new, old idea is the \u201cprofessions model\u201d with informal teams in each job family responsible for identifying best practices. The teams are led by a \u2018head of profession\u2019, create communities of practice, participate in recruiting, identify essential competencies, plan development programs, etc.\u00a0 Their involvement ensures better buy-in for policy changes.\u00a0 Experience shows they raise the expectations for their co-workers.\u00a0 A similar idea has been used in government for years with teachers and law enforcement.\u00a0 It\u2019s also similar to the way healthcare specialists are managed.<\/p>\n
The professions\/community teams are in the best position to decide how performance should be managed. They understand the operational issues.\u00a0 Their involvement provides assurance the basis for managing performance is credible and relies on jargon that facilitates discussions.<\/p>\n
Performance management works best when managers and their people discuss and agree on the objectives. Furthermore, in today\u2019s ever-changing environment, they need to periodically review and possibly adjust objectives throughout the year.\u00a0 Relying on fixed performance goals make no sense when unexpected events are possible.\u00a0 The COVID crisis makes that all too clear.<\/p>\n
The most important development is the understanding that coaching and ongoing feedback help employees improve. That\u2019s recognized as essential in any situation where people want to improve, from learning to ride a bike to playing in the Super Bowl.\u00a0 However, it changes the manager\u2019s role significantly, making training and new skills essential for managers.\u00a0 For years HR offices have suggested having performance discussion meetings a couple of times throughout the year.\u00a0 But now we know frequent, even 5 minute chats are useful.\u00a0 Its analogous to the coaching in football games when players come off the field.\u00a0 That\u2019s a very different supervisory role and requires new thinking.<\/p>\n
Another important development is the growing use of a version of crowdsourcing to assess how employees perform. Every employee serves one or more \u201ccustomers\u201d, internal or external.\u00a0 The new practice is to solicit feedback from multiple sources on the employee\u2019s performance.\u00a0 In the same way employees are asked to assess their manager\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
An approach to minimize bias and discrimination relies on asking managers to meet with a committee of peer level managers to justify their ratings. It introduces increased honesty and consistency.\u00a0 It also satisfies the legal need to closely scrutinize the ratings of poor performers.<\/p>\n
An added step in light of the emerging emphasis on equity is to analyze and compare ratings by gender and minority status.\u00a0 There is research showing raters use different words and phrases to assess men and women.\u00a0 Managers need to be aware of the issue.\u00a0 The new approach needs to be seen as fair.<\/p>\n
A final step to improve performance is to recognize and reward the best performers \u2013 but only when there is a reasonable confidence ratings are fair. A possible policy at least initially is to continue general or step increase policies for all but the few poor performers.\u00a0 The few stars then are granted an additional lump sum award. The amounts do not have to be large or costly.\u00a0 If, for example, 20% of the workforce are rated as stars or role models, budgeting 0.5% of payroll for awards translates into $750 for an employee with a base salary of $60,000.\u00a0 The point is that high performers need to be recognized.\u00a0 The better managers in the new normal should also be recognized and rewarded<\/p>\n
To emphasize a central point, appraisals based on generic performance dimensions (e.g., quality of work, reliability) are suspect and of little value \u2013 which explains why so many organizations are looking for something better.\u00a0 However, it should also be clear that the many issues that need to be considered in planning a process that has to be used and accepted by large, occupationally diverse groups is a complex problem \u2013 but it\u2019s important and can be accomplished. Tennessee proved it can be done.<\/p>\n
No One Said It Would Be Simple<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe National Academy of Public Administration has used the phrase \u201ccompliance culture\u201d to refer to the common work environment in government. That is to say, employees are expected to do what they are told. Now with the lessons from the pandemic, and the continued importance of remote working, the need is to shift to practices that encourage workers to independently perform at higher levels. The phrase \u201cperformance culture\u201d refers to a work environment where the shared goal is improved results.<\/p>\n
It may be obvious but this is not an HR problem. The office needs to take the lead in hiring, training, recordkeeping, and when managers fail to accept their responsibility, but the function has no direct involvement in the day-to-day management of performance. The implementation of improved practices is a change that requires commitment at the highest level, as Governor Haslam did in Tennessee. It requires a multi-year commitment so it should start early in a new administration.<\/p>\n
Ineffective practices adversely affect agency performance as well as employee engagement. As an early step, discussion groups delimited by agency, job family, and management level, can be asked to discuss if current practices are working. They are likely to agree they are not working and that gets everyone ready for change. There will be a need for additional meetings; it\u2019s almost certain to generate a lot of interest and ideas for change. Everyone wants to see something better.<\/p>\n
Focus group discussions would be a logical next step to evaluate and flesh out new ideas. Teams, possibly based on the \u2018professions model\u2019, can be tasked with planning and testing new practices. In the end managers and employees make or break new practices, and it makes sense to involve them in the planning. Training in new practices, like goal management, is essential.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A recent column from McKinsey, \u201cFor Smarter Decisions, Empower Your Employees\u201d, argues managers and employees will need coaching to shift the culture and make everyone comfortable with delegating decision making.\u00a0 Making employees responsible for job-related decisions increases their job satisfaction and frees managers to focus on more important issues.<\/p>\n
Culture change is never easy or quick. The problems are not simple. However, as the Tennessee story confirms, it\u2019s a win-win for managers, employees, and the public. Government serves an important purpose that can attract new graduates as well as experienced applicants when they can expect the work to be positive and rewarding.