Hi,
I was just reading an article on Business Week Online June 28, 2005 edition, about Performance appraisals and came across this piece of article.
WHY PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS DON'T WORK?
Performance appraisals won´t work unless upper management takes interest. Senior management needs to be closely aligned with human resource executives on company goals, employee evaluation methods and the importance of performance appraisals. A company needs to view its appraisal system as a core component of the business.
Another reason that appraisals fail is because managers don´t know how to assess employees and don´t receive adequate training on how to carry out a productive review. An untrained evaluator may:
Have difficulty gauging work that doesn´t produce measurable results.
Give glowing appraisals based on one outstanding employee skill rather than on total performance (the halo effect).
Tend to stick to safer middle-ground evaluations, rather than using the full range of a performance rating scale.
Rate behavior rather than work performance. An employee who´s pleasant and always looks busy may cloud an appraiser´s perception.
Show bias toward employees that exhibit characteristics similar to their own.
Have difficulty accurately assessing the behavior of individuals by applying uniform standards of judgment.
It is told that if the PA does not work then it would do more harm than good. I surely agree with this. But there are some more points raised in my mind.
1. What is the HRs Role in PA? Is it only co-ordinating between the reviewer and the reviewee and setting up the meetings?
2. Where exactly does the HR pitch in to make it a fair deal?
3. Is it necessary that the HR also interact with the employee on his/her performance? If yes, then what do they talk?
4. What is the ideal way of recording or storing the info received from the PA?
It would be of a great help if anyone could clear my doubts. Also if you could refer me any books which gives a practical glimpse of the Performance Appraisal practises especially with in the IT field, or any site which would provide this info.
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)
Amend(0)
16I was just reading an article on Business Week Online June 28, 2005 edition, about Performance appraisals and came across this piece of article.
WHY PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS DON'T WORK?
Performance appraisals won´t work unless upper management takes interest. Senior management needs to be closely aligned with human resource executives on company goals, employee evaluation methods and the importance of performance appraisals. A company needs to view its appraisal system as a core component of the business.
Another reason that appraisals fail is because managers don´t know how to assess employees and don´t receive adequate training on how to carry out a productive review. An untrained evaluator may:
Have difficulty gauging work that doesn´t produce measurable results.
Give glowing appraisals based on one outstanding employee skill rather than on total performance (the halo effect).
Tend to stick to safer middle-ground evaluations, rather than using the full range of a performance rating scale.
Rate behavior rather than work performance. An employee who´s pleasant and always looks busy may cloud an appraiser´s perception.
Show bias toward employees that exhibit characteristics similar to their own.
Have difficulty accurately assessing the behavior of individuals by applying uniform standards of judgment.
It is told that if the PA does not work then it would do more harm than good. I surely agree with this. But there are some more points raised in my mind.
1. What is the HRs Role in PA? Is it only co-ordinating between the reviewer and the reviewee and setting up the meetings?
2. Where exactly does the HR pitch in to make it a fair deal?
3. Is it necessary that the HR also interact with the employee on his/her performance? If yes, then what do they talk?
4. What is the ideal way of recording or storing the info received from the PA?
It would be of a great help if anyone could clear my doubts. Also if you could refer me any books which gives a practical glimpse of the Performance Appraisal practises especially with in the IT field, or any site which would provide this info.
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Dear all,
The basic reason why P.A. doesn't work is that there are very few methods to track human performance. Secondly, P.A. is also affected by current performance. For example, if you perform well two months before your P.A. review, you will have a good appraisal; if you perform poorly during that time, your P.A. would be bad. Managers need to understand this concept to eliminate all biases. What do you say?
Regards,
Vishal
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
The basic reason why P.A. doesn't work is that there are very few methods to track human performance. Secondly, P.A. is also affected by current performance. For example, if you perform well two months before your P.A. review, you will have a good appraisal; if you perform poorly during that time, your P.A. would be bad. Managers need to understand this concept to eliminate all biases. What do you say?
Regards,
Vishal
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Vishal,
I completely agree with you on that. I have come across this incident and unfortunately, despite being the HR, I could not do anything.
