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Factsheet:

Performance management: an overview

Resource summary

This factsheet was last updated in April 2012.

What is performance management?

Fully realised, performance management is a holistic process bringing together many of the elements that make up the successful practice of people management including, in particular, learning and development. But for this very reason, it is complex and capable of being misunderstood.

In their CIPD textbook, Armstrong and Baron define performance management as ‘a process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance. As such, it establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved and an approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved.’ They stress that performance management is ‘a strategy which relates to every activity of the organisation set in the context of its human resource policies, culture, style and communications systems. The nature of the strategy depends on the organisational context and can vary from organisation to organisation.'

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  • What is performance management?
  • How does performance management work?
  • Tools of performance management
  • CIPD viewpoint
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  • Further reading

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