
We recently hosted a webinar which focussed on the challenges public sector organisations face with performance, and we were lucky to have (among others) Leatham Green on the panel. Many of our customers and readers know Leatham: he runs the Public Services People Managers Association and has years of experience in senior people roles, including a long stint at East Sussex County Council.
As ever, Leatham got straight to the heart of the matter. Here are three key tips we took from his talk. For more details, check out the link to the full webinar at the end.
Good PM is common sense
He contrasted his life in HR with his previous incarnation in the hospitality industry, particularly the sort of ‘accidentally good’ performance management that just makes great common sense: regular review of what’s worked and what hasn’t; clear feedback and candour. It’s not about process and methodology so much as seeing the human need that good PM plays to.
Old habits can die hard
Be sensitive to the process of change. It’s never helpful to tell people they’re wrong in pursuing the old ways of appraisal, forms and process. Leatham argues that phrasing your desire for change in a positive way — explaining that the old way of doing things may have been right at the time, but that now we have new tools that will deliver better outcomes — is an important way of bringing people along with you.
Clarity is key
Being realistic about the scope of what you do is vital for high performance. The highest-performing individuals and teams have a really clear focus on the key priorities that they need to deliver on to move things forward.
There’s plenty more detail in the talk, plus some incredibly lucid thinking from Izzie Hurrell of Basis, who led the implementation of Clear Review performance management software at Waltham Forest Council. And, of course, it’s all facilitated and held on course by our own Dan Anticich.
Listen to the webinar right here. We have a library of other great webinars with thought leaders from across the HR sector: have a browse here.
