Managing Contextual Performance

The pace of organizational change in the 21st century is accelerating. Fueled by technology and globalization, networked structures are replacing traditional hierarchical models and teams are becoming the primary organizational unit. Although the way that we work today is very different from the way we worked twenty years ago, effective management of employee performance is still a key to organizational success. Our rewards and recognition systems still focus primarily on task completion and goal achievement. But there is another side to employee performance that is equally important but often unrecognized and unrewarded, contextual performance. Contextual performance refers to activities that are not task - or goal - specific but that make individuals, teams, and organizations more effective and successful. This book chapter begins by defining contextual performance (distinguishing it from task performance) and then reviews the antecedents and outcomes of contextual performance. Next, we describe issues associated with managing contextual performance including appraising contextual performance, recognizing and rewarding contextual performance, the effect of the feedback environment on contextual performance, whether contextual performance does (or should) influence career development and advancement, and we conclude with legal considerations