How to manage your PMS

I am all performance review managed out.

Here's some words and phrases that were repeated often during yesterday's workshops:

management (as in change, risk, merger, performance review)
KRAs - Key Result Areas
KPIs - Key Performance Indicators
Benchmarking
SWOT analysis
Strategies
Actions
PMS - not what you think but rather generic acronym for a Performance Management System
Vision Statement
Mission Statement
Values Statement
Line managers

Words that were not mentioned except by me in my day dreaming:
Surveillance
Control
Superfluous Industry
Management speak has infiltrated every industry and sector
HR Jargon is mystifying because it doesn't actually mean anything
This is all very well in theory but will have trouble working in practice because no institution can fulfil the ideal that that theory requires to be able to work.
Is the contemporary theory of management of people and institutions actually a modern form of myth making so people in charge can sleep well at night safe in the knowledge that they are pretending that everything is working beautifully.

This last comment came late in my workshop induced stupor and perhaps may be considered by some a little cynical.

To be fair there were some interesting points about communicating in the workplace but again it requires enlightened, emotionally intelligent (another oft-repeated phrase) managers and supervisors for this to actually work in reality. I am lucky that I have one so I don't have any issues with taking part in the review process. In my area it's extremely low key because we all chat almost daily about how things are progressing. From the talk in the room though not all my colleagues are quite so fortunate.