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Article
Where Lies The Effectiveness of the Performance Management system
By Nagendra Prasad
(With Permission from
Humanlinks.com)
Meritocracy, the system we all espouse, in order to succeed requires
not only well designed appraisal formats to assess the performance of
employees, but more importantly a well planned and conducted appraisal
process. Appraisal process must be conducted with great objectivity,
sincerity and commitment giving the importance it deserves. Generally
there are two things which determine how successful a performance
appraisal system is in place in an organization. 1) The
contents/design of the performance appraisal form and 2) the manner in
which Performance Appraisal is conducted. While organizations lay
great emphasis on the contents/design part, spending much of time,
money and
energy on designing most suitable, objective, comprehensive…. formats,
it comes to a naught if the appraising process is not conducted
properly. Effectiveness of the performance appraisal system depends on
how seriously it is perceived, importance given to it by both the
subordinate and reporting officer, and the impact it is going to have
on possible rewards and punishments.
Organizations use
performance appraisal records for a variety of things. But the best
way of utilizing them is to develop people and improve their
performance through a clear understanding of their work goals, so that
they realize and reach what Maslow calls “Self actualization” (i.e.
fully realizing their potential and thereby achieving their own
professional and also organizational goals). In organizations where
performance appraisal is used for reward and punishment, great care
must be taken so that it forms objective, honest and accurate record
of formal evaluation of on the job performance of the employee and
supports
or corroborates the kind of rewards and punishments proposed. The
achievement of the stated objective is the mutual responsibility of
both the reporting officer and the subordinate by making the appraisal
process as objective as possible. It should be a joint participative,
sensitive and positive exercise rather than being one sided,
evaluative and judgmental.
Generally the
performance appraisal formats have the following components:
1. Mutually (Reporting Officer and the subordinate) agreed Key Result
Activities (KRAs)/Goals/Tasks that must be attained or accomplished by
the appraisee (one who is to be appraised).
2. Identification of Training and Development needs of the appraisee
and other support systems he needs to accomplish/attain the mutually
agreed KRAs.
3. Self-appraisal by the employee on his performance vis-à-vis the
KRAs.
4. Analysis and recording of the employees’ performance parameters,
after mutual discussion between the appraiser (one who does the
appraisal who is usually the reporting officer) and the employee.
5. Ratings on personal attributes of the employee.
6. Communication in terms of feedback to the employee by the reporting
officer for his development and increasing his effectiveness and
feedback to the top management on the kind of rewards and punishments
that may be bestowed on the employee, if performance appraisal is used
for such purpose.
Emphasis should be on
setting of Key Result Tasks/Individual Goals, which cascade from
Groups’ Key Result Activities/Group goals, which in turn are derived
from organizations’ vision, mission and objectives. Appraisal should
record performance vis-à-vis expectations/goals set and be assessed
not merely by quantified measurement but also by qualitative
performance indicators as also place emphasis on how results are
achieved. For example in attaining the individual goals, the macro
environment and other factors which are outside the control of an
individual or the organization may at times be so favorable that
realizing targets becomes so easy and excellent performance may be
attained with out corresponding effort which normally should have gone
to obtain it. Similarly when macro environment is not conducive, in
spite of the best efforts of the employee there may not be significant
results. Often an employee might resort to pressure tactics and may
have scant regard for humane approach in obtaining work from the
subordinates, or he be so obsessed with achieving of quantified
targets deviating from the accepted or desired mode of process of
attaining such goals like for e.g. deviating from organisation values,
ethics, or
destroying the spirit of teamwork in the process of attaining the
goals, etc. The appraisal system should be participatory and not a top
down one in analyzing these things. Infact it should be a culmination
and reflection of yearlong learning on mutual interactions, rather
than merely filling up the contents of goals achieved and tick marking
the relevant ratings of individual attributes.
