Employees are said to be an organisation's greatest asset. This has become the rallying cry of most major organisations around the world. The tendency from management is to manage people rather than the environment in which they perform. We live in a world where the major investments in an organisation are made in the technical environment and not necessarily in its employees.

The burning question is then how do we invest in our employees?

The answer could perhaps be found in applying performance management correctly. Performance management is primarily about the alignment of an organisation's objectives with the employees' skill set, competency and development needs, and coupled with the delivery on jointly agreed upon measures. The focus of performance management should be on continuous improvement, development, and learning aimed at achieving the organisational objectives. The ultimate aim should be in striving towards a high performance workforce.