We like appraisals - but they don't work!
“(Some) 90 percent of performance appraisal processes are inadequate.†– Salary.com survey
Most Serious Performance Appraisal Problems
1. Don’t assess actual performance — most of the assessment that managers complete focuses on “the person,†including characterizations of their personal “traits†(i.e. commitment), knowledge (i.e. technical knowledge) or behaviors (i.e. attendance). While these factors may contribute to performance, they are not measures of actual output. If you want to assess the person, call it “person appraisal.†Performance is output quality, volume, dollar value, and responsiveness.
2. Infrequent feedback – if the primary goal of the process is to identify and resolve performance issues, executing the process annually is silly. A quality assessment/control program anywhere else in the business would operate in real time. At the very minimum, formal feedback needs to be given quarterly, like the GE process.
3. Non-data-based assessment — most processes rely 100% on the memory of those completing the assessment because pre-populating the forms with data to inform decisions would be too difficult (cynicism). In addition, most assessment criteria are “fuzzy†and subjective.
4. Lack of effectiveness metrics — many accept that the goals of the process are to recognize results, provide feedback to address weaknesses, determine training needs, and to identify poor performers. Unfortunately, rarely do process owners ever measure their processes’ contribution to attaining any of these goals. Instead, the most common measure relating to performance appraisal is the percentage completed.
5. Lack of accountability – managers are not measured or held accountable for providing accurate feedback. While they may be chastised for completing them late, there is no penalty for doing a half-assed job or making mistakes on them, which is incredibly common. One firm attempting to remove a troublesome employee found that the manager had rated the individual the highest within the department and awarded them employee of the year.
As we have said- “(Some) 90 percent of performance appraisal processes are inadequate.†– Salary.com survey.
What are your thoughts on why appraisals fail and what can we do about it? DO let us know.
If you valued this post, please do share and follow me, thank you
"The General Theory of Management" - development and implementation.
6 å¹´Very interesting and relevant work. I completely agree with what you wrote. I myself faced these problems and tried to solve them. But one day I noticed that companies are changing, and the problems do not change. At some point it became clear to me that this is a systemic problem and it is not connected with personalities. In search of the root cause, I came to the conclusion that the problem is that the modern management paradigm has ceased to meet the new challenges of modern management. https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/general-theory-management-formulation-problem-armen-mnatsakanyan/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_post_details%3B%2F1dGP1hESo%2BLD8UCiplCVg%3D%3D Then I realized that it was necessary to build a new management paradigm according to the rules accepted in the exact sciences. When I did this it became clear where the root of the problems was and what should be done. This article talks about, 1. why the collection of reliable data on activities in the organization through the interview of employees is not possible! 2. With what it is necessary to begin transformations in the organization actually - precisely not with interviewing and questioning! https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/why-impossible-describe-bp-what-do-terms-general-gtm-mnatsakanyan/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_post_details%3B%2F1dGP1hESo%2BLD8UCiplCVg%3D%3D Thankful in advance for critical comments.
Partner. Consultancy en Soley Asociados, Abogados y Economistas, S.L.P.
6 å¹´A good guide to improve appraisals
360 Degree Feedback Consultant: I will design & implement tailored 360 assessments linked to your organization's competencies and values. So you can measure & build the behaviors that matter most to your organization.
6 å¹´This is a nice summary Norman. Infrequent feedback is definitely a big issue. Why don't people get more feedback, more frequently?...a mixture of reasons...it can be chore so it gets put off, giving feedback without a structure can be hard, and managers are not the only people who should be giving feedback. Managers should also be trained in how to coach people when they receive feedback. Difficult, but not impossible!
Executive General Manager People and Culture at McKay
6 å¹´I'm in favour of making the manager employee relationship more about regular catch ups/ feedback that is more specific to the time and not given 3 months after an event. I'm also in favour of feed forward whereby we focus on constructive feedback that an employee can use moving forward. Often the challenge is that too many managers are ineffective at having these types of conversations and the formal appraisal has no positive effect whatsoever.