Last week I was cycling with a friend who is an entrepreneur and I was telling him I was developing and online training course on employee performance management for small business owners. He asked, don’t you need a software for that? I found his question very interesting and it got me thinking.

Using software to manage employee performance has become popular and is being offered by many companies. But how necessary is this and does it actually improve the process for management of employees.

Here is a good definition of employee performance management from Berkeley University of California.

Performance Management – Definition

Performance management is an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor and an employee that occurs throughout the year, in support of accomplishing the strategic objectives of the organization. The communication process includes clarifying expectations, setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and reviewing results.

The key word I want to point out here is communication. Yes you can communicate through a software that has a messaging type feature, but a software really only is a tool to help with the process. It can be useful to store data such as goals and objectives and also track progress and measure results.

But all that can be done using a pen and paper and has been done so ever since the beginning of modern day management practices.

The human aspect of communication cannot be replaced by a computer software as the best management practices requires being able to sit down with someone and come to mutual agreement on  desired performance. This is what becomes a win-win agreement.

In the end the goal is not only to clarify and agree on performance commitments, but it is the way it is done through ongoing communication that fosters a spirit of collaboration between the two parties.