There are two important prerequisites that are required before a performance management system is implemented. First, knowledge of the organization’s mission and strategic goals. Second, knowledge of the job in question. There is a constant back and forth between mission and vision and strategic planning.

Strategic planning allows an organization to clearly define its purpose and reasons for existing, where it wants to be in the future, the goals it wants to achieve, and the strategies it will use to attain these goals. Once the goals for the entire organization have been established, similar goals cascade downward, with units setting objectives and employees goals’ supporting the organization’s overall mission and objectives. If there is a lack of clarity regarding where the organization wants to go, there will be a lack of clarity regarding what each employee needs to do and achieve to help the organization get there.

The second important prerequisite before a performance management system is implemented is to understand the job in question. Given changes in the nature of work and organizations, jobs are anything but static. Because people are asked to work on new projects, participate in different teams, and use new apps and technologies on an ongoing basis, jobs also change on an ongoing basis. Once you understand strategic goals and the position, the supervisor and the employee can formally meet to discuss, and agree upon, what needs to be done and how.