Its that time of the year again....Are you thinking yet of your appraisal? I bet, you are!
Most of us, belonging to the white collared workforce; are drawn to and intrigued by the process at the same time. They come in all colours and patterns; these appraisals… the MBOs, Rating Scales, 360 degree feedback, Peer to Peer feedback… and all other permutations and combinations of these. They are almost the biggest events of any year in the lives of employees, especially so when the figures on our paychecks are determined by them.
So how many of us have always felt that the process is fair? Has there been any time when you had nothing to complain about it? I have seen approximately half the workforce going about with their sprits flushed down the drain, for days together after the results are declared. Managers are seen giving fuddled, glassy eyed explanations of the ratings to grumbling lots, or there is a complete reluctance to discuss the matter further.
Can one help asking why, after spending a great amount of collective time, energy and money, do appraisals come across as “unfair” to their employees? Why does the process get shrouded in secrecy at some point or another? Why do attrition rates skyrocket after each cycle?
There could be a million explanations, ranging from the simplistic “People have overly high expectations nowadays” to the “it’s a complex process that calls for a deep socio-psychological analyses” sort of answers.
I will not pretend to know the answer to this conundrum… but yes, I would love to share some observations. So first things first… why appraisals?
1. For giving timely feedback on work done, so that people know what they did right from what the did not
2. For rewarding, compensating for the work done, in a proportionate manner.
Please note: there is a school of thought that is completely anti-linking of performance and compensation. I disagree with that view. More on that later…
So, coming back to the point – why the general attitude of wariness towards this seemingly harmless objective?
What kind of employees are we talking about here?
Most of us, however individualistic our nature is, work in teams. The better part of our day is spent in interacting, working and learning with our teams. So, am I correct here in assuming that, the fundamental learning and performing unit of today’s organization is the Team?
In fact, it is quite evident that, a good team in company is quite similar to a good sports team. Different members are good at different things, but