Facing Unfair Performance Ratings Due to Office Politics: How Can I Seek Justice?

Good afternoon everybody! I am a new member of CiteHR, and I am reading all posts regularly. Requesting all of you to give me your inputs regarding the below matter.

Background Information

1. I am working in a very well-known corporate/company in India.

2. Within the group, they have many businesses, and I am the HR of one of the businesses of this company.

Issue with Performance Ratings

3. The CEO froze our PMS ratings and then further sent them to Corporate HR. The CEO of this business has a secretary, and due to some personal animosity, she recommended to him to lower my ratings for the previous financial year 2012-2013.

4. She is very close to him, and being the CEO, he considers all her views.

5. He has communicated the same to the Corporate HR team, and accordingly, they have rated me with the lowest ratings.

Impact on Career

6. As far as my work is concerned, they had nothing negative to say, and thus, because of that secretary, I am bearing a huge loss in my career.

Seeking Assistance

7. I want justice, and for that, please help me to write a letter to them with some guidelines.

8. In fact, I just need help to get justice from Corporate HR, as I am not wrong anywhere from my end.

Regards

Dear petitioner,

It is a sad truth that in India, most companies do not follow a transparent appraisal system, and hence, such doubts do creep in. However, I would like to ask, do you have any proof to claim that you are rated low because of someone influencing the performance appraising team to rate you low for personal reasons? It is obvious that we all feel we have contributed the best we can and that the boss will never be satisfied with our work. However, it is very important to know what your roles and responsibilities are and what the Key Result Areas (KRA) are, on the basis of which your performance will be judged.

Are you aware of your KRA? Were they communicated to you before you started working, or are you assuming what your KRA are? Have you asked your line manager and concerned authority about where you lack in your performance so that you can improve in the coming tenure? What reasons have been stated?

Thank you for sharing your views. Please find below the details as required. The unfortunate reality is that everyone, from top to bottom, is aware of the truth. I am not the first victim; in fact, many of my colleagues have also experienced this situation. They were transferred to unwanted locations within the group.

Understanding Key Result Areas (KRAs)

As a professional HR person, I understand the significance of Key Result Areas (KRAs). According to the process, we have a standard online KRA form that everyone needs to fill out. The goal-setting occurs before the appraisal, mid-year review, and at the end of March for the year-end evaluation. I have my previous year's KRA form with my responsibilities detailed, as well as the Year-End Evaluation (YEE) form.

Line Manager's Reporting Structure

Regarding the line manager, he reports to the CEO and indirectly to his secretary. For his betterment, he follows the secretary's orders.

Regards,
Asha

Irrespective of designations, experience, and responsibilities, employees' KRA and related appraisal factors are bound to undergo changes in large corporations as management, market dynamics, and HR practices evolve. It is an issue where someone at a junior level can contest the higher-ups. Do not get into a loggerhead with top management. The best way to understand the situation is to study the performance versus expectations and discuss the issues with your immediate or reporting superiors. Even in any best HR practice, a certain amount of unintentional imbalance will be there. No employer is perfect, and no one employee is perfect in all respects.

Above all, in a career journey, you need to cross milestones, which are sometimes easy, and sometimes the road ahead is full of potholes. When you have a smooth ride, take pride and owe it to yourself. Similarly, when it is a rough ride, you need to introspect and owe it to yourself. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Stay on and observe. If you say you lose so much, just think, how much is so much? Politics, backbiting, sidelining, and overlooking are all part and parcel of everyday management. As long as you do not spell out openly with or without intention, you do not land in trouble. Be patient. This is one trait that many of the present generation managers and leaders do not possess.

All the best.

Regards,
V. Rangarajan (MIRA) Chennai.