Valuing Experience

Managing Performance

Like all employees, older workers need to know what is expected of them, whether they are on the right track, and to have their contribution acknowledged and rewarded.  The companies who have been successful in the performance management of their older workers apply some similar principles.

Key principles

Focus on performance, not age.
The issue is whether employees have the skills, knowledge and motivation to do the work, not how old they are.

Do not assume that all older workers will be alike.
There is as much variation in skills, productivity and aspirations amongst older workers, as there is between older workers and any other age group.

Ensure that people have equal access to opportunities, regardless of age
Older workers should have equal access to training and development, promotions and rewards as other workers.

All aspects of the performance management system need to be sufficiently flexible to cater for the diversity of employees
To get the best from all employees, systems need to be sensitive to variations in employees’ confidence, personal circumstances, career aspirations, learning styles, and what will motivate them. Systems that are designed, intentionally or unintentionally, to meet the needs of the ‘average’ employee may be ineffective for many older workers.

What to watch for at each stage of the performance management cycle

Being clear about what is expected
Effective performance management relies on organisations and managers being clear with their employees about what is needed for the company and the employee to be successful. This may be spelt out through competencies, performance objectives or goals and targets. Whichever approach you use, to ensure these expectations are fair for older workers, check your systems for the following.

Any physical requirements are justified
When developing competencies, check that any competencies related to physical strength, fitness or speed are directly related to the requirements of the job. These will need to be monitored regularly as technology and work strategies change.

Do not assume that there will necessarily be only one way of achieving a particular outcome
Older workers may have developed alternative strategies for coping with tasks that require physical strength or endurance. Check rather than assume there is only one way of achieving something.

The competencies or outcomes cover all key aspects of the job
Older workers are often valuable in organisations or teams because the mentoring, coaching or on-the-job training they provide to other colleagues. If this is a contribution that is needed and valued in your organisation, ensure that it is included in the competency or outcomes framework that your organisation uses.

If relevant, include the skills or competencies required to work effectively with older customers
If older people are a significant part of your customer base, then you will need to ensure that you have sufficient staff with the skills, knowledge and attitudes to understand their needs and work with them effectively. If these requirements are not made explicit, it is more difficult to manage staff performance in this area.

Not all older workers will be good at this. Nor can you assume that younger staff will not. It is more likely, however, that older workers will have these skills, knowledge or attributes.

Negotiating fair and realistic performance expectations
The process of negotiating performance expectations with individuals and/or teams is critical in ensuring there is an agreed understanding of what is expected. The issues for older employees are not very different than those for younger employees, but some issues are more likely to arise for older workers. As well, what may be issues for some older workers, will not necessarily be issues for all of that group.

This may be new for some staff
Active performance management where employees are expected to have a role in negotiating appropriate performance expectations may be new for some older staff.

A common response is “If I have never done it in the past, then what is the point of doing it now?” Strategies for getting their commitment to the performance-management system include:
• Including older staff who have credibility with their colleagues in any project teams involved in designing or reviewing the performance-management system.
• Consulting all staff, including older staff, when designing or reviewing the performance-management system.
• Providing all staff, including older staff, with training on the performance-management system and their role in it.
• Emphasising that the system applies to all staff, not just selected groups.
• Explaining the benefits of the system for employees.
• Giving staff the opportunity to openly discuss their concerns before implementing the system.

Negotiating performance expectations may be intimidating for staff who have not done it before. Strategies for supporting employees who are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the process include:
• Train managers well in recognising people’s discomfort and what they can do to minimise it.
• Provide employees with training.
• Get a more experienced or confident employee to coach them through the process
• Allow them to bring whanau or support people to the discussion
• Let them negotiate their expectations jointly with a colleague.

Some organisations have found it important to not use the terminology often associated with performance management. Instead they encouraged their managers to just have conversations with their older employees about what they wanted to do in the next few years and what they would need to enjoy work.

Older workers may want to “down-shift”
These workers may want to:
• adjust their time commitments, e.g. work part-time or reduced hours
• reduce the work pressure, e.g. work in less stressful areas or reduce their targets
• change the nature of the work they are doing, e.g. do less travelling, do less physical work and more coaching and training.
This may be to cater for other interests or obligations, e.g. family or community responsibilities, for health reasons or as a bridge to retirement.
Care is needed in raising these issues to ensure that it is a meaningful discussion, and that employees do not interpret it as an indirect or direct threat to their employment. If they do, their response may be to take a complaint of age discrimination.

Do:
• Ask open questions, e.g. what are your career goals for the next period of time? Ask these questions of all employees, not just older workers.
• Encourage them to come up with possible options, e.g. what might be the best way of achieving this?
• Encourage them to identify any potential difficulties this would cause for them, the organisation and their colleagues, e.g. what impact would this have on the rest of the team?
• Consult others who might be affected by the options they want to pursue, before making any decisions.

Many employers find it useful to give all staff access to information or seminars on preparing for retirement. Do not assume that only older workers will want this information. This encourages employees to reflect on their own needs and plan ahead. If they plan ahead and are happy to let their employer know how their plans may impact on their employment objectives, it makes it easier for the employer to also plan.

Assessing performance
People often consciously or unconsciously make assumptions about older workers. Care is needed to focus on actual performance and not be influenced by assumptions or stereotypes related to age. When assessing the performance of older workers, particular care is needed to avoid assuming that older workers will:
• lose memory and mental functioning as they get older
• be resistant to change
• not be able to relate to younger people
• not be interested in career progression
• not be interested in learning new skills or trying new ideas.

