Managing employee performance in the Department of Human Settlements

M.Phil. (Industrial Psychology)The aim of the study was to explore the managing of employee performance in the Department of Human Settlements (DHS). The study was necessitated by increasing dissatisfaction by the public in general regarding the performance of the DHS. A qualitative study was undertaken and four participants were interviewed. This study was particularly important because the performance of government departments in South Africa continues to fall under scrutiny as pressure for service delivery mounts. Recent studies indicate that public sector performance is a critical issue for governments around the world (Kealesitse, O’Mahony, Lloyd-Walker, Polonsky, 2013) and that an efficient public service in most cases enhances or improves the social conditions of the citizens. Hope (2012) acknowledges that citizens hold high expectations for their government to continuously provide quality and timeous services. Interviews were conducted with respondents at management level. The study established that while problems regarding the performance management of employees are experienced in the DHS, this has not reached a crisis stage. These problems occur due to subjectivity of the role players, vague performance standards in performance contracts, prioritisation of compliance with submission of performance contracts rather than managing the whole process diligently, lack of training of performance moderating committees, and lack of adequate management of poor performance. The researcher has offered recommendations for the management of subjectivity, the content of performance work plans, the referral to the incapacity code, and procedure for addressing poor performance as well as other areas that could enhance the management of poor performance in the DHS