Performance management in public sector of pakistan

Managing for Results: Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation

Sources• Public Management in Global Perspective by Salvatore Schiavo-Campo and

Hazel M. McFerson• Performance Evaluation in Pakistan’s Public sector-ISHFAQ ALI B.Sc., L.L.B.,

Librarian, Advocate-General, N.W.F.P., Peshawar. High Court Building, Peshawar.

• Improving Performance Evaluation System in Public Sector- government of Pakistan Cabinet Secretariat Establishment Division ,Information and Services

• Interview by Mr.Abdullah Khan Sumbal , Program Director Punjab Resource Management Program ( PRMP )

The Meaning Of “Performance”

• Dictionary definitions of “performance” include such alternative terms as “accomplishment,” “achievement,” “realization,” and “fulfillment.”

• Performance is country, sector and culture specific.

• The whole point of measuring results is to improve performance, through the intermediate process of making individuals more accountable for the results of their actions.

Well Performers’ Characteristics In Public Sector

Government employees are considered well-performing if :• They stick to the letter of the rules, in a system where rule

compliance is the dominant goal• If they obey without question their superiors’ instructions, in

a strictly hierarchical system• If they compete vigorously for individual influence and

resources, in a system where such competition is viewed positively

• if they cooperate harmoniously for group influence and cohesion, in a system where conflict is discouraged; and so on

Measuring And Using Performance Indicators

Types of Performance Indicators:

• Inputs are the resources used to produce the goods or services• Output is the good or service itself• Outcome is the purpose that is achieved by producing the service• Process is the manner in which inputs are procured, outputs

produced, or outcomes achieved. It is unwise to rely on any single indicator to measure

performance. An adequate understanding of performance in a sector can be gained only by using a combination of indicators.

Example of Performance Indicators

Sector Input Output Outcome Process

Police Number ofpolice cars

Number of Arrests

Decline incrime rate

Respect forrights

Personnel Performance Appraisal

• Objective of performance management and appraisal is to guide individual employees towards making an effective contribution to the work of the organization while at the same time meeting their own goals.

• Ideally, performance appraisal should be specific to the job and measure only observable behavior.

• In principle, performance appraisal and feedback should be a continuous process, but periodic formal appraisal is dictated by the practical need to review performance over a defined period of time and on a uniform basis for all individuals in a work unit.

• Effective performance management must not be confused with a mechanical evaluation exercise or with purely monetary rewards.

Appraisal Procedures and techniques

• Performance appraisal has traditionally been associated with communication from a supervisor to an employee.

• Formal appraisal, undertaken annually, is nested in routine administrative procedures and documented in forms and reports.

• The demand for procedural and substantive fairness requires formal appraisal systems as well as specific criteria and procedures for rewards or penalties.


Person related or Goal related Appraisal

• Person related appraisals compares the employee against other employees, and they are easy to design and interpret.

• Goal related appraisals assesses employee performance against previously established behaviors and standards; it clearly communicates managerial objectives relevant to the job.


Appraisal Methods

• Graphic rating and ranking• Forced choice• Essay• Objective• Critical incident• Behaviorally anchored rating scales• Psychometric analysis


Feedback Methods

• Self Rating

• Peer Ratings

• Upward Feedback

• 360 Degree Feedback


Managing Poor Performers Factors of Weak Performance• Poor job design• Poor work environment• Inadequate planning and unrealistic deadlines• Ineffective recruitment and mismatching of people and jobs• Insufficient skills or experience for the expected role• Lack of required equipment and supporting staff• Disruptive personality clashes• Gender and racial bias• Personal or family problems• Communication difficulties


Dealing with unsatisfactory performance

• Early intervention and informal counseling• Formal counseling with the help of a performance

improvement plan• Follow up on the improvement plan• Sanctions


Rewarding Good Performance The main sources of motivation are as follows:• General social motivators• Mission of the organization• Content of the job• Working conditions• Money


• In a sense, all pay in government should be for performance- whether the performance consists of protecting government resources, applying regulations, behaving in accordance with probity and due process, or producing different sorts of results.

• A country’s cultural factors and social values have a great deal of influence on the nature of performance appraisal, the manner of imposing sanctions and granting rewards, and the relative emphasis on group versus individual achievement.

• Without strong safeguards and external monitoring personnel appraisal may become administrative lapse rather than a tool for performance management and motivation.


INTRODUCING PERFORMANCE REFORMS

The Ten Commandments of performance

i. The stepsister’s Predicament (“if The Shoe Doesn’t Fit, Get Another” )

Institutional innovations must be viewed in the light of the local, cultural, historical context and administrative capacity.

ii. The Accountability Trade-off ( “There is No Free Lunch Here Either” )

Accountability trade-off: accountability can be broad or tight , but not both

The Ten Commandments of Performance

iii. The Titanic Warning ( “ It’s What You Can’t See That Can Sink You” )

The total stock of the institutional rules in any society is always much greater than the portion visible as formal rules.

iv. The Heisenberg Dilemma ( “Beware the Law of Unintended Consequences” )

In the context of performance measurement , it is never advisable to be too sure that the actions undertaken will have the effects intended and only the effects intended


v. The Turkish Evasion ( “ If it isn’t Worth Doing, It isn’t Worth Doing Well” )

