Performance Management, Step by Step for 2027

Helps you run performance management that helps people do good work, not just fill in forms: clear objectives, regular check-ins, fair reviews and early action on underperformance.

Who it's for

For line managers, team leaders, HR generalists and owners of growing businesses. You might be designing a process for the first time, repairing one that nobody trusts, or simply trying to hold better conversations within the system you already have. Where it touches on employment law, the book gives general guidance only and points you to ACAS and to HR or legal advice.

What you'll learn

• Design a performance system on one page with a design canvas, pilot it with one team and check its health every year.
• Turn team goals into three to five objectives per person and test each one against the SMART criteria, usually credited to George T. Doran.
• Build a short competency framework with observable behaviours and anchored rating scales, so every manager judges against the same standard.
• Run regular check-ins, give feedback with the Situation–Behaviour–Impact (SBI) model and keep a brief evidence log.
• Conduct fair year-end reviews, calibrating judgements on a performance and potential grid and guarding against common biases.
• Link performance and pay with a merit matrix, keep the pay conversation apart from development and check decisions for equal pay risks.
• Turn underperformance around with early diagnosis, informal support and, when needed, a fair improvement plan, and hold career conversations that lead to development plans.

What's inside

• 53 pages, 8 chapters
• Every chapter follows the same pattern: key concepts, a numbered step-by-step method, an illustrative example from a fictional UK organisation, a tool (a table, template or diagram you can copy and use), common mistakes, a recap of the key steps and a short exercise to try on your own work. Tools include a performance system design canvas, an individual objectives form, a competency framework template, a calibration grid, a merit matrix template and a performance improvement plan.
• A 30-60-90 day action plan with a checklist for each phase, an annual performance calendar and a glossary
• PDF in A4 format — read on screen or print
• Instant download after purchase

Contents

1. Designing a Performance System That Works
2. Setting Individual Objectives
3. Defining What Good Looks Like
4. Running Performance Check-ins and Feedback
5. Conducting Fair Year-End Reviews
6. Linking Performance and Pay
7. Turning Underperformance Around
8. Holding Career Conversations and Development Plans

Part of The Business Library

This title is one of the 55 ebooks in The Business Library, available together for £109 (worth £1,437 if bought separately: the total of the individual prices of the included titles in our store). It is also included in The Ultimate Business Bundle, which adds 8 checklists and toolkits and 10 workbooks — all 73 products for £147.