10 Aug 2017

Continuous improvement is a vital part of performance management, hence the endeavor to be always sincere, authentic and impartial when appraising employees so that they know how much they and their efforts are appreciated, says Mozambican Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Domingos Fernandes.

Speaking at the Department of National Museum and Monuments’ 2016/17 Excellence and Distinction Awards recently, Mr Fernandes said as part of its belief system, the department strove to recognise and reinforce desired behaviors and performance through simple acts like a pat on the back, a few positive and encouraging words, a letter of commendation, public verbal recognition and a simple but heartfelt thank you to officers on a daily basis.    

He said it was a well-known secret that those employees who feel appreciated, recognised and valued were more likely to continue working even harder, stating that the department was an institution that existed to protect, preserve and promote Botswana’s cultural and natural heritage for posterity.

The ambassador said this mandate was diffused through its divisions in the area of archaeology, zoology, geology, botany, ethnology, history, heritage management and communications.

Mr Fernandes said he was informed that each financial year the department drew up an annual performance plan as a result of consolidating divisional plans for the year, and every officer was therefore required to derive an annual performance contract from the two plans to guide and direct individual performance and contribution.

He said the performance contract was reviewed quarterly which in the end measured the individual annual performance hence the gathering today to recognise both individual and group performance.

He further said rewarding good performance was a challenging task which had to be done in a manner that was transparent and in this case performance reviews of the individual’s contract to ensure that those deserving were rewarded.

Mr Fernandes said the theme of the awards, Inspiring Performance in Heritage Management gave Botswana National Museum renewed impetus to the national aspirations of monument development for diversification of the tourism product.

He applauded those rewarded for their hard labour and also thanked those who were not fortunate to receive an award and said they deserve to be thanked because it was through the tough competition that they gave to the recipients throughout the year.

Mr Fernandes urged them to take this as a challenge and strive to be the recipients of the same awards next year and said the most important thing to remembered was that their good performance was a contribution towards the national aspiration of prosperity for all. ENDS