Question

What are some formal methods of communication in an effective performance management system?

What are some informal methods of communication in an effective performance management system?

What are some advantages and disadvantages of formal methods and informal methods?

Answer 1

In an effective performance management system, the performance feedback not only needs to be provided to the employees but also needs to be provided in a way that there is a scope of improvement. For example, many organizations tend to conduct performance management as a continuous process. In such situations they may want to formalize the performance feedback and improvement plans using various communication means. However, the formal method of communication is use of performance management tools or emails. The feedback and the suggestions needs to be provided by the employer through email and the tool.

The informal method of performance management is guidance, mentoring and suggestions that a supervisor may provide to the employee. This does not have specific time period or duration but can be at any time. Thus in most occasions the informal method is verbal communication. In addition to this, the instructions and feedbacks can come via other channels such as instant messages, phone text, etc. Overall, these are not official communication.

The advantage of formal method of communication is that it provides legitimacy to the performance management system. There is usually a record kept of this communication and can be reviewed in case of any discrepancy.

The disadvantage of formal communication is that it requires careful thought and consideration. Without it, the organization may provide a very vague signal to the workforce and their productivity may suffer.

The advantage of informal method is that it is quick. It can also be very comfortable and friendly. Thus it has tremendous potential to motivate the employee and improve their performance.

The disadvantage of the informal method is that it can be changed in the formal setup. For example, a supervisor may verbally praise you but provide a harsh feedback on the email. In such instance the informal method loses its importance.