Perceived Factors of Performance Management and Development Systems in a South African State-Owned Company

Continuous performance management helps managers track employees’ progress against goals and personal development and make informed decisions about additional compensation. Knowledge of performance management and development system (PMDS) factors within South African state-owned companies may assist managers in successfully implementing the PMDS to improve employee performance. The study explores the perceived PMDS factors by using an open-ended research approach. The study had an exploratory research design and a qualitative research method within interpretivism as the research philosophy, with semi-structured face-to-face interviews conducted to collect data. A purposive sampling technique was used to include the relevant participants. Thematic analysis with deductive and inductive coding was used. The themes that were identified were: favouritism, working in silos, insufficient capacity building, ineffective performance management, incompetent and unethical managers, complicated scorecard template, misconception of the performance management process, financial constraints and a lack of strategic plans. Knowledge of the PMDS factors would allow management to proactively identify potential areas for improvement. Poor decisions could lead to failure to achieve organisational goals and ultimately to high staff turnover. The study found that the PMDS should be aligned with the company's mandate and that management should have a better understanding of employee perceptions; it recommends ways of improving the effective implementation of the PMDS. Keywords: employees, perceptions, South Africa, state-owned company