COMPARATIVE STUDY REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES

The purpose of our study is to provide a up-to-date comparative analysis of the performance management practices implemented in public sector institutions in European Union countries and to identify the ones that could be successfully adapted to the public sector environment of countries which still need to put an effort into the reform and modernization of their human resources management system. Performance management practices create the connection between individual and organizational objectives and provide the necessary means to transform human resources system into a strategic partner within the organization. Our study, and particularly the analysis of the main performance management activities, have drawn upon extensive documentation regarding recent evolution of human resources practices, such as professional training, performance evaluation, motivation and career development, implemented in the civil service system of the group of countries considered for inclusion in the study. To meet current challenges, numerous EU member states have implemented actions aimed at reforming human resources management in the public sector and apply performance management principles. The challenge in implementing performance management principles consists in integrating this system with other human resources activities such as career development, promotion, learning and development, performance related pay (PRP). The success of implementing performance management largely depends on managers' capacity to properly appraise their subordinates as performance appraisal represents the main activity the performance management system. PRP represents an activity that recently has been integrated by numerous EU member states within the performance management system. However, further actions need to be taken in this area as often PRP has not reached its initial purpose and has not managed to contribute to increasing civil servants work motivation.