Develop a Team Performance Plan

Step 1: Learn about performance plans

Performance plans (also known as performance improvement plans) are documents developed with the goal of helping an individual, a team, or a corporation better their work. They are created and laid out by team leaders, supervisors, and managers, and are frequently submitted to HR for review. Performance plans are a technique for helping individuals and teams solve reoccurring challenges as a means of enhancing workflow. They define the objectives that must be met in order for the person (or a team) to solve specific challenges or for an average employee to be considered for a raise.

What is the definition of a team performance plan?
When it comes to individual performance plans, the goal is simple: an employee has room to grow and expand their talents. Their boss can build out a plan with them on what they can work on, what direction they should go in, and what performance standards they need to achieve. When it comes to teams, however, the performance plans are based on achieving common goals and performance levels. This is more effective when you want to measure the overall output of a department rather than the influence of each individual employee.

Why is it important to have a team performance plan?
On an individual and organizational level, a team performance plan can work wonders. It aids in the identification of specific issue areas within the group, the desired level of progress, and the establishment of guidelines to assist the team in achieving their objectives. It’s a step-by-step method that helps people attain their maximum potential while contributing to team goals. As a result of the team’s increased productivity, the company’s projects receive better results.

Step 2: Use three key factors to build a successful plan

Factor #2:   Setting the correct environment
It’s crucial to verify the working circumstances of your staff before you start. This is to avoid making assumptions that a team’s bad performance is due to their mistakes when, in reality, external variables are at play. So, first and foremost, double-check that everything on your end is in working order.

Factor #2: The components of a performance plan

When putting together a performance plan, make sure it covers all of the bases. Without them, not only will writing be more difficult, but you will also be unable to obtain correct data when the results are received.

Factor #3: Seeking advice from human resources
It’s worth noting that the HR department should be aware from the outset that you’re working on a performance plan. They can tell you whether this is the best course of action or if a different approach would be better for the team.

Don’t forget to engage human resources when you’ve completed a draft of the team performance plan and are satisfied with it. They should check over the paper to make sure it’s in order — that there are no unrealistic goals or too many targets, for example.

After all, improving performance shouldn’t come at the expense of the employee’s health.

Step 3: Write the Performance Plan in 6 easy points

1. Let HR and upper management know you wish to make a team performance plan and discuss its necessity and reasons for it
2. Talk to the teams about the issues they’re facing and vision for improvement
3. Set goals and objectives based on the vision for improvement
4. Define and agree on KPIs
5. Agree on ways to monitor, review, and provide feedback
6. Have HR assess the performance plan before finalizing it

Step 4: Manage and Monitor Team Performance

Monitoring the team during the implementation of a performance plan entails following the plan’s progress, making timely changes, and remaining in touch with them. However, you’ll need to travel more land to adequately manage them.

1. Be transparent – Performance improvement plans are well-known since they formally acknowledge an individual’s (or, in our instance, a team’s) lack of performance. Many employees will view it as a “last opportunity” before being fired, which will cause them a great deal of worry. As a result, they are unable to recognize the performance plan for what it is: a means of improving performance and retaining strong people. It is up to the managers to send the word loud and clear: no one’s job is on the line, and the performance plan is in place to assist you to work together toward particular objectives.

2. Be timely with feedback and reviews – Set specific times and mechanisms for providing feedback and updates to the team. Ensure that you stick to the performance plan’s schedule. While weekly and monthly check-ins appear to be the norm, there’s nothing stopping you from doing them every two weeks or even every day in some circumstances. With time, you’ll get a sense of the team’s workflow and cadence. This can help you determine how frequently you should check in on them. As an added plus, if the team sees you taking the performance plan seriously, they will believe that both sides are working toward the same goal.

3. Provide resources – As already mentioned in the performance plan template, you can help the team progress by giving them plenty of resources. Especially if some employees need additional coaching to catch up with the others.

There are several ways to provide resources and learning opportunities:

• Online courses
• In-company seminars (from their peers)
• Archive of appropriate literature (you can use tools like G-Drive, or Dropbox) that is online and shareable to everyone
• Collaboration with other, experienced team members

4. Communicate clearly – Before you begin implementing the performance plan, make sure you have everything you need.
Ascertain that the team is aware that the performance improvement plan is available to assist them. Employees’ greatest concern is that unless they surpass one another, their jobs will be jeopardized.

1. Give timely feedback

As they progress through the performance plan, the team requires this level of consistency. Timely meetings, whether via video chat, phone call, or in person, go a long way toward boosting team morale. Wait until the following meeting to offer remarks that aren’t part of your normal feedback time. Predictability is beneficial in situations like these.

2. Consistently provide feedback

Regular feedback has been demonstrated to increase employee productivity time and time again. Scheduling them too infrequently reduces people’s ability to correct problems in a timely manner.

3. Be firm but fair.

When you have unpleasant news to present or see the team has made a significant error, don’t start with judgment or discuss the mistake right away. Inquire about the team’s opinion on the matter, as this may provide you with additional insights.

After you’ve discussed the problem, provide specific, practical actions for resolving it. Better yet, have a brainstorming session with your employees and come up with a solution jointly. In summary, the team must understand the weight of their errors and defeats, but they must also understand that you are not there to bury them any further. You’re there to assist them in learning from their errors.

4. Be specific

Avoid going off on tangents. Long sessions and pages of reports are inconvenient to read. Make an effort to be succinct and to address extremely specific issues. Harvard Business Review mentioned research in one of their articles on feedback that showed that a 5 to 1 ratio was the key to successful and productive feedback. That means there are five good comments for every bad one. This strategy keeps employees focused on solving the problem at hand rather than berating themselves and others for mistakes.

5. Make yourself available for help.
The manager’s availability is the last but not least item on the performance improvement plan checklist. When the performance improvement plan is prepared, reviewed, and signed by everyone, your work isn’t done. The position includes keeping a close eye on the team’s progress, keeping notes of their accomplishments, and providing regular feedback and remarks. Despite this, you shouldn’t be concerned with the performance plan 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Set aside certain times for team members to contact you for a meeting. They’ll be able to notify you sooner if any issues emerge, and you won’t receive emails or phone calls outside of business hours. Prepare for mediation by contacting HR if necessary and submitting all essential information when requested.

In Conclusion

Individual performance improvement plans have a different set of principles and considerations than team performance development plans. They can take several forms, depending on the industry and the company’s own vision and goal, since they must highlight the specific team’s concerns and improvement scopes. These plans are created to handle the team’s production as a whole, but never ignore the specific contributions of each team member. We’ve highlighted the most significant factors to look out for in this post, as well as offering a sample performance plan to give you a general understanding. Discussions with the CEO and HR department, as well as following our instructions for building one for yourself, should be simple.