Performance Management in New Zealand: Human Resource Practitioners’, Managers’, and Employees’ Perspectives

Abstract

Although organisations devote substantial resources to their performance management systems, studies suggest that it is not uncommon for these systems to be perceived as ineffective, not only by human resource practitioners but also by managers and employees. This paper explores how well performance management is operating in New Zealand, and whether there are any obvious areas in which improvement is needed. In order to take a holistic view of performance management, it is necessary to consider the perspectives of three sets of actors: the human resource practitioner, the line manager and the employee. This paper reports survey data from 156 medium to large New Zealand organisations. Within each of these organisations a survey was sent to three members of the organisation: the head of human resources, one randomly selected line manager and one randomly selected employee. Each was asked a set of questions pertaining to the functioning and effectiveness of their performance management system. The results reveal differing perceptions and specific areas for improvement in performance management practices in New Zealand.