Organisations can minimise the risk of these assumptions and stereotypes about age affecting judgements about performance by:
• ensuring that clear performance objectives are negotiated that are related to the task, not people’s age
• using forms, guidelines and information packs that make it clear that all staff are expected to think about their career aspirations and their training and development needs
• providing managers with training that alerts them to these assumptions and stereotypes, and encourages them to reflect on their own practices
• equipping all staff, including older staff, to be active partners in the performance-management process.

Addressing deteriorating or poor performance
If older workers are not performing, this needs to be addressed as it does for any poor-performing employee. This is important for the organisation, for other colleagues and for the employee. It is usually easier to respond to performance issues earlier rather than later.

Address the cause
Poor performance can be caused by organisational or individual issues.

• Physical environment
For older workers, look in particular for physical environmental issues such as lighting, noise, unnecessary lifting or inefficient work-flows. Solutions may be as simple as putting in brighter lighting, changing the work-flow patterns or providing trolleys or lifting equipment. These measures are likely to improve the health and safety of all employees.

• Workplace culture
Be alert to cultural issues such as older workers being excluded from teams or being bullied. These issues may need to be addressed by appropriate team building, by managers confronting inappropriate behaviours or by general training and awareness. Consult the older worker on what might best fix the situation before choosing a course of action. Some ‘solutions’ might make the problem worse by putting undue emphasis or focus on the employee’s age.

• Employee’s personal circumstances
The employee’s personal circumstances – for example, family demands, health issues or financial difficulties – may be affecting their performance. Ensure that employees can access any support programmes that the organisation provides such Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) or chaplaincy services. Employees may need some additional flexibility of hours or adjustment to the work. If adjustments are made to hours or work ensure that:
 the solutions work for the organisation and the individual
 others who might be affected by the adjustment are consulted before arrangements are completed
 appropriate time frames are put in place for reviewing or terminating the arrangement.

• Out-of-date skills
The employee’s skills may have become out of date or obsolete. This may require the provision of training or assistance in retraining for a different role. Do not assume that employees will not be interested in further development. Possible solutions include:
 retraining to sharpen existing skills or teach new skills
 encouraging employees to become active in professional organisations
 encouraging employees to take courses to keep up with new developments
 encouraging older employees to consider their career options and develop career contingency plans
 holding career planning workshops

• Employee’s physical strength or health
In some cases they may no longer be physically able to carry out the tasks that they are responsible for. Continuing to try to do so may be putting the employee’s health at risk, and possibly the safety of others.

This may require adjusting the hours or work as discussed earlier, in the section on structuring work for older workers. Discussion of these issues is easier when the employee recognises the problem themselves. Employers can help them do this through providing access to medical and workplace assessments. This is discussed in the later section on health and wellness.

• Employee’s attitude
The problem may be the employee’s personal attitude. In particular, watch for boredom, coasting or loss of interest. Possible solutions may include:
 being explicit about what is expected of the employee
 reassuring the employee of the importance of their contribution
 adjusting the mix of their work responsibilities
 job rotation
 involving them in coaching or mentoring other employees
 involving them in special projects.
It may be useful to talk through with the employee what their future career plans are, and if appropriate work with them to build a constructive path to get them there, whether it be to shift into another role, into another way of working, or make a transition to retirement.

• Career plateauing
This can occur when employees quit trying or let up when there is little probability of promotion. Possible strategies for keeping employees engaged are:
 giving them projects that use their special skills
 using performance conversations to alert employees of problems on the job
 providing alternative career paths
 providing opportunities for training and development
 setting up a system of calling for expressions of interest when significant projects are being planned, so people can signal their interest in being involved.

• Career burnout
Career burnout is caused by emotional and physical exhaustion. It is commonly found in jobs with intense pressure and limited support systems.
Look for excessive absenteeism, uncharacteristic poor attitude, disregard for the quality of work, and complaints about work overload.

When burnout is diagnosed early, managers can take steps to prevent it derailing careers. Some options are:
 job redesign
 special temporary assignments
 reassignments as mentors or trainers
 stress-management training
 sabbatical leave.

When a solution can’t be found
There will be times when a mutually acceptable solution cannot be found.

Employers may need to ‘exit’ employees who are physically unfit to perform their duties if:
• the level of physical fitness is a genuine requirement of the job;
• performing the duties without the required level of fitness could risk harm to the employee or others and it is not reasonable to take this risk.
The employer must ensure that they could not reasonably take other measures to reduce the risk. Some employers at this stage chose to make individual arrangements with these employees to ease the transition.

Where employers find it most difficult, is when a longstanding employee is finding it difficult to perform yet needs to continue to earn. Employers want the employee to retain their dignity. They want other employees to see them treating older workers with respect. But the employment relationship cannot continue, at least in the same way.

Once the situation has arisen, there is no avoiding the hard conversations that are required. Increasingly employers are trying to be proactive so they are less likely to have to have these conversations. They are doing this by putting in place:
• a range of ways that employees can work, so people are more likely to find something that works for them and the company
• processes that encourage managers and employees to have conversations about the future on a regular basis so that steps can be taken early to avoid or minimise difficulties
• access to health and workplace assessments so that employees can make informed and responsible choices
• life and retirement planning advice and information that helps people start preparing well before they need to retire.