AKBAR & BIRBAL ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Akbar once challenged Birbal to find a person who could stand in a lake an entire night in the winter. Birbal searched far & wide until he found a poor man ready to take up the challenge for 1000 gold coins. The poor man entered the lake with guards keeping an eye on him and stayed inside as promised. The next morning, Akbar asked the poor man if he indeed spent the night in the lake. The Poor Man Replied That He Had.

Akbar asked the poor man how he survived the night and the poor man replied that he kept his attention fixed at a nearby street lamp and diverted his attention away from the extreme cold. Akbar Then Said That There Would Be No Reward As The Poor Man Had Survived The Night In The Lake By The Warmth Of The Street Lamp.

The next day Birbal did not go to the court, and after waiting for hours Akbar went to his house to check on him. He found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning twigs and a bowl filled with khichdi hanging Five Feet above the fire.

Akbar then asked him "How Can The Khichdi Be Cooked If It So Far Away From The Fire?" Birbal Answered "The Same Way The Poor Man Received Heat From A Street Lamp That Was More Than A Furlong Away."

The King Understood His Mistake.

Performance management system, similarly cannot be implemented on just one small notion. To judge the competency of employees and effectiveness of productivity ,one needs a mechanism that is versatile and capable enough.

To understand better, we need to have a 10-dimensional holistic view of the puzzles and roadblocks that most organisations face today in the Appraisal & Review process every year in their Performance Management System.

Challenge #1: Lack of strategic focus reduces productivity

The company’s overall strategy and goals must be well defined to employees and also integrated into the performance management process to deliver real business value. With KEKA , there is a transparency in the goals set forth and the milestones that need to be achieved within the limited time frame to gain expertise in a certain skill set required to achieve the goal.

This fosters an environment where employees feel motivated to learn and grow, directly affecting their personal growth and in return the organisations' productivity. Employees are willing to leave if they don’t see themselves growing.With an opportunity provided to learn, employees not only improve on their skill sets but also add to the retention rate of the company turning into an indispensable asset for the organisation eventually. Such practices can help companies maximize employee productivity, morale and engagement. 

Productivity is not just about doing more, it is about creating more impact with less work

Challenge #2: Lack of Efficiency

We all know an employee who works in the last two months of the appraisal cycle and yet believes that he/she deserves an appraisal in the upcoming review cycle. Which is not right.You all must have also experienced employees who can finish their tasks in minimum stipulated time thus increasing their effectiveness over others in certain aspects like time efficiency. Let’s not ignore the little things. We cannot (should not) be offering similar appraisals to the one who is just a hard worker and a person who is a smart worker.Core competencies can be tracked and the progress can be continuously reviewed to reduce leakage in the system.

A more efficient employee can be appreciated & applauded through badges and feedback on the KEKA platform and the entire history is visible to other employees on the dashboard. It creates a sense of responsibility among other employees and hence motivates them to achieve more with the limited resources and in the limited time available.

It also gives the decision maker a better visibility and understanding , removing any disparity and making the process entirely transparent and non-biased.

The decision maker is better equipped to take the right decision at the right time.

Challenge #3: Appropriate recognition and rewards

An effective rewards and recognition program should have clear expectations and criteria around what types of behaviors and actions are rewarded that drive your company forward.

For example, a Sales employee can be applauded for on-boarding a client through unconventional means. At the same time, the same employee could have also made a mistake which needs to be reprimanded and monitored to ensure it isn't repeated again in the future. But this should be communicated separately, hence you can put it as a Private note in the KEKA platform which only the employee will be able to see.

This helps in promoting good behaviour and curbing the bad behaviour of employees that doesn't stick well with your organisations' policies. Good & Bad, both reside in every man/woman. Its up to us how we promote the good ones and help create a better community to work in.

People work for money but go the extra mile for Recognition, Praise & Rewards

Challenge #4: Employees opinions matter

Yes. Opinions of the employees matter a lot when it comes to creating a platform to keep your employees engaged, motivated, and inspired about their future with the company.

KEKA provides totally customized review questionnaires where in an employee can provide his feedback on his performances , thus creating a space for mutual interaction and improving the chances of growth and productivity.

You don't build a business. You build People. And then People build your Business.

Have you tried PMS on KEKA yet? If not, i would suggest you check it sooner before you lose an essential employee in your organisation!