To complete this Assessment: You are required to interview a nurse executive with human resource functions and, specifically, a nurse executive involved in implementing the performance management syst

Performance Management Interview Guidelines & Questions

MH003: Performance Management in Nurse Settings
Performance Management System Nurse Executive Interview

Planning and Arranging the Interview

For this Performance Task, you will interview a nurse executive in a healthcare organization. Keep these qualities in mind in identifying the professional to interview:

The nurse executive may not have an official HR title but should spend a significant amount of time leading, coordinating, or participating in human resources–related functions.

Specifically, the nurse executive must be involved in implementing the performance management system in a healthcare organization for his/her unit or department (i.e., obtains performance information, consolidates it in some form, and works with employees on improvement strategies).

You should have a relationship with the nurse executive that is professional, but the individual should also be comfortable speaking honestly with you.

This should be the first time you interview the individual for any Walden University Competency Assessment.

Look for a nurse executive in a specialty unit (e.g., neonatal, critical care, nurse anesthetist, etc.), so that the individual can speak to specific performance requirements beyond general nursing criteria (e.g., compassion, attention to detail, technical training).

Plan for 45–60 minutes to conduct the interview. You may speak in person, by phone, via Skype, or another means that is convenient for you and the interviewee. If you record the interview, obtain the person’s permission in advance.

Confirm to your interviewee that all information obtained in the interview will be confidential. If preferred by the individual, you may identify the nurse executive and his/her healthcare organization using pseudonyms in the Competency Assessment materials you submit.

Interview questions to guide your discussion begin on Page 3 of this document.

Note: You are required to request the individual’s signature to confirm the interview. Fill in the information on Page 2, print out the page, and obtain the nurse executive’s full signature. Scan and submit the signed Page 2 as a separate Word file with your completed Assessment.

Interviewee Profile and Confirmation Signature

Name

Healthcare Organization

Unit/Department

Job Title

Years in Position

HR-Related Responsibilities

Relationship to You/How Identified for Interview

Interviewee’s Signature:

Conducting the Interview
There are 10 sets of question that follow for examining the performance management system in your interview subject’s healthcare organization. Keep the interview focus on the nurse executive’s unit (i.e., neonatal, critical care) to obtain as detailed information as possible: Take notes on the responses in the spaces on the right. If you record the interview, you are still encouraged to take notes on the person’s responses, as a safeguard in case there is any problem with the recording.
Questions	Responses
1. What criteria are used to evaluate employee performance within your specific unit (i.e., neonatal, critical care) in the healthcare organization? What are the sources of information (e.g., observation, patient satisfaction) that inform the criteria? How are the criteria communicated to employees?	1. Notes/verbatim quotes:
2. Basically, “performance management” refers to all activities carried out to manage and improve employee performance. This includes obtaining performance information and communicating this information to the employee; supervision; coaching; rewards; training; discipline; and at times, career development. Thinking about the performance management system for nurses in your specific unit, how does the system support development and retention of desired employee characteristics and behaviors? Note: Ask for both specific examples and comments on how well the system works.	2. Notes/verbatim quotes:
3. To what extent are the various components of performance management interconnected? For example, is performance appraisal information used to help identify training needs for employees?	3. Notes/verbatim quotes:
4. What types of training are provided to enhance employee performance and retention?	4. Notes/verbatim quotes:
5. How is information collected, maintained, consolidated, and summarized on employee performance and retention? What is the role of technology in this process, including ensuring privacy of employee information?	5. Notes/verbatim quotes:
6. Are peer reviews or multisource feedback (i.e., 360-degree feedback) used? If it is/has been used, what are/were its strengths and drawbacks? If it was tried and abandoned, why was it discontinued? What is your overall assessment of the multisource feedback, and circumstances (if any) when it might be useful?	6. Notes/verbatim quotes:
7. What are two types of training you would recommend to help prepare managers to discuss performance with employees?	7. Notes/verbatim quotes:
8. What are strengths of your performance management system to recommend as exemplars?	8. Notes/verbatim quotes:
9. What weaknesses in the performance management system need to be addressed? How do you know the nature of the weaknesses?	9. Notes/verbatim quotes:
10. What mechanisms are available, if any, for your employees to provide input on the performance management system?	10. Notes/verbatim quotes:
Analyzing and Reflecting on the Interview
Reflect on the results of the interview, including background information on the professional, the healthcare organization, and performance management system. Consider how you would summarize information gained in the interview using the Performance Management System Interview Matrix Template and your reflection paper to provide a thorough description of the performance management system. Consider strengths and weaknesses of the system, as described by the nurse executive and from your own analysis, and strategies and approaches you would recommend for addressing the weaknesses. As needed, follow up with your interviewee by phone or e-mail to clarify answers and conclusions. You may ask the nurse executive to review a draft of your interview summary to ensure that you captured the individual’s intent.
Completing the Competency Assessment
Part 1: Interview Matrix Summary Fill in the Performance Management System Interview Matrix Summary, provided with the Assessment materials, to create a visual summary of the information gathered through your interview with a nurse manager. Part 2: Interview Reflection In a separate Word document, write 2–3 pages that reflect on the interview and your overall impressions and that include the following: Briefly describe the professional you interviewed, including title, years of experience, and his/her healthcare organization (e.g., size, location, special services). Note: Be mindful of your interviewee’s privacy in the details you provide. Explain the concept of “performance management” that guided your interview and the interviewee’s responses. Evaluate the healthcare organization’s performance management system for effectiveness, drawing on the nurse executive’s assessment and your own conclusions. Describe characteristics and/or factors that stand out to you as contributing to the system’s strengths and weaknesses. Describe actions, strategies, or approaches you would recommend to address weaknesses in the system.
Final Submission Submit in three separate files: Performance Management System Interview Matrix Summary Interview Reflection Interviewee Profile and Confirmation Signature (Page 2 from this document)