CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FROM PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO MISSION CONTRIBUTION FRAMEWORK

Performance management systems built on individual ratings deliver little of what they promise: in large multi-rater datasets, rater tendencies explain over half of rating variance and the ratee’s performance about a quarter or less, while the process absorbs large amounts of time. This paper reviews that evidence and the motivation theory (self-determination, goal-setting, relational job design, public service motivation) that explains what ratings leave out. It proposes a Mission Contribution Framework in which work is defined, discussed and recognized by its contribution to a stated mission and to named beneficiaries, with continuous coaching, collective judgement of evidence, and decoupled pay decisions. An eight-step implementation path and the main risks are set out. The framework is a conceptual synthesis; its components have support in adjacent research, but the whole awaits empirical testing, and five studies are proposed.