People Management Factsheet

people management

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How to satisfy the aspirations and development needs of the people working in the organization.

How to establish conguence between the demands placed on people, and the capabilities and resources available to them.

(Seems obvious, doesn't it? But many managers, particularly in the software industry, need help with the details.)

On this page, we discuss two public domain frameworks for people management.

The Software Engineering Institute, best known for its Capability Maturity Model for Software, has also produced a Capability Maturity Model for People Management.

Veryard Projects has developed a simple explanation of the structure of the People Management CMM, which shows how feedback loops are used to increase integration at each level.

People management is also an important component of the evaluation model for the European Quality Award, administered by the European Foundation for Quality Management.

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SEI Capability Maturity Model for People (P-CMM)
Understanding the structure

veryard projects > people management > p-cmm

What is the SEI Capability Maturity Model for People (P-CMM)?

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie-Mellon University has developed a Capability Maturity Model for People Management (P-CMM).

Like the better-known Software CMM, the People CMM has five levels. Level 1 represents a general lack of capability. For each level above 1, there is a set of process areas that have to be mastered.

Level 2: Repeatable

Work Environment

Communication

Staffing

Performance Management

Training

Compensation

Level 3: Defined

Knowledge and Skills Analysis

Workforce Planning

Competency Development

Career Development

Competency-Based Practices

Participatory Culture

Level 4: Managed

Mentoring

Team Building

Team-Based Practices

Organizational Competency Management

Organizational Performance Alignment

Level 5: Optimizing

Personal Competency Development

Coaching

Continuous Workforce Innovation

Each process area maintains a match between two important elements of people management. As we shall see, these elements connect to form a network, which only becomes complete when we reach Level 5.

Level 2: Repeatable

There are six process areas in Level 2. I have drawn them as white double rectangles.

Each of these process areas focuses on achieving a good match between two characteristics of People Management. I have drawn these characteristics as blue ovals.

Level 2 is all about Performance. The six components of Level 2 can be drawn as a hierarchy, with Performance at the top.

Process Area	Match Between	Positive Indicators	Negative Indicators
Work Environment	Work Environment Performance	Appropriate work environment exists Improvements are made to enhance performance	Excessive, unnecessary, inappropriate distractions Non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations
Communication	Interpersonal skills Performance	Social environment supports effective interaction Effective mechanisms for top-down and bottom-up communication. Workforce skills sharing information efficient coordination of activities efficient meetings resolve problems	Meetings bloody meetings Email bloody email Unresolved problems, conflicts or grievances
Staffing	Assignment Qualified Staff	Effective recruitment Effective selection Effective transitioning (= staff deployment)	Lack of coordination in staffing activities Unclear criteria for recruitment, selection and transitioning
Performance Management	Performance Assignment	Objective performance criteria Continuous performance monitoring and enhancement of unit and team.	Vague or subjective performance criteria
Training	Skill Assignment
Compensation	Compensation Performance

Level 3: Defined

At Level 3, there are three process areas that make a loop. These are shown at the top of the diagram.

Three further process areas connect into this loop.

Process Area	Match Between	Positive Indicators	Negative Indicators
Knowledge and Skills Analysis	Identified core competencies, knowledge & skills Current and future business needs	Core competencies are known. Required knowledge and skills are known.
Workforce Planning	Workforce activities Current and future business needs
Competency Development	Core Competencies Training and development
Career Development	Core Competencies Personal Career	Individual motivation and opportunities to develop new skills and enhance career prospects.	Mismatch between organization’s core competencies and personal career plans, opportunities and histories.
Competency-Based Practices	Core competencies Workforce practices	Workforce practices for recruitment and staffing, workforce assignment, and performance criteria and compensation are aligned with core competencies.	Workforce practices for recruitment and staffing, workforce assignment, and performance criteria and compensation are not aligned with core competencies.
Participatory Culture	Workforce Activities & Practices Individual and Team Autonomy	Flow of information within the organization. Individual knowledge incorporated into decision-making processes. Individual support for commitments.	Lack of organization back-up for empowerment. Required information not made available. Frequent override by higher management.

Level 4: Managed

At Level 4, we introduce a crucial distinction between performance results and performance goals.

Process Area	Match Between	Positive Indicators	Negative Indicators
Mentoring	Performance Results Workforce Experience	Support for mentors Preparation and guidance Meetings for mentors to share experiences and problems	Coerced participation in mentoring programme Mentors overstepping defined boundaries
Team Building	Team Structure & Process Performance Goals	Integration of diverse knowledge and skills within teams Clear terms of reference Objectives Responsibilities Authority Team process Relationships to other teams	Conflict within team Group-think within team
Team-Based Practices	Team Structure & Process Work Environment	Development, motivation and functioning of teams consistent with work environment and organizational workforce practice. Individual compensation aligned with team criteria.	Work environment interferes with team functions. Individual compensation misaligned with team criteria.
Organizational Competency Management	Organization’s capability (core competency) Performance goals
Organizational Performance Alignment	Performance results Performance goals

Level 5: Optimizing

Level 5 concentrates on workforce practices.

Process Area	Match Between	Positive Indicators	Negative Indicators
Personal Competency Development	Workforce Practices Individual Work Processes	Personal self-development Planning Measuring performance Setting improvement targets Defining and improving individual work processes	Individual work process improvement not supporting or supported by organization’s workforce practices.
Coaching	Workforce Practice Workforce Experience	Defined criteria for assignment of coaches to teams and individuals Rewards for coaches and coachees.	Responsibilities (and authority) of coach are unclear Lack of demonstrable benefits from coaching
Continuous Workforce Innovation	Performance Results Workforce Practices	Systematic evaluation of innovative practices and technologies Empowerment to improve activities Individual Team	Isolated pockets of innovation - lack of dissemination Inertia in workforce practices

Summary

Here are the level 2 process areas again.
Now we add the level 3 process areas. There is no connection between them.
Level 4 connects Level 2 with Level 3. Note the emergence of a loop Performance Results Performance Goals Team Structure & Process Work Environment
Finally, level 5 completes the central loop Performance Goals Performance Results Workforce Practices Core Competencies.