First of all, Jimmy Brown holds a supervisory position and is responsible for a team morale and performance. In his case, the team is less multi-generational: the majority of his subordinates is within 20-40 years old, with only one outlier, which is closer to Jimmy’s own generation (above 50 years old). The key issue of Jimmy’s shift is high staff turnover, which can be caused by peculiarities of night shift, drawbacks of current training program or employees’ dissatisfaction with the terms of employment. Thus, the desired behaviors of Jimmy Brown that would help the company in achieving smoother performance include lowering staff turnover, providing high-quality training and assistance to newcomers, supporting employee morale and high-quality performance culture, and increasing reliability of business operations.

This can be measured by a system of qualitative and quantitative KPIs that would capture employee satisfaction (absenteeism and tardiness rates, staff turnover, satisfactory staff feedback), reliability of completed work during his shifts (output and quality measures, such as average processing time, order picking accuracy, expense controls etc.), and training efforts (number of provided training programs, retention rate of newcomers, innovation in the learning experience of new employees). As a Baby Boomer with traditional upbringing, Jimmy Brown is assumed to be more work-centric, ethical and goal oriented as compared to younger generations (Kane, 2017; Giang, 2013). Thus, Jimmy is more attracted to various career path opportunities and should be motivated by possible promotions and monetary bonuses for KPI completion. He also may need additional training to improve learning experience he provides to newcomers.

Legal implications of Jimmy’s performance management include potential requests for overtime pay or night shifts. In this case, the company’s management should underline direct link between goal-oriented KPIs and Jimmy’s pay, as well as underline possibility to change shift if positions are available. He also might question promotion decisions and appraisal results, thus it is advisable to maintain clear and consistent approach throughout goal setting, performance appraisal and remuneration. Effectiveness of this approach can be measured by Jimmy’s level of motivation and engagement, as well as achieved improvements in the work of his team.

Michael Johnson holds a similar supervisory position and manages the work of day shift. Although staff turnover in his team is lower as compared to Jimmy’s shift, it is still an issue of moderate importance. It should be noted that the workforce in his team is more multi-generational, which incurs certain challenges for work communication and climate. Therefore, during a goal-setting stage, a more precise focus should be set on supporting working environment and team communication. Overall, the desired behaviors of Michael Johnson that would help the company in achieving smoother performance include improving team climate and communication, supporting high-quality performance culture, increasing reliability of business operations, and lowering staff turnover rate.

A corresponding KPI metrics system would evaluate team climate (surveyed employee engagement, team-working climate and trust), reliability of completed work during his shifts (output and quality measures, such as average processing time, order picking accuracy, expense controls etc.), and employee satisfaction (absenteeism and tardiness rates, staff turnover, satisfactory staff feedback). Michael Johnson belongs to Generation X (1965 – 1980 years of birth) and experienced psychological effects of growing without father in the unstable environment. Thus, he is more likely to be prone to refusal to conformation, focused at improving his skills and acquiring new ones, and disliking unnecessary formality. In his case, employee performance management would require regular and more detailed feedback, as well as explaining the existing KPIs from perspective of his own career goals or development. Compensation program should be focused on monetary remuneration and personal development, for example, managers might offer to compensate soft and hard skills training programs.

Legal implications of Michael’s performance management include potential complaints on vague performance standards, unbalanced appraisals, untimely feedback, etc., which could addressed by more consistent and accurate performance management. Effectiveness of this approach can be measured by Michael’s agreement and satisfaction with appraisal management, as well as achieved improvements in the work of his team.