A well known management rule : “what gets measured, gets done”

there are three conditions for this rule:i. the right thing must be measuredii. The thing must be measured rightiii. There must be consequences if it does not

get done


vi. The Dreedle Illusion (“ Better about right than exactly wrong” )

vii. The Mechanic's Principle ( If it isn't Broken, Don’t fix it”)- This principle imply simply the need to assess downside risk and address them properly.- The general principle is that performance target

must be challenging but achievable

The Ten Commandments of Performanceviii. The Missouri Test ( “He who lives by the Sword Must be

Willing to Duel” )It is essential to build into performance reforms

specific provisions for the systematic assessment of the performance , of the performance system itself

The ‘CREAM’ of Good performance:ClearRelevantEconomicAdequateMonitorable

SETTING THE TARGET: BENCHMARKING

The technique of comparing business practices and performance levels between organizations to identify opportunities for

making improvement in economy , efficiency or effectiveness of an organization’s activities

Two main approaches to bench marking:• Metrics Benchmarking :

Focuses on calculation of numerical performance indicators.

• Process Benchmarking :• Focuses on comparison of process and activities

underlying performance

MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E)

• Monitoring is the regular tracking of inputs , outputs , outcomes and processes in a given activity

• The literature make distinctions among different entities to determine the scope of administrative accountability and monitor the performance.

• Production Organizations : both Outputs and Outcomes are observed.

• Procedural Organizations: Outputs are observed , not the outcomes.

• Craft Organizations: Outputs may not be meaningful , but outcomes can be evaluated.

• Coping Organizations: neither the outputs nor the outcomes can be observed and process

indicators are paramount

MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E)

• Evaluation By Objective or By Results?

• Classic Approach to evaluation : achievement of the objective

• Pragmatic Approach to Evaluation: assessing the results actually achieved

• Program evaluation: It is a systematic effort to identify and measure the effects of government policies and programs.

• The link to the budget process:Monitoring and evaluation results should be systematically used to strengthen the accountability and improve the performance.

INTRODUCING M&E IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

• Two methods of evaluation:• In-house evaluation• External evaluation

• In-house Evaluation:Advantages:

• Inside expertise• Savvy• Intimate operational knowledge

Disadvantage:• Natural tendency to overstate results

INTRODUCING M&E IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

External Evaluation:Advantages :

• Stronger independence• Greater probability that the evaluators are familiar

with the similar programs in other sectors.Disadvantage:

• Lack of understanding for the operational realities of the organization.

“IN THE CONTEXT OF PAKISTAN”

Situation in Pakistan

i. Appointment of the chief executives of autonomous bodies:

ii. Performance assessment of chief executives:

iii. Link of the Performance with salary and promotion:

iv. Performance Measurement of national institutions:

v. Link of performance with budget:

Performance Evaluation in Pakistan’s Public sector

• The Annual Confidential Report (ACR) is an evaluation report of a servant (Civil servant/ Government Servant / Public servant). It contains specific observations regarding character, conduct, integrity and performance of a servant.

• It provides the basis and vital inputs for assessing the performance of an officer and for his further advancement in his career. The Reporting Officer and the Countersigning Officer, should, therefore, undertake the duty to write this report with a high sense of responsibility.

• The system of writing confidential reports has two main objectives. First and foremost is to improve performance of the subordinates in their present job. The second is to assess their potentialities and to prepare them for the jobs suitable to their personality.

• Annual Confidential Report is written by immediate superior officer and countersigned by an officer immediately superior to the officer who writes the report.

• Reporting officer and countersigning officer while recording remarks in A.C.R. should be discreet, judicious, precise, detached, dispassionate, equitable and fair minded without being partial.

• Annual Confidential Report is the objective assessment and evaluation of Reporting Officer about personal qualities, attitudes and proficiency in job of civil servant which is gauged by his work and performance.

• Performance appraisal through ACR should be used as a tool for human resource development. Reporting Officers should realize that the objective is to develop an officer so that he realizes his true potential.

• Delay in writing of the confidential reports delays holding of Departmental Promotion Committees for promotion and appointments on higher posts, which cause undue hardship to the employees whose cases are due for consideration.

• Reporting, Officer as well as Countersigning Officer were supposed to see that Report should not reflect undue generosity or harshness.

Performance Evaluation in Pakistan’s Public sector

Improving Performance Evaluation System in Public Sector

According to the government of Pakistan Cabinet Secretariat Establishment Division ,Information and Services

Career Management Policies• Introduction of a Career Management System for all Occupational

Groups / Services with a view to developing well defined career paths for officers, ensuring their training, and grooming them to ensure a better outcome in terms of a quality civil service.

• The Performance Evaluation System has been re-vamped in order to check inflationary trends and make the exercise of performance evaluation more objective.

• Now the evaluation would be more job-specific, measured against pre-determined targets; while grading would be comparative, performance related and objective.

Improving Performance Evaluation System in Public Sector

• With a view to better career planning and management, a system of monitoring, appraisal and evaluation of PERs has been designed at the Establishment Division, and is based on computerization for more accurate and timely generation of data.

• An exercise relating to formulation of job descriptions relating to positions in the Federal Secretariat is under way.

Thank You

Performance management in public sector of pakistan

Leadership & Management

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