How Often Should We Measure Performance in a Diverse Software Team? Seeking Advice!

Hi,

Ours is a software firm consisting of Product Engineers, Implementation Engineers, Testing Engineers, and a few administrative staff. We have 40 employees in Kochi, 20 in Bangalore, and some onsite. Kindly suggest some effective performance measurement systems. I have introduced an Appraisal Review every six months, which is just a review of work done. Is that sufficient for evaluating performance, or should I implement a weekly/monthly/quarterly measurement system? Please advise.

Warm Regards,
JM

Typically, all software companies, though not in the same order, have project-end appraisal, confirmation appraisal, and the annual appraisal (which typically results in a salary revision). As an organization, you should try to apply all of the above at a periodicity agreed upon by your management.

Then again, as most of us know, no performance appraisal is perfect, and most organizations spend a good amount of time analyzing the right fit. Nevertheless, it is good to have as many mechanisms as possible at regular intervals to get and share feedback with all concerned. This becomes even more critical with a knowledge-intensive industry like software.

I would suggest you go for a 360-degree appraisal. It might be costly and time-consuming, but it is 200% more effective than the traditional year-end appraisal.

Thank you!

Hi, I'm the HR Consultant for a company. We are basically into sales of HP products. Could you please let me know the techniques for measuring staff performance (clerical), how ratings are done, the scale used, and the ideal incentives for the respective scales.

To quote Deming...

Evaluation of performance, merit rating, or annual review... The idea of a merit rating is alluring. The sound of the words captivates the imagination: pay for what you get; get what you pay for; motivate people to do their best, for their own good. The effect is exactly the opposite of what the words promise.

Hi,

The PfM cannot take any standard way as mentioned in the textbooks. You can have a combination of methods which you feel may help you. 360-degree appraisal, as mentioned by one of the users above, is easy to suggest, but in reality, it consumes a lot of time. People will not have the patience to complete it.

Instead of a half-yearly review, you can opt for an annual performance appraisal, with short review meetings in between, say once every two or three months. This will help employees keep track of their deadlines and the level of completion of their goals. Keep the review meetings short and semi-formal.

Hope the info will be of some help to you.

Regards,
Nithya