Also, the lack of knowledge for both the reviewer and the reviewee affects the PA process. What do you say? I wanted to implement the 360 degrees here at my office, but without the proper understanding of it, it would do more harm, so I had to drop the idea.
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
I completely agree with you on that. I have come across this incident and unfortunately, despite being the HR, I could not do anything.
Also, the lack of knowledge for both the reviewer and the reviewee affects the PA process. What do you say? I wanted to implement the 360 degrees here at my office, but without the proper understanding of it, it would do more harm, so I had to drop the idea.
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Soumya,
P.A. is a specialized tool; lack of knowledge on it does more harm than good. The problem is functional people think they know the best as they have real-time experience. It is at this point when they challenge the credibility of HR, though they don't understand that they are a key to it. So, they should respect it. What HR does is more of consolidation. What say?
Regards,
Vishal
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
P.A. is a specialized tool; lack of knowledge on it does more harm than good. The problem is functional people think they know the best as they have real-time experience. It is at this point when they challenge the credibility of HR, though they don't understand that they are a key to it. So, they should respect it. What HR does is more of consolidation. What say?
Regards,
Vishal
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi, How can we calculate the productivity index of a company, as in how can we calculate the productivity of a company in total.
From India, Ludhiana
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
From India, Ludhiana
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
One of the reasons that we faced is that we have an online company intranet for Performance Appraisal forms. These are regularly filled out every quarter. However, all you get is a generic hike in your pay. When you negotiate with the functional heads, the hike that an individual receives can be double his salary.
What actually happened was that the performance appraisal showed extraordinary performance, but the senior management did not react correctly to it and did not provide a hike proportionate to the appraisal result. This makes the employee think that the performance appraisal is just a formality; to some extent, it has become just that in our company. The best way to get a hike is to negotiate with the functional head frequently on the salary front.
The solution to this issue could only be one: that the senior management takes the evaluation, the results, and the follow-up steps seriously and efficiently so that the appraisal system can truly be implemented and accepted in the true spirit.
From India, Ahmadabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
What actually happened was that the performance appraisal showed extraordinary performance, but the senior management did not react correctly to it and did not provide a hike proportionate to the appraisal result. This makes the employee think that the performance appraisal is just a formality; to some extent, it has become just that in our company. The best way to get a hike is to negotiate with the functional head frequently on the salary front.
The solution to this issue could only be one: that the senior management takes the evaluation, the results, and the follow-up steps seriously and efficiently so that the appraisal system can truly be implemented and accepted in the true spirit.
From India, Ahmadabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi,
I do agree with Ajmal that upon negotiating the hike might be raised, but that would be a total bias, and the employees may not have trust in the HR department. Also, in our company, we have the percentage of hike linked to the points scored. There is a minimum points threshold that you need to score; beyond that, every point counts. This would minimize bias.
However, no matter how cautious one may be, there are loopholes in every system and process. What do you say?
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
I do agree with Ajmal that upon negotiating the hike might be raised, but that would be a total bias, and the employees may not have trust in the HR department. Also, in our company, we have the percentage of hike linked to the points scored. There is a minimum points threshold that you need to score; beyond that, every point counts. This would minimize bias.
However, no matter how cautious one may be, there are loopholes in every system and process. What do you say?
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Solution for this could only be one: that the senior management takes the evaluation, the result, and the follow-up steps seriously and efficiently so that the appraisal system can really be implemented and accepted in the true spirit.
As I mentioned in the last post, there is no fault in the system, but the implementation of the system is not done according to the norms. There are various reasons for this, some of which can be listed as follows:
1. The company does not want to give a hike in pay.
2. The HR personnel are busy.
3. The employees have not received training in handling the appraisal system.
4. The senior management is not confident about the appraisal results.
The list could be much longer, for example, an HR manager may want to keep the cost to the company of an employee low, so they might not give a raise to everybody and wait until someone comes to negotiate. That way, they would be able to save some months' pay hike. Not a good idea, but many HR people/companies adopt it.