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ custom_margin=”20px||20px||false|false” custom_padding=”33px|0px|24.625px|0px||” global_module=”37900″][et_pb_row column_padding_mobile=”on” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”780px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|73.90625px|0px” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”780px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”36″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||70px|” text_font_size_tablet=”26″ text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet”] Want new articles before they get published? Subscribe to our Awesome Newsletter. [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_signup provider=”constant_contact” constant_contact_list=”mhurwitz321|2103394019″ layout=”bottom_top” first_name_fullwidth=”off” last_name_field=”off” email_fullwidth=”off” success_message=”Thank you for subscribing!” button_text=”Submit” use_spam_service=”on” recaptcha_list=”CIG|CIG-0″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default” form_field_background_color=”#ffffff” form_field_text_color=”#000000″ form_field_custom_margin=”1px||1px||false|false” form_field_custom_padding=”12px|12px|12px|12px|false|false” result_message_text_color=”#0C71C3″ result_message_font_size=”25px” result_message_letter_spacing=”1px” result_message_line_height=”1.1em” form_field_text_align=”justify” form_field_font_size=”16px” form_field_line_height=”1.8em” background_enable_color=”off” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#02b875″ border_radii_fields=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px” border_width_all_fields=”1px” border_color_all_fields=”#c6c6c6″][\/et_pb_signup][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″ background_color=”#f9f9f9″ custom_margin=”2px||-37px||false|false” custom_padding=”1px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” global_module=”35977″ collapsed=”off”][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#222222″ custom_padding=”78px||78px|”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ padding_mobile=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” module_class=”border-hover et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”100%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”100%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” make_fullwidth=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/typing.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″ animation=”off” sticky=”on”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_cta title=”CAREER ADVICE” button_url=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/career-advice\/” button_text=”CAREER ADVICE” _builder_version=”3.16″ header_font_size=”30px” body_font_size=”20px” use_background_color=”off” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]Advice from top Career specialists[\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/news-cig.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” sticky=”on”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_cta title=”GOV TALK” button_url=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk-page\/” button_text=”Government Updates” _builder_version=”3.16″ header_font_size=”30px” body_font_size=”20px” use_background_color=”off” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]Articles about the Public Sector[\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/public-secot-trends.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″ animation=”off” sticky=”on”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_cta title=”TRENDS” button_url=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/hr-tips-and-strategies\/” button_text=”TRENDS” _builder_version=”3.16″ header_font_size=”30px” body_font_size=”20px” use_background_color=”off” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]Public Sector Trends[\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In government, a largely unrecognized aspect of the problem is that \u201cperformance\u201d has been addressed by two distinct groups of practitioners with minimal overlap. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3346,"featured_media":37845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-37844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-gov","tag-government-trends"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management - Careers in Government<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In government, a largely unrecognized aspect of the problem is that \u201cperformance\u201d has been addressed by two distinct groups of practitioners with minimal overlap.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management - Careers in Government\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In government, a largely unrecognized aspect of the problem is that \u201cperformance\u201d has been addressed by two distinct groups of practitioners with minimal overlap.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Careers in Government\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CareersInGovernment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-11T01:45:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-13T18:55:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/1-4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Howard Risher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@careersingov\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@careersingov\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Howard Risher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"26 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Howard Risher\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/939405595f31ebac97267cf869a3f394\"},\"headline\":\"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-11T01:45:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-13T18:55:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":5190,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/1-4.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Government trends\"],\"articleSection\":[\"About the Public Sector\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management - Careers in Government\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/1-4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-11T01:45:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-13T18:55:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"In government, a largely unrecognized aspect of the problem is that \u201cperformance\u201d has been addressed by two distinct groups of practitioners with minimal overlap.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/1-4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/1-4.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"A diverse group of individuals stands in a circle, each person reaching in to stack their hands together at the center, symbolizing unity and teamwork. They display various expressions of positivity and cooperation, united by their commitment to meaningful careers in government.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Tools\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Government Talk\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/newdesign\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"About the Public Sector\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/newdesign\\\/tools\\\/gov-talk\\\/about-gov\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/\",\"name\":\"Careers in Government\",\"description\":\"Oldest and largest, award-winning site for finding jobs in government, education and other public sector agencies. Valuable tools for job seekers and employers.