Can We Mention in Appraisal Letters That Poor Performers Might Not Get Raises?

Hi,

Our employees assume that they are eligible for an increment despite their poor performance. Therefore, our management has decided to mention this in all our appraisal letters. Kindly advise whether we can do this by stating, "Under-performers may not be considered for any increment."

Thank you.

Hi,

Rather than mentioning the appraisal letter, it should be included in the terms and conditions of the appointment letter. You have not provided information about the nature of your employer's business. Your performance appraisal system should be robust to prevent employees from being adversely affected by biased scores from their superiors.

You have to discuss with these types of employees to know the reason for their poor performance and find the way in which they can provide their best to the company. You can consider them for an increment because you get more productivity when your employees are happy. Sit together and sort out the reasons; it will definitely work.

Developing a Strong Performance Appraisal System

You have to develop a policy on a strong performance appraisal system, where the performance of employees needs to be quantitatively measured by management. You need to establish specific measurements for performance (ratings—which can be numeric or alphabetic), and based on the performance rating, the amount of increment can be determined by management.

A poor performer should not receive an increment, but this should be communicated in writing—explaining why they are not being considered for an increment and urging them to improve their performance in the upcoming years.