From India, Ahmadabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
As I mentioned in the last post, there is no fault in the system, but the implementation of the system is not done according to the norms. There are various reasons for this, some of which can be listed as follows:
1. The company does not want to give a hike in pay.
2. The HR personnel are busy.
3. The employees have not received training in handling the appraisal system.
4. The senior management is not confident about the appraisal results.
The list could be much longer, for example, an HR manager may want to keep the cost to the company of an employee low, so they might not give a raise to everybody and wait until someone comes to negotiate. That way, they would be able to save some months' pay hike. Not a good idea, but many HR people/companies adopt it.
From India, Ahmadabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Ajmal,
You are absolutely right. When we here at the forum keep discussing the right procedures and ethics, there is another part of the corporate world that does not believe in all these. For them, they want to make money by hook or by crook. My previous employer was one such as you just mentioned. According to me, there are two possibilities for change: 1. They understand that people are what make an organization and not profits. 2. There is an HR Revolution. What do you say?
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
You are absolutely right. When we here at the forum keep discussing the right procedures and ethics, there is another part of the corporate world that does not believe in all these. For them, they want to make money by hook or by crook. My previous employer was one such as you just mentioned. According to me, there are two possibilities for change: 1. They understand that people are what make an organization and not profits. 2. There is an HR Revolution. What do you say?
Regards,
Soumya Shankar
From India, Bangalore
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Soms,
Yes, you are right. Some of the companies do have a concept of profit above everything else, and that does show in their HR policies. But, I think that they have a very short vision. If you are able to make your company a "Best Place to Work For" over the longer period, you will have one of the best resources working for you, who in turn will take the profitability to newer heights.
From India, Ahmadabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Yes, you are right. Some of the companies do have a concept of profit above everything else, and that does show in their HR policies. But, I think that they have a very short vision. If you are able to make your company a "Best Place to Work For" over the longer period, you will have one of the best resources working for you, who in turn will take the profitability to newer heights.
From India, Ahmadabad
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Maybe managers should be appraised on how they prepare for and conduct appraisals (with the employee's agreement?). A sample for each manager could be evaluated in this way with feedback being directly provided in the areas of risk.
From Australia, Ballarat
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
From Australia, Ballarat
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi! PA does not work with the wrong concepts and tools! Get the right concept and tool, orient all employees about it, and train your raters. Best wishes.
Ed Llarena, Jr.
Managing Partner
Emilla Consulting
From Philippines, Parañaque
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Ed Llarena, Jr.
Managing Partner
Emilla Consulting
From Philippines, Parañaque
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Soumya Great article. I am writing a paper on Management Performance Systems and this is fantastic! Do you know of any other online publications? Thanks for your help
From Australia, Sydney
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
From Australia, Sydney
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Sowmya,
I came across an article on "Why PAs don't work?". It highlights 10 stupid things a Manager must not do while doing appraisals:
Just go through:
(This article is based on the book: Performance Management - Why Doesn't It Work, and the McGraw-Hill book entitled Performance Management released in October 1998. Copyright 1998 Robert Bacal. This article may not be reproduced without permission.)
Performance appraisals aren't fun. But a lot of the time they are agonizing because managers do really dumb things, ending up destroying a process that is important to everyone (or should be).
Stupid Thing #1: Spending more time on performance appraisal than performance PLANNING, or ongoing performance communication.
Performance appraisal is the end of a process that goes on all the time - a process that is based on good communication between manager and employee. So, more time should be spent preventing performance problems than evaluating at the end of the year. When managers do good things during the year, the appraisal is easy to do and comfortable because there won't be any surprises.
Stupid Thing #2: Comparing employees with each other.
Want to create bad feelings, damage morale, get staff to compete so badly they will not work as a team? Then rank staff or compare staff. A guaranteed technique. And heck, not only can a manager create friction among staff, but the manager can become a great target for that hostility too. A bonus!
Stupid Thing #3: Forgetting appraisal is about improvement, not blame.
We do appraisal to improve performance, not find a donkey to pin a tail on or blame. Managers who forget this end up developing staff who don't trust them, or even can't stand them. That's because the blaming process is pointless and doesn't help anyone. If there is to be a point to performance appraisal it should be getting manager and employee working together to have everyone get better.
