Values-driven Performance Management

Robert Potter and Miriam Earley

This chapter discusses the issues concerning the development and the maintenance of a values-driven performance management environment within organisations. Values-driven performance management infers a people management philosophy that seeks to ensure that employee actions and behaviours are driven by the values and culture of the organisation, as well as by the desire for organisational success. As such, it is also a key tool in the management of risk, in particular the risks that emanate from employee behaviour that we term simply as “people risk”.

It is a process that is driven from, and owned by, the most senior individuals within the organisation. Driving and embedding values-driven performance management starts with the board and senior executives, which may subsequently be facilitated by functions such as human resources (HR) through the governance of programmes ranging from recruitment processes to performance appraisals, to leadership development and succession planning.

This chapter therefore examines people risk as a concept, and how the potential risks associated with employees can be measured and managed. The importance of understanding organisational values is