Performance Management - why is it so hard
Abhijit Bhaduri
Talent Development || Ex-GM Global L&D, Microsoft || Evangelist for brands like LinkedIn, Adobe & SHRM || Keynote Speaker || 6x Author || Executive Coach
Ask a group of employees how many of them would rate their performance and skills in the 90th percentile or more. Even though statisticians will tell you that only ten percent people should see themselves in the top performer category, yet whenever I have done this exercise with groups of executives, the overwhelming majority rates itself at the top. Now imagine the plight of the manager who has to appraise the performance of such a group of employees and you know that such a conversation is not going to be easy.
We all suffer from “confirmation bias” which is a tendency for people to gather evidence and recall information from memory selectively, and interpret it in a biased way. The biases appear in particular for emotionally significant issues and for established beliefs. Our view of our own work is no exception. We tend to judge our efforts and outcomes based on a belief that favors us.
It’s not just in the workplace that we judge ourselves generously. When the weighing scale tells us that our weight is more than what it ought to be, we blame the scale. When a psychometric instrument tells us something about ourselves that we are uncomfortable with, a person will question the design of the instrument.
A Lot at Stake
Performance appraisals are, perhaps, the most controversial of all processes. Not only is it a time when someone sits in judgment about the quality of your work, but eventually, reward and recognition gets linked to it, and so does the development effort that companies are willing to invest. No one likes to be left out of the room when money is being counted. Appraisals are not just an exercise in data and evidence, but it is largely about the soft skills of the manager.
Appraisals are opportunities to have ongoing conversations between the manager and the employee. Unless there is trust in the relationship, the conversation lacks honesty and sensitivity.
Setting Goals
The goals that we set are also meant to inspire and motivate action. So the foundation for good performance appraisals lies in setting the right number of goals. I have seen most leaders tend to focus best when they have four to five well articulated goals.
What I Have Learnt About Goals
1) Slightly difficult goals tend to motivate people more than easy goals. A stretch goal combined with ongoing coaching conversations with the manager is the best development tool possible.
2) Ensure that critical goals are aligned with what we are naturally inspired to do. Ask if the goal will leverage the strength of the individual.
3) Along with the goals, if the manager and the employee agree on a monthly schedule to review progress, it is a great way to ensure that the employee and the organization get the best out of the experience.
In Conclusion
Performance appraisal is a tool. The skill of the manager determines the quality of the outcome. The ability of a manager to set goals that are meaningful is a skill. If the manager and employee have monthly reviews of the progress, any deviations from the expected results are detected early. If the appraisal discussion generates more heat than light, then it may indicate that the appraiser has not tracked feedback throughout the year, and shared it with the appraisee.
Imagine a scenario when someone discovers after a year that his or her manager always felt that the performance was not up to the mark. This is the most common scenario that leads to bitterness. While the poor performance may be a reflection of the appraisee’s effort, capability and competency, let us not forget that the reaction of an appraisee is a reflection of the manager’s skill as a coach and enabler.
The intent behind the appraisal is to foster more frequent conversations between the manager and the employee. Without frequent discussions on the what, why and how of work, it can never be motivating enough. Appraisals are not about receiving judgment on the final output. It is about getting feedback and jointly working to improve each step along the way.
Love to know what you think?
What makes performance measurement so hard?Have you tried making it simpler? Tell me about it in the comments.
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Interim Management, Board Advisor | Digital Solutions & Services | Consulting Businesses
9 年Sorry, but this is both sympathetic to the manager/s placed in the position to measure performance and judge employee/s and escapist (lets pray there is trust in the relationship and the manager has the right mix of soft skills to coach and mentor and enable, why should the organization care if less than 10% of most manager groups will ever begin to ever demonstrate such skills). And one hardly needs to be told that most humans judge others more harshly than they judge themselves. And what about the deep biases and insecurities of managers themselves? This lacks honesty and in parts is unrealistic. It is laughable to point to it as a tool to foster more frequent conversations. The appraisal process as is more generally understood today is flawed and beyond repair, hoping it will be sorted through stretch goals and monthly reviews is hardly scratching the surface.
International productivity, people & performance consultant & mentor. Author
9 年Thanks, Hariprasad. Too many managers control etc., as you say.
International productivity, people & performance consultant & mentor. Author
9 年"Performance cannot be managed. Performance is something that you unlock. You set it free to soar like an eagle." ("Lead To Win - Pioneering Powerful Performance" ISBN-10: 1489556613; ISBN-13: 978-1489556615) And there are definitely ways of measuring, as well as ensuring the "movements" and "goal changes" you've mentioned are taken into account as not only a matter of course for appraisal purposes but also for smooth running of the unit.
Founder-Facilitator - "CorporateTheatre" - Theatre-based Experiential Learning for Leadership & Team Effectiveness
9 年Very interesting points raised, Abhijit. In the theatre-based workshops that I conduct on high-performance leadership and team dynamics, this critical matter is explored deeply and experientially. One insight that is continuously reinforced irrespective of industry, hierarchy, or culture, is that high performance teams are built not by making people 'drop' their egos, but by 'aligning' egos through appropriate appraisal and reward policies where I know that my 'winning' is dependant on my team or organization winning as per clearly defined goals and parameters of success. The environment in which this alignment happens instinctively is also explored. In the process we discover that even when egos are aligned to common goals and collective success, a team has no difficulty in rating performance in such a way that top performers are highly rated and richly rewarded and the stars and the team get equally motivated.