Air Force Base (AFB) Ysterplaat, which forms part of the South African Air Force (SAAF) is one of the many organisations who has grappled with the concept of performance management and its measurement over the years. At present, AFB Ysterplaat employs a performance management (PM) tool that only measures the tactical level of performance, namely the employee’s personal performance. Significantly however, AFB Ysterplaat does not have an approved PM tool or model to measure the other two levels of PM, namely strategic and operational performance.

This paper presents the findings of an explorative study on the strategic performance management at AFB Ysterplaat. The research objective of this study was to determine the elements required by AFB Ysterplaat in regard of performance management. A triangulated mixed method approach was used to analyse data from four operational units at AFB Ysterplaat. During the quantitative phase, questionnaires were used to collect data (n=85) from the different nominal subgroups (ranks). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v27. Concurrently, semi structured interviews (n=2) were used during the qualitative phase of this study to gather data from participants who are considered knowledgeable regarding management approaches and performance management and systems. The data collected from the interviews was used to corroborate the findings of the questionnaires. The triangulated mixed methods enabled the researcher to produce a comprehensive, credible and cross-validated conclusion. Ethical clearance for this research was granted through Cape Peninsula University of Technology institutional channels.

The findings of this study showed that although the management processes, vision, mission of AFB Ysterplaat were clear to the strategic, operational and tactical levels of management, there was limited knowledge of strategic performance management systems and tools. This research contributes to filling the knowledge gaps in literature at Air Force Bases regarding strategic performance management. The paper concludes with the implications and limitations of the study and recommendations for future research.