For different organizations, performance management can mean different things. It can relate to a process, a system, an organization or a department. For many companies, the role of performance management is associated with an employee and is a responsibility of anyone who is in a management position. However, for many managers, performance management may not be given the attention it deserves.

First, what exactly is performance management? To help understand this concept, let’s discuss what it isn’t. Performance management is not a specific process everyone embarks on. It is not a performance appraisal or a performance review. It is not project management or goal setting. It is not achieving goals or missing deadlines. Instead, performance management is the act of managing all of these things, and more, in order to optimize performance so it is in line with the overall business strategy. We all know people are a company’s biggest asset. Performance management is the process of increasing the value of that asset.

In a performance management interview with Jim Robins, president of TTI Performance Systems, he said, “Performance management is one of those aspects of management that is sometimes forgotten about. We tend to focus on the individual pieces of performance management, like goal setting, sales processes or project management, but we need to remember to look at the big picture. All those smaller processes and activities need to be working cohesively for performance management to really be effective.”