Stupid Thing #4: Thinking a rating form is an objective, impartial tool.
Many companies use rating forms to evaluate employees (you know, the 1-5 ratings?). They do that because it's faster than doing it right. The problem comes when managers believe that those ratings are in some way "real" or anything but subjective, often vague judgments that are bound to be subjective and inaccurate. By the way, if you have two people rate the same employee, the chances of them agreeing are very small. THAT'S subjective. Say it to yourself over and over. Ratings are subjective. Rating forms are subjective. Rating forms are not behavioral.
Stupid Thing #5: Stopping performance appraisal when a person's salary is no longer tied to the appraisals.
Lots of managers do this. They conduct appraisals so long as they have to do so to justify or withhold a pay increase. When staff hit their salary ceiling, or pay is not connected to appraisal and performance, managers don't bother. Dumb. Performance appraisal is FOR improving performance. It isn't just about pay (although some think it is ONLY about pay). If nothing else, everyone needs feedback on their jobs, whether there is money involved or not.
Stupid Thing #6: Believing they are in a position to accurately assess staff.
Managers delude themselves into believing they can assess staff performance, even if they hardly ever see their staff actually doing their jobs or the results of their jobs). Not possible. Most managers aren't in a position to monitor staff consistently enough to be able to assess well. And, besides what manager wants to do that or has the time. And, what employee wants their manager perched, watching their every mood. That's why appraisal is a partnership between employee and manager.
Stupid Thing #7: Cancelling or postponing appraisal meetings.
Happens a whole lot. I guess because nobody likes to do them, so managers will postpone them at the drop of a hat. Why is this bad? It says to employees that the process is unimportant or phony. If managers aren't willing to commit to the process, then they shouldn't do it at all. Employees are too smart not to notice the low priority placed on appraisals.
Stupid Thing #8: Measuring or appraising the trivial.
Fact of life: The easiest things to measure or evaluate are the least important things with respect to doing a job. Managers are quick to define customer service as "answering the phone within three rings", or some such thing. That's easy to measure if you want to. What's NOT easy to measure is the overall quality of service that will get and keep customers. Measuring overall customer service is hard, so many managers don't do it. But they will measure the trivial.
Stupid Thing #9: Surprising employees during appraisal.
Want to really waste your time and create bad performance? This is a guaranteed technique. Don't talk to staff during the year. When they mess up, don't deal with it at the time but SAVE it up. Then, at the appraisal meeting, truck out everything saved up in the bank and dump it in the employee's lap. That'll show 'em who is boss!
Stupid Thing #10: Thinking all employees and all jobs should be assessed in exactly the same way using the same procedures.
Do all employees need the same things to improve their performance? Of course not. Some need specific feedback. Some don't. Some need more communication than others. And of course jobs are all different. Do you think we can evaluate the CEO of Ford using the same approach as we use for the person who cleans the factory floor? Of course not. So, why do managers insist on evaluating the receptionist using the same tools and criteria as the civil engineers in the office?
It's dumb. One size does not fit all. Actually, why do managers do this? Mostly because the personnel or human resource office leans on them to do so. It's almost understandable, but that doesn't make it any less dumb.
From India,
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
I came across an article on "Why PAs don't work?". It highlights 10 stupid things a Manager must not do while doing appraisals:
Just go through:
(This article is based on the book: Performance Management - Why Doesn't It Work, and the McGraw-Hill book entitled Performance Management released in October 1998. Copyright 1998 Robert Bacal. This article may not be reproduced without permission.)
Performance appraisals aren't fun. But a lot of the time they are agonizing because managers do really dumb things, ending up destroying a process that is important to everyone (or should be).
Stupid Thing #1: Spending more time on performance appraisal than performance PLANNING, or ongoing performance communication.
Performance appraisal is the end of a process that goes on all the time - a process that is based on good communication between manager and employee. So, more time should be spent preventing performance problems than evaluating at the end of the year. When managers do good things during the year, the appraisal is easy to do and comfortable because there won't be any surprises.