Again in whatsoever design
we incorporate the above, the process of filling in those blank spaces
is crucial. For e.g. the mutually agreed KRAs/Goals comprises of 1)
Routine Job/Position responsibilities and 2) new initiatives to be
taken up. The new initiatives can be, improved or creative work
processes, leading to efficiency and effectiveness and leaving a
lasting positive effect that will henceforth become the standard work
procedure. When the appraiser rates an employee, mere execution of the
routine position responsibilities should not be given excellent /
outstanding ratings. Reporting officers should therefore
clarify their expectations of the employee at the time of setting
goals and there should not be any miscommunication between them. It
must also be made clear that the modus operand of attaining such goals
should fall in line with accepted norms of work culture. Sometimes it
can so happen that in the organization due to changing focus,
priorities, and exigencies, there may arise a need to alter the KRAs
set for an employee at the time goal setting, or an employee may be
transferred to a different functional area, or region, there by his
job becomes different or altered. Similar circumstances may arise when
the reporting officer
is replaced by a new one who may have a different perspective of focus
and priorities. Sometimes the reporting officers get displaced shortly
before the appraisal process commences. In those events again
conducting the appraisal becomes far more important and the process
should take into account the background of events.
Identification of Training
needs in the appraisal format should be to cover the gap between the
existing competencies and the desired competencies to achieve the set
goals/KRAs. Such training needs should be catered immediately by the
Reporting officer so that it facilitates the individual employee to
attain the goals set for him. It should not become an opportunity to
the employee to let loose his fanciful ideas to get trained in skills
not necessarily required for accomplishing his
tasks nor should provide an opportunity to the reporting officer to
please his subordinate by providing him paid holiday of sorts to
distant places in the name of providing training. Having identified
the training needs of the employee, it becomes the responsibility of
the Reporting Officer to ensure that such training needs are taken
care of on a timely basis. If not provided, next years’ appraisal
report should highlight it and the employee should be given due
weightage on his performance. Self appraisal is an important feature
of the appraisal format for it provides a perspective from employees’
point of view. It communicates
his contributions, accomplishments and reflections on various
facilitating and inhibiting factors which played a role on attaining
or otherwise of the goals he set for himself. His failures, and the
capabilities he could discover within himself in the process or the
capabilities he felt he lacked and the support or otherwise he
obtained from his reporting officers and other colleagues and his
views on how
plans to overcome them. It provides a viewpoint or a perspective to
the reporting officer to objectively form his opinion on the
performance of employee and expected future levels of performance from
him. Analysis of performance of the employee through mutual discussion
is a very crucial aspect where the design of the performance appraisal
format is of less importance than the process of conducting it.
Reporting officer should not let their own biases creep in, put the
subordinate at ease, set a constructive tone, listen to subordinates’
self appraisal, present his own evaluation of subordinates’ on the job
performance,
discuss areas of difference of opinion and arrive at mutually agreed
workable solutions for realizing future goals and for the fulfillment
of professional goals of the subordinate and the organizational goals.
While rating on the personal attributes it is important for the
reporting officer to go through the definitions of each attributes to
maintain uniformity in understanding among all the reporting officers
in the organization. While rating on attributes the appraiser must
cite
specific instances of behaviors exhibited by the appraisee and record
rationale for inferences made.
Some organizations use a
perforated sheet in the appraisal format, which
contains the recommendations for rewards and punishments to be given
based on the appraisal conducted. This is normally done by the
appraisee confidentially and is directly communicated to the top
management. Normally a widespread behavior is observed, where the
reporting officer does the appraisal to please the subordinate but
when it comes to filling this portion, he contradicts what is done in
the appraisal sheet earlier. For e.g. While he may rate an employee
well in all aspects, he may state that the employee is not fit to take
up superior
responsibilities etc. One suggestion is to make such potential
appraisals also open to appraisee. All reporting officers in a
organization must be well versed in
conducting the appraisal process, as it brings consistency in
evaluation across the organization not benefiting a few because of the
functional area they are in or to a particular reporting officer they
are attached to. Organizations should invest more time and energy in
educating the reporting officers on how to conduct the appraisal
rather than using their energies in endless redesigning of appraisal
formats. Top management should exhibit its commitment towards a fair
and objective performance appraisal process and actions taken on
appraisal
records should be timely, objective and specific. Line managers should
be impressed on conducting appraisal and utilizing it properly for
organisations’ benefit and conducting appraisal should get integrated
with counseling, mentoring and proper implementation of training
policy. An appropriately conducted appraisal process will result in
better placement of employees, brings role clarity and leads to job
satisfaction which is great motivating factor for an employee.
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