Employee Denied Appraisal for 3 Years: How Should HR Address This Situation?

In my company, we have an employee who has not received any appraisal since joining us. He has been working for 3 years, and his manager informed him that he will not be given any appraisal. The manager mentioned that he can leave the company if he is seeking a salary hike. In this situation, as an HR professional, what actions can I take?

Thanks,
J

You have to give full details. Has this happened only in his case? Possible reasons? Is your company a small private firm? Please reply with full background so as to suggest properly.

Regards,
Vaishalee Parkhi

Finding the Real Cause

Is it the fault of the employee who has not received an appraisal for three consecutive years, or is it his boss?

As Vaishalee Parkhi and Pon have mentioned, in addition to providing complete organizational information to this forum for advice, please also inquire about the facts of the case.

Another aspect is, assuming you have a formal HR policy in place for Annual Appraisals, even the Manager is bound to follow them. If the employee is not performing well, then I am sure the employee needs to be counseled and, in the worst-case scenario, let go — as per the laid-out policy, not based on the whims and fancies of any official. If the employee is disliked by the Manager for personal reasons, HR has every right to intervene — with the focus being on the larger company's interests and not the manager's.

From a financial perspective, it's the company that is paying the employee's salary — not the Manager. Therefore, it's neither the Manager's prerogative nor right to waste company resources on an unfit employee. Frankly, if I were you (and you have every right as HR to ask such questions), I would first question the Manager for delaying a decision on the issue for 3 years. Based on this fact alone — that you mentioned — I think there may be more to the situation than meets the eye with regard to the manager. Please conduct your checks (if necessary, discreetly) and figure it out.

If you address the issues raised by Vaishalee Parkhi and Pon, members could provide more accurate guidance and suggestions.

Regards,
TS

Performance Management and Appraisal Concerns

You seem to be from the HR community. Be careful and professional while posting a query and also in the choice of words and terminologies. What do you mean by an employee not getting an appraisal for 3 years?

It is the responsibility of HR to form and implement a Performance Management System, to regularly appraise, measure, and report the performance of each employee to management as well as to the individual employee.

It seems the employee has not been offered any increment for the last 3 years, but has his performance been appraised through a formal system of appraisal? If someone's performance is found to be deficient through formal appraisal and hence the employee is not offered any increment, it is acceptable. In such a scenario, the employee needs to be helped and counseled to make him understand where and how he is not performing and not meeting the expectations of management. He also needs to be helped and guided to improve his performance.

Three years is a very long period. In case the performance has not improved despite all the right initiatives by management, then it is about time to say goodbye to the employee and find a replacement.

All the above points are the HR Department's responsibility.

Hi, in my company, we have an employee who has not received any appraisal since he joined us. He has been working for 3 years, and his manager told him, "I won't give you any appraisal; you can leave the company if you want a hike." In this case, as HR, what can I do?

Thanks,
J

Hi All, Thanks for your reply. The employee works well. His job is to provide data available for the business. Without his work, other people in the team cannot work. The manager does not want to give a hike. We are a small company where we don't have any particular HR department; as the department manager says, the other person in charge will handle it. There is no one to raise the issue about the appraisal of an employee; it just goes on. The employee should raise it to them. Now that I have stepped into the HR department, I would like to bring this issue to my management.

The manager always says that this person does not work. I really don't understand; if he does not work, how do the other people in the team work? It's purely partiality.

Thanks,
J

Based on what you mentioned, it's pretty obvious that it's the manager who needs to be given a pep talk by your boss—he may not listen to you at all, and there seems to be every chance that he could bad-mouth you too.

Just talk to the management regarding all issues, making this issue just one of the many you discuss. Given this manager's attitude, it looks as though he is very important to the organization—so if you focus too much on just this issue, the management may not take it in the right way. It's more about the timing and how you raise it than anything else.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Our seniors have already given you valid suggestions on what you need to do as an HR person. It is good that you are firm; you will solve this problem. I would suggest that you take your owner into confidence and gently impress upon them the need to empower you to bring facts to light and handle the situation your way. Be assertive and keep your owner/management informed. Usually, when an HR is introduced, especially in small firms, it is not well-received by the employees as it questions their autonomy.

It's a challenge for you, and I wish you the best of luck!

Regards,
Vaishalee Parkhi