Performance Management

Managing performance and feedback

Employers and managers should support each employee to perform at their best. Suggestions to do this include:

• induct each employee into the role and the office
• ensure each employee has a clear position description
• establish regular performance feedback conversations.

Position descriptions

A position description should be available when a position is first established for a potential role prior to employees being engaged. This will assist in recruiting the right staff and will clearly define the tasks, skills, capabilities, qualifications and experience required for the role.

The employing parliamentarian is responsible for setting the tasks and responsibilities for each employee and position descriptions should reflect those expectations. Roles required vary from office to office and position descriptions should reflect the support required by the employing parliamentarian. There is an ongoing job description template and a non-ongoing and casual job description template available for consideration.

Performance feedback

Using a template to develop individual performance agreements may assist to provide consistency and clarity for all employees in the office. The performance agreement checklist assists to clearly outline responsibilities, expected outcomes and behaviours for each employee.

Employees and managers at all levels should have regular conversations relating to performance. These conversations should also be held when there is a need to encourage good performance or to reflect on and adjust performance in order to improve. You may wish to establish a regular cycle of check in conversations throughout an employee’s contract.

A performance feedback cycle is helpful for both the employer and employee. The setting up a performance agreement - checklist is designed to assist through what might be required for the feedback cycle.