Stupid Thing #2: Comparing employees with each other.
Want to create bad feelings, damage morale, get staff to compete so badly they will not work as a team? Then rank staff or compare staff. A guaranteed technique. And heck, not only can a manager create friction among staff, but the manager can become a great target for that hostility too. A bonus!
Stupid Thing #3: Forgetting appraisal is about improvement, not blame.
We do appraisal to improve performance, not find a donkey to pin a tail on or blame. Managers who forget this end up developing staff who don't trust them, or even can't stand them. That's because the blaming process is pointless and doesn't help anyone. If there is to be a point to performance appraisal it should be getting manager and employee working together to have everyone get better.
Stupid Thing #4: Thinking a rating form is an objective, impartial tool.
Many companies use rating forms to evaluate employees (you know, the 1-5 ratings?). They do that because it's faster than doing it right. The problem comes when managers believe that those ratings are in some way "real" or anything but subjective, often vague judgments that are bound to be subjective and inaccurate. By the way, if you have two people rate the same employee, the chances of them agreeing are very small. THAT'S subjective. Say it to yourself over and over. Ratings are subjective. Rating forms are subjective. Rating forms are not behavioral.
Stupid Thing #5: Stopping performance appraisal when a person's salary is no longer tied to the appraisals.
Lots of managers do this. They conduct appraisals so long as they have to do so to justify or withhold a pay increase. When staff hit their salary ceiling, or pay is not connected to appraisal and performance, managers don't bother. Dumb. Performance appraisal is FOR improving performance. It isn't just about pay (although some think it is ONLY about pay). If nothing else, everyone needs feedback on their jobs, whether there is money involved or not.
Stupid Thing #6: Believing they are in a position to accurately assess staff.
Managers delude themselves into believing they can assess staff performance, even if they hardly ever see their staff actually doing their jobs or the results of their jobs). Not possible. Most managers aren't in a position to monitor staff consistently enough to be able to assess well. And, besides what manager wants to do that or has the time. And, what employee wants their manager perched, watching their every mood. That's why appraisal is a partnership between employee and manager.
Stupid Thing #7: Cancelling or postponing appraisal meetings.
Happens a whole lot. I guess because nobody likes to do them, so managers will postpone them at the drop of a hat. Why is this bad? It says to employees that the process is unimportant or phony. If managers aren't willing to commit to the process, then they shouldn't do it at all. Employees are too smart not to notice the low priority placed on appraisals.
Stupid Thing #8: Measuring or appraising the trivial.
Fact of life: The easiest things to measure or evaluate are the least important things with respect to doing a job. Managers are quick to define customer service as "answering the phone within three rings", or some such thing. That's easy to measure if you want to. What's NOT easy to measure is the overall quality of service that will get and keep customers. Measuring overall customer service is hard, so many managers don't do it. But they will measure the trivial.
Stupid Thing #9: Surprising employees during appraisal.
Want to really waste your time and create bad performance? This is a guaranteed technique. Don't talk to staff during the year. When they mess up, don't deal with it at the time but SAVE it up. Then, at the appraisal meeting, truck out everything saved up in the bank and dump it in the employee's lap. That'll show 'em who is boss!
Stupid Thing #10: Thinking all employees and all jobs should be assessed in exactly the same way using the same procedures.
Do all employees need the same things to improve their performance? Of course not. Some need specific feedback. Some don't. Some need more communication than others. And of course jobs are all different. Do you think we can evaluate the CEO of Ford using the same approach as we use for the person who cleans the factory floor? Of course not. So, why do managers insist on evaluating the receptionist using the same tools and criteria as the civil engineers in the office?
It's dumb. One size does not fit all. Actually, why do managers do this? Mostly because the personnel or human resource office leans on them to do so. It's almost understandable, but that doesn't make it any less dumb.
From India,
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)CiteHR is an AI-augmented HR knowledge and collaboration platform, enabling HR professionals to solve real-world challenges, validate decisions, and stay ahead through collective intelligence and machine-enhanced guidance. Join Our Platform.
Role of hr.zip
Changing role of HR.ppt