Strategic Performance Management at the University of Botswana

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Strategic Performance Management at the
University of Botswana

• Keynote Presentation at the 5th Colloquium on
  Performance Evaluation of Library Personnel
  University of Vera Cruz Ana in Mexico - 16th to
  18th September 2007
• Prof. Amos Thapisa

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About Botswana

• The Republic of Botswana has a total area of
  600,370 km².
• It is the world's 45th-largest country (after the
  Ukraine) about the same size as Texas in the
  USA.
• It is a landlocked nation in Southern Africa
  bounded by Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South
  Africa.
• It is the largest exporter of gemstone diamonds
  in the world with an annual output of 15 million
  carats.
• a large beef exporter to the European Union.

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Economic Stability

• Botswana was one of the 20 poorest countries in
  the world at independence. Today, it is
  considered the richest non-oil producing country
  in Africa.
• It graduated from a low income country to middle
  income with a per capita income of P9 359.
• The economy growth has enabled Government to
  increase resources for its development budget -
  1999/2000, development budget was P3.450 billion.
  

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High Class Tourism

• The Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta on
  Earth. Instead of flowing into the sea, the
  annual flood of fresh water flows inland,
  spreading over 15 000km² of the Kalahari sand in
  a maze of lagoons and channels.
• http//www.go2africa.com/botswana/okavango-delta/d
  efault.asp?accomm5map

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Land of Colourful Sunsets Animals
http//www.go2africa.com/african-safaris.asp
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The University of Botswana

• History
• Founded in 1964 as the University of Basutoland,
  Bechuanaland and Swaziland with 180 students
• Inaugurated as UB in 1982
• Current figures
• Overall total of 15,710 students and 2,217 staff
• Six faculties

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Our Strategic Foundations

• Our Vision To be a leading academic centre of
  excellence in Africa and the world.
• Our Mission To advance the intellectual and
  human resource capacity of the nation and the
  international community
• Our Values
• Students learning an environment which ensures
  that learning is the central focus of
  studentsactivity .
• Academic Freedom upholding the spirit of free
  and critical thought and enquiry
• Academic Integrity expressed in creativity,
  objective analysis, experimentation, critical
  thought ..

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Launch of the UB Performance Management System

• Launched in June 2004 in 4 phases
• Diagnosis, Gab Analysis and Project Plan
  Development of a Project Plan and assessment of
  the institutions readiness for a new programme
  (2004)
• Overall Design Principles - Identification of Key
  Design Issues and policy formulation Production
  of PMS Policy statement (2004)
• Detailed Design Principle Phase - Translating
  Policy into detailed design for implementation
  production of the PMS Manual and Staff Training
  Programme Development (2005 ) and
• Implementation Staff training and Pilot
  implementation. (2006)

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Objectives of the UB Performance Management
System

• enhance institutional efficiency, and
  productivity to more effectively achieve
  institutional objectives.
• align employees work objectives with
  institutional goals, vision, mission and values.
• develop job competencies and skills in order to
  ensure employee preparedness to deliver on
  institutional objectives.
• ensure employeesfull participation in the
  formulation of institutional objectives as
  enunciated in the strategic plan, Shaping our
  Future.

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Stage 1 Formulate Strategic Plan

• State vision, mission and values
• Define core business, mandate and customers
• Identify success criteria /outcomes
• Develop key
• Strategic operational plans.

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Stage 2 Setting Divisional or Departmental Goals

• Set Divisional or Depart. goals
• Set Divisional or Depart. performance targets
• Coordinate activities
• Monitor performance
• Review outcomes and
• Review organisational structure.

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Stage 3Individual Performance

• Set individual performance targets
• Provide performance resources
• Monitor individual performance
• Trouble-shoot performance
• plan effective performer development and
• Assess individual performance.

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Stage 4 The Performance Review

• Review performance against depart and individual
  targets
• Plan new team and individual targets
• Communicate the consequences of good or poor
  performance to teams and individuals.
• Provide rewards

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Strategic Alignment

• Alignment is a process of linking the
  vision/mission of the institution with the
  challenges it has to meet, the priorities it is
  pursuing, business direction it wants to take,
  strategies available to it, and the goals it
  wants to achieve with team and individual
  performance.
• There is need to integrate available information
  and communication technologies (ICT) such that
  their implementation achieves stated
  institutional objectives or expected results.
• Supervisors and supervisees jointly identify
  common goals and objectives which correlate to
  the strategic goals of the institution, thereby
  ensuring goodness of fit.

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PMS Drives the Core Business
Source (Sekhwela, 2007 PMS in UB Presentation
to Senior Management)
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Elements of Performance Management

• Planning for performance
• Managing performance
• Reviewing performance
• Rewarding performance
• Individual Development

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Planning for performance

• Supervisors and supervisees jointly identify
  common goals/objectives which align or correlate
  with the higher goals (Key Performance Areas) of
  the institution.
• Goals, objectives, targets, Key Performance
  Indicators (KPIs), and competencies are jointly
  discussed and agreed to during face-to-face
  meetings with direct supervisors.
• Formal written Performance Agreements (PAs) for
  each employee/supervisee.
• Critical Success Factors (CSFs), which are the
  most important aspects of the service from a
  stakeholders point of view are defined at this
  stage.
• Meaningful performance standards that make the
  institution most successful and that customers
  (students, parents and sponsors) care most about
  and not necessarily those things that the deans
  and directors want are defined.

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Managing performance

• All employees are expected to implement their
  agreed objectives and Key Performance Indicators
  (KPI).
• They are expected to monitor and manage their own
  performance with the assistance of their
  respective supervisors.
• Supervisors provide motivation by advising and
  removing obstacles in the work environment.
• They provide opportunities for joint problem
  solving and make available the necessary
  resources, coaching and training.
• Key Performance Areas (KPAs) and objectives are
  weighted out of 100 so that appropriate emphasis
  is placed on the most important things.
• Each KPA may have several objectives which are
  also weighted

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Reviewing Performance

• The performance review involves a determination
  of how well the agreed goals/objectives/KPIs have
  been achieved.
• All agreed upon elements of performance
  objectives, behaviours/values, and competencies
  are assessable .
• Problem areas are identified and corrective
  measure taken.
• Ensure that appropriate behaviours or values have
  been applied use 360 evaluation.
• For example, to what extent are teamwork,
  customer focus, creativity and innovation are
  being employed?
• Ensure that technical or managerial competencies
  specific to jobs exist for the evaluation of
  performance.

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Rewarding Performance

• Pronounce at the outset that performance would
  carry consequences. This meant that employees
  would be rewarded for good performance in both
  monetary terms and incentives.
• This has been referred to as a Performance-Related
  Pay system (PRP), predicated on the Government
  of Botswana pay scheme.
• Non-monetary rewards such as praises and public
  recognition have been included as motivational
  issues to encourage good performance.

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Rewarding Performance 2

• It is believed that through a reasonable reward
  system the institution would be able to recruit
  the right people, with the right mix of skills
  and competences, to ensure success.
• Unacceptable performance, which is performance
  that is below expectation, would incur
  consequences such as denial of an annual
  increment or dismissal in cases of continued poor
  performance over a given period of time.

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Individual Development Plan

• In order for an institution to succeed it
  requires people not only those who are well
  motivated to work but also those that have the
  requisite training and competencies to perform.
• Include in the process the expectation that
  employees would be developed to enable them
  undertake their tasks.
• Addresses the growth needs of each employee
  emotionally, intellectually, personally,
  perceptually and socially

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Individual Development Plan 2

• It is believed that this will not only help
  people perform but also live up to their full
  potential.
• Individual Development Plans spell out the
  actions that an employee should take to develop
  themselves in order to extend their knowledge and
  skills, increase their levels of capability, and
  improve their performance in specific areas as
  agreed with the supervisor.
• It is a requirement that such needs are captured
  at a point when the Performance Agreement is
  being discussed so that they are made part of the
  agreement.

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The Performance Agreement

• The University of Botswana Performance Management
  System requires that there should be a
  Performance Agreement entered into between the
  supervisor and supervisee.
• This is a formal process that ensures that the
  strategic goals and objectives of the institution
  arrived at through a consultative and
  participative process and aligned with individual
  performance objectives and individual development
  plans (IDPs) are met.
• Individual performance is set against the
  priorities providing details of the objectives
  that are going to be pursued in the coming year.

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The Performance Agreement 2

• It is a promise to deliver in terms of what is
  expected of an individual employee or team to
  accomplish with regard to agreed performance
  measures and standards such as goals, objectives,
  targets, KPIs, and competencies.
• It is a tool that ensures that there is
  understanding and agreement between the
  supervisor and the supervisee on the major goals
  and objectives and accountabilities of a given
  role.
• This process is revitalized annually to reflect
  the surfacing of new priorities and requirements
  and to remove those goals and objectives that
  have been achieved.

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Intelligence Information System

• A well considered vision for a successful
  Performance Management System should include an
  intelligence information system or decision
  support system (DSS) that gathers information on
  how effectively the institution is meeting the
  tenets of its strategic mission.
• Strategic Performance Management (SPM) requires
  that an institution should draw upon its
  corporate knowledge in order to make decisions
  based on evidence and not assumptions.
• It should have an information system that helps
  it focus on all its initiatives and Key
  Performance Indicators (KPIs) supporting its
  goals and assist it to align resources to the
  strategies that lead to the successful
  achievement of its goals.

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Intelligence Information System 2

• The system should allow authorities to focus on
  performance and achievements align resources and
  day-to-day activities with corporate strategy and
  adapt to the changing demands of the market,
  customers and stakeholders.
• The idea is not just to manage performance but
  also to continually improve it as well as the
  decision making process.

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Conclusion

• Once a Performance Management System (PMS) has
  been successfully implemented it should be
  continuously monitored, evaluated and revised to
  ensure how effectively it
• (a) sends a clear, consistent message to
  employees and (b) represents the concerns of
  multiple stakeholders individuals and groups
  that have interest, rights, or ownership in the
  institution and its activities (Jackson and
  Schuler 2002)
• The characteristics of a strategic performance
  management system are that, the institution
  should have a strategic plan which spells out its
  mission, goals and priorities.
• It should regard its employees as the most
  important asset and align their performance with
  the mission and institutional goals.

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Conclusion 2

• Through its performance review and appraisal
  system the institution should give recognition to
  its employees for their contribution to the
  achievement of institutional goals and success by
  rewarding them.
• It should provide feedback to them to ensure
  better performance and continuous improvement.
• It should avail opportunities for employee
  development and growth that ensures that
  employees have the requisite skills and
  competencies.

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The End of Presentation

• I thank you for Listening
• Delivered 18th September 2007