Encouraging and monitoring performance

A primary responsibility of Deans in Australian universities is the performance management of staff. This is a two-edged responsibility: for encouraging and rewarding good performance, but also for 'managing' poor performance. The Australian context is constrained by Enterprise Agreements and a high level of accountability, in which the ability to sack staff who are performing poorly is extremely limited, or at least highly formalised. The challenge for Deans is to find an effective strategy within these constraints both to encourage and monitor good performance as well as to be 'on the case' of those who are underperforming. This paper shares strategies developed over six years in the Dean's chair for managing a range of performance issues in a professional Faculty.