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Careers in Government\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/CIG-horizontal-dark-v2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/CIG-horizontal-dark-v2.png\",\"width\":\"708\",\"height\":\"480\",\"caption\":\"Careers in Government\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/CareersInGovernment\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/careersingov\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/careersingov\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/939405595f31ebac97267cf869a3f394\",\"name\":\"Howard Risher\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/abc3513aec540902220f368630db7cb169db4c07963e9aef0c5e8a3191123c0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/abc3513aec540902220f368630db7cb169db4c07963e9aef0c5e8a3191123c0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/abc3513aec540902220f368630db7cb169db4c07963e9aef0c5e8a3191123c0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Howard Risher\"},\"description\":\"Howard Risher has 40 years of experience as a consultant and HR executive with clients in every sector. His early focus was compensation and performance management. In those years he managed the consulting practices for Mercer in Manhattan and for Watson Wyatt in Washington and Philadelphia. He began working privately in the early 1990s. He also started working with Wharton\u2019s Peter Cappelli to plan and manage conferences for the Center for Human Resources. That put him in contact with the nation\u2019s HR thought leaders which triggered his interest in the practices that are redefining and expanding HR\u2019s role. His public sector clients have included a number of federal agencies, several states from Hawaii to Vermont, counties, cities and Pennsylvania court system. In 1990 he managed the project for OPM that led to the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act and the switch to locality pay. He has also consulted with the UN\u2019s ICSC and the OECD in Paris. He has published frequently in HR journals and websites. He is the author or co-author of six books and a growing list of ebooks. The most recent is Building the Workforce Government Needs. He is associated with Grahall Consulting Partners. He has a BA in psychology and an MBA and PhD from Wharton.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.govexec.com\\\/voices\\\/howard-risher\\\/2371\\\/\",\"careersingov\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.careersingovernment.com\\\/tools\\\/author\\\/howardr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management - Careers in Government","description":"In government, a largely unrecognized aspect of the problem is that \u201cperformance\u201d has been addressed by two distinct groups of practitioners with minimal overlap.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management - Careers in Government","og_description":"In government, a largely unrecognized aspect of the problem is that \u201cperformance\u201d has been addressed by two distinct groups of practitioners with minimal overlap.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/","og_site_name":"Careers in Government","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CareersInGovernment","article_published_time":"2021-02-11T01:45:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-13T18:55:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/1-4.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Howard Risher","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@careersingov","twitter_site":"@careersingov","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Howard Risher","Est. reading time":"26 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/"},"author":{"name":"Howard Risher","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#\/schema\/person\/939405595f31ebac97267cf869a3f394"},"headline":"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management","datePublished":"2021-02-11T01:45:24+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-13T18:55:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/"},"wordCount":5190,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/1-4.jpg","keywords":["Government trends"],"articleSection":["About the Public Sector"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/","url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/","name":"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management - Careers in Government","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/1-4.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-11T01:45:24+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-13T18:55:57+00:00","description":"In government, a largely unrecognized aspect of the problem is that \u201cperformance\u201d has been addressed by two distinct groups of practitioners with minimal overlap.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/1-4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/1-4.jpg","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"A diverse group of individuals stands in a circle, each person reaching in to stack their hands together at the center, symbolizing unity and teamwork. They display various expressions of positivity and cooperation, united by their commitment to meaningful careers in government."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-pandemic-has-triggered-a-need-to-rethink-performance-management\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Tools","item":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Government Talk","item":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/newdesign\/tools\/gov-talk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"About the Public Sector","item":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/newdesign\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The Pandemic Has Triggered a Need to Rethink Performance Management"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/","name":"Careers in Government","description":"Oldest and largest, award-winning site for finding jobs in government, education and other public sector agencies. Valuable tools for job seekers and employers.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#organization","name":"Careers in Government","url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/CIG-horizontal-dark-v2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/CIG-horizontal-dark-v2.png","width":"708","height":"480","caption":"Careers in Government"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CareersInGovernment","https:\/\/x.com\/careersingov","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/careersingov\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/#\/schema\/person\/939405595f31ebac97267cf869a3f394","name":"Howard Risher","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/abc3513aec540902220f368630db7cb169db4c07963e9aef0c5e8a3191123c0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/abc3513aec540902220f368630db7cb169db4c07963e9aef0c5e8a3191123c0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/abc3513aec540902220f368630db7cb169db4c07963e9aef0c5e8a3191123c0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Howard Risher"},"description":"Howard Risher has 40 years of experience as a consultant and HR executive with clients in every sector. His early focus was compensation and performance management. In those years he managed the consulting practices for Mercer in Manhattan and for Watson Wyatt in Washington and Philadelphia. He began working privately in the early 1990s. He also started working with Wharton\u2019s Peter Cappelli to plan and manage conferences for the Center for Human Resources. That put him in contact with the nation\u2019s HR thought leaders which triggered his interest in the practices that are redefining and expanding HR\u2019s role. His public sector clients have included a number of federal agencies, several states from Hawaii to Vermont, counties, cities and Pennsylvania court system. In 1990 he managed the project for OPM that led to the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act and the switch to locality pay. He has also consulted with the UN\u2019s ICSC and the OECD in Paris. He has published frequently in HR journals and websites. He is the author or co-author of six books and a growing list of ebooks. The most recent is Building the Workforce Government Needs. He is associated with Grahall Consulting Partners. He has a BA in psychology and an MBA and PhD from Wharton.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.govexec.com\/voices\/howard-risher\/2371\/","careersingov"],"url":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/author\/howardr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37844"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38723,"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37844\/revisions\/38723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}