Introduction: 

           "People performance management (PPM) is a term used to describe all the processes and
techniques that ensure employees are working to the best of their ability and putting the values of
your organization into practice" (People Performance Management Toolkit, 2017). It is a way of
assessing employees' strengths and weaknesses to help them grow and develop within the
framework of the organization's mission. When done correctly, PPM can improve employee
engagement and motivation, result in better talent retention, set clear expectations and objectives,
highlight training gaps and potential risks, and improve overall business performance (Foulis,
2021).

 Using your own job (current or past) and briefly discuss how your performance was
managed and evaluated.

           In my current job, the traditional annual performance evaluation is used. It includes an
employee self-questionnaire coupled with employee reviews from a random selection of patients
and other staff. In general, I find it quite lacking in providing comprehensive employee
evaluation. Once it is completed, most people generally forget about it until several weeks before
the subsequent review in a year. In my opinion, a better approach would be more frequent
assessments during which clear goals and expectations are set, using the SMART methodology,
with the aim of re-visiting those objectives within 4 to 6 months. 

 Using your experience, consider the three most important job duties and design
three (3) objectives or measurements using the SMART method. 

            For effective evaluation of a specific job to be completed, the job's duties and
responsibilities must be clearly stated and agreed upon at the very beginning. The objectives
need to be stated using the SMART methodology, that is, they need to be
very specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (Boogaard, 2021). For in-patient
medical care in hospitals, using patient metrics such as 7-day or 30-day readmission rates or
provider-related metrics such as the average length of hospital stays and discharge summary
completion timeliness is critical. Below are three of such metrics and the three related SMART
objectives that pertain to my current job.

i) 7-day readmission rates: Most hospital readmissions could have been avoided with appropriate
discharge planning. Hence the goal is to minimize this metric as much as possible  (Pierce &
Patel, 2020).

"I will reduce my 7-day hospital readmission rate by 20% over the next three months. "

ii) Discharge Summary Timeliness score: For the sake of patient care continuity, a patient's
discharge summary must be available to the patient and other providers as soon as possible,
preferably at the time of discharge. The goal is to minimize this metric as much as possible
(Pierce & Patel, 2020).

"I will reduce the duration of my Discharge Summary Timeliness delay to less than one
day over the next month."

iii) The average length of stay score: Irrespective of a patient's illness, it is often preferable that
the length of hospitalization be as minimal as possible to prevent hospital-related adverse events
such as nosocomial infections (Pierce & Patel, 2020).

"I will improve  my current average length of hospital stay by 50% over the next quarter."

 Discuss your experience using this method. Did you find it difficult? Why or why
not?

           Writing objectives using the SMART methodology is extremely useful. It is a method I

was familiar with before in my career. Furthermore, I have encountered this methodology in
several MBA courses at the University of the People, such as Marketing Management. It allows
one to clearly and concisely communicate an objective's goals without being overly ambitious.
More importantly, it is time-bound, providing a hard stop as to when to evaluate the success or
failure of the effort. 

References:

Boogaard, K. (2021, December 26). How to write smart goals (with examples). Work Life by
Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/how-to-write-smart-goals 

Foulis, D. (2021, March 17). 7 benefits of Performance

Management. Ideagen. https://www.ideagen.com/thought-leadership/blog/7-benefits-of-
performance-management

People Performance Management Toolkit. (2017). NHS Employers and Skills for

Care.  https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Documents/Leadership-and-management/People-
Performance-Management-Toolkit/People-Performance-Management-Toolkit.pdf

Pierce, L; Patel, S. (2020). The Individual Hospitalist Dashboard. Abstract 446 Journal of

Hospital Medicine. https://shmabstracts.org/abstract/the-individual-hospitalist-dashboard-
by-hospitalists-for-hospitalists/.