The Electronic Performance Management Software (E-PMS), which introduces a high level of transparency and objectivity in staff performance appraisal, has been officially unveiled in Accra. The platform has been designed to run from a corporate Internet website and focuses on individual level performance and has built-in security features which prevent unauthorised access to e-forms. Security is further enhanced as all activities of users on the system are tracked with an incorporated e-mail function. Alhassan Azong, Minister of State at the Presidency Responsible for Public Sector Reforms, officially performed the launch in Accra and said: “To enable Ghana to be on a level playing field with other countries, organisations will need to move with dispatch to design and implement internationally accepted systems for performance management. “If Ghana is to achieve its Millennium Development Goals, raise Gross Domestic Product to levels that assure an enhanced standard of living and become a middle-income country, then organisations in both the public and private sectors must adopt world-class performance management systems similar to those practiced globally. These systems are noted to be robust, challenging, and time-bound.” He observed that the greatest challenge facing government, private sector managers and the country as a whole is the two-fold challenge of motivating and measuring performance. There is therefore an urgent need for this country to design a tool not only for motivating employees to perform optimally at all levels, but also for measuring employee performance, he stated. Mr. Azong explained the electronic performance management system provides not only a motivating tool but a well-calibrated instrument for achieving both objectives. “What makes E-PMS even more attractive is that it is a home-grown solution for both the private and public sectors.” Dan Acheampong President of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners, (IHRMP) Ghana, said: “It is proven that the best way to strike a desired accord between strategy and performance is through an effective performance management system. “Without a first-rate performance management system capable of being tailored to the strategic needs of an entity, the entity is certain to lose more than just time and money. It is certain to lose knowledge, its high-performing employees and, ultimately, lose its competitive edge.” Kwadwo Asare Bediako, Executive Director of the IHRMP, explained that the on-line availability of performance data helps the human resource department and senior managers to know the targets of not only their immediate subordinates but also other employees in the organisation. This enables managers to monitor employee performance across the organisation. This promotes objectivity, verifiability and transparency in performance management. “When targets and regular feedback on targets are available online, such performance data become accessible not only to the appraiser but also to other senior managers who are granted access to electronic target-setting forms,” he said. Source: BFT