The above-mentioned article has been published in today's Economic Times. Though the article is not published in today's print edition of Bangalore city, it could be published in a day or two. The link to the article is below:
IBM and Infosys reject bell curve, more companies to follow suit - The Economic Times
Main Points of the Article:
If you read the article, you will find that the appraisal system has changed because of the following reasons:
a) Changes in the job market scenario. Millennials, i.e., those who have joined the workforce after 2000, quit jobs frequently. The Bell Curve is not suitable for the current job market scenario.
b) The article says: "This group of people we manage today want fast, frequent, instant, and more feedback," said Richard Lobo, senior vice-president at Infosys, where millennials form nearly 85% of the workforce. "These youngsters are driven and are comfortable being measured against something they understand, unlike the earlier generations," he said.
My Comments on the Article or Bell Curve:
The news article does not mention the inherent flaws of the Bell Curve Appraisal method. In this method, people are rated as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Average, etc., and for each rating, the percentage is fixed. Now suppose, for the "Excellent" category, if the maximum percentage allotted is 10, and if the organization has more than 10% "Excellent" performers, then some of the employees are required to be downgraded to the "Very Good" slab. Is this not an injustice to them? Conversely, if the organization does not have 10% "Excellent" performers, to fulfill the quota, managers might upgrade a few employees from a "Very Good" rating to "Excellent."
Final Comments:
When I provide consulting services to establish a Performance Management System (PMS), I have eliminated the innate flaw of the Bell Curve Appraisal Method. Though I maintain the same grading structure while designing the PMS, the focus is more on the accuracy of the measurement of performance and understanding how many employees are falling in each performance slab. The truthfulness of data emerged from the analysis of the performance cycle helps organizations to design their recruitment or training policies.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
IBM and Infosys reject bell curve, more companies to follow suit - The Economic Times
Main Points of the Article:
If you read the article, you will find that the appraisal system has changed because of the following reasons:
a) Changes in the job market scenario. Millennials, i.e., those who have joined the workforce after 2000, quit jobs frequently. The Bell Curve is not suitable for the current job market scenario.
b) The article says: "This group of people we manage today want fast, frequent, instant, and more feedback," said Richard Lobo, senior vice-president at Infosys, where millennials form nearly 85% of the workforce. "These youngsters are driven and are comfortable being measured against something they understand, unlike the earlier generations," he said.
My Comments on the Article or Bell Curve:
The news article does not mention the inherent flaws of the Bell Curve Appraisal method. In this method, people are rated as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Average, etc., and for each rating, the percentage is fixed. Now suppose, for the "Excellent" category, if the maximum percentage allotted is 10, and if the organization has more than 10% "Excellent" performers, then some of the employees are required to be downgraded to the "Very Good" slab. Is this not an injustice to them? Conversely, if the organization does not have 10% "Excellent" performers, to fulfill the quota, managers might upgrade a few employees from a "Very Good" rating to "Excellent."
Final Comments:
When I provide consulting services to establish a Performance Management System (PMS), I have eliminated the innate flaw of the Bell Curve Appraisal Method. Though I maintain the same grading structure while designing the PMS, the focus is more on the accuracy of the measurement of performance and understanding how many employees are falling in each performance slab. The truthfulness of data emerged from the analysis of the performance cycle helps organizations to design their recruitment or training policies.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar