Enhancing performance management and development system at South African Social Security Agency, Northern Cape

Abstract

What makes some businesses more successful than others? What is today’s key competitive advantage? The answer is people. Organisations with motivated and talented employees offering outstanding service to customers are likely to get ahead of the competition, even if the products offered are similar to those offered by the competitors. Customers want to get the right answers at the right time, and they want to receive their products or services promptly and accurately. Only people can make these things happen. Only people can produce a sustainable competitive advantage. Performance management systems are the key tools to transform people’s talent and motivation into a strategic business advantage. Performance management is a continuous process of identifying, measuring and developing performance in organisations by linking each individual’s performance and objectives to the organisation’s overall mission and goals. Performance management is critical to small and large organisations–for-profit and not-for-profit, domestic and global – and to industries. After all, the performance of an organisation depends on the performance of its people, regardless of the organisation’s size, purpose or other characteristics. Unfortunately, however, if they do have one, few organisations use their existing performance management systems in productive ways. Performance management is usually vilified as an ‘HR department requirement’. In many organisations, performance management means that managers must comply with their HR departments’ request and fill out tedious, and often useless, evaluation forms. These evaluation forms are often completed because it is a requirement from the ‘HR cops’. Unfortunately, the only tangible consequence of the evaluation process is that the manager has to spend time away from his or her duties. This study investigated ways to enhance a Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) at South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). The study looked at the general understanding of employees regarding PMDS, planning prior to implementation of the system, challenges encountered during implementation and employees perceptions. The researcher has drawn conclusions summarised above on the study based on the findings from the collected data and by reference to existing literature on PMDS. The main recommendations are for management to consider implementing change management and to roll out adequate training to all employees as soon as possible. Existing communication gaps should also be addressed to ensure that information is disseminated throughout at all times to lower level employees.