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 of observations being performed at the end of the observation cycle or in clusters during a narrow time frame within the cycle. Workers learn that standard adhering performance reinforcement only occurs during a very brief period within the cycle and that substandard work will typically not be observed and behaviors corrected the rest of the time. Work behavior quickly aligns with the pattern of expectation reinforcement; sub-optimizing overall performance and adversely impacting the observation program’s effectiveness.[wcm_restrict plans=”25541, 25542, 25653″]
A management observation program in which the majority of observations are performed at the end of the cycle period or in clusters trains the workforce to consciously perform better during very brief time frames. Poor performance tends to occur during the long unobserved periods with short lived improvement spikes around the observation clusters; resulting in a low average performance level. While not all inclusive, the four lists below, Process-Based Warning Flags, Process Execution Warning Flags – Behaviors, Potential, Observable Results, and Potential Causes, are designed to help organization leaders to recognize whether their management observations and feedback are inappropriately clustered. Only after a problem is recognized and its causes identified can the needed actions be taken to move the organization toward improved performance.
Process-Based Warning Flags
- Management observation program policies do not establish an expectation for the routine performance of observations
- Programmatic reinforcement of routine observation performance, such as the deduction of quality points for clustered observations, does not exist
- No mechanism is in place to identify the occurrence of observation clustering by individuals or leadership groups (such as by the managers and supervisors of a department, workgroup, or crew)
- No mechanism is in place to identify the occurrence of observation clustering around a specific employee or behavior/task item
Process Execution Warning Flags – Behaviors
- Organization leaders treat the observation program as a checklist to-do item
- Management observers perform assigned observations in narrow time periods, whether at the end of the observation cycle or clustered in a narrow time frame within the cycle
- Senior leaders do not reinforce the periodic performance of management observations among their direct reports and subordinate leaders
Potential, Observable Results
- Employees view the management observation program with cynicism; treating it as a short-term show for management and then reverting to substandard habits during the bulk of the calendar period
- Organizational performance improves during narrow time frames coinciding with the performance of management observations and then declines for the remainder of the cycle – reminiscent of the historical adage that one should not buy a car built on a Monday
- Management observations delayed until the end of the cycle or clustered tend to be of lower quality; having fewer quality comments and inflated grades
Potential Causes
- Lack of senior leader reinforcement of the need to perform ongoing observations of employees
- Lack of senior leader reinforcement of the importance of the management observation program
- Lack of understanding of the value of the management observation program and the detrimental effects that can occur when it is implemented poorly
- Overburdening of managers and supervisors, particularly with non-management administrative or subordinate tasks, such that leadership activities are crowded out
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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 to resolve with a single integrated initiative.[wcm_restrict plans=”41928, 25542, 25653″]
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 mention manager and observation program credibility, necessitate the employee be briefed on the observations made and conclusions drawn. As with all formally documented performance appraisal instruments, the documented observation should be signed by both the manager and employee.[wcm_restrict plans=”25541, 25542, 25653″]
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 does a manager announce that he or she will be observing an individual’s performance? In most cases, shortly before the observation begins.[wcm_restrict plans=”41922, 25542, 25653″]
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.[wcm_restrict plans=”41915, 25542, 25653″]