PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PREFERENCES OF SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES

Abstract

An efficient public sector is an essential element to unleash the full potential of any economy, and in creating a progressive society. Since 1994, major reforms in the South African public sector have brought about a new management philosophy linked to the notion that performance management can contribute by assisting state policies to make better impact. Despite the increasing importance of performance management in the public sector, very little empirical research has been conducted to determine the attributes of an effective public sector performance management system. Given the central role played by the employee in a performance management system, it is surprising that in general, performance management continues to be a predominantly top-down effort. Employees tend to think of performance management in compliance terms as something forced or required. Progressive views of performance management as something implemented in partnership with employees are more palatable and call for the adoption of alternate strategies. The purpose of this study was to establish performance management preferences of public sector employees, with a view of designing a meaningful performance management system in partnership with employees. vi The data was collected by means of a questionnaire distributed among the employees of the planning and monitoring branch of the Department of Education. Responses were received from 47 employees. These were then subjected to statistical analysis. The findings point to a preference for a performance management system with goal setting that involves cooperation at all level, feedback as much as possible and as often as possible, group learning, and a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The recommendation is that a performance management system that factors in these preferences is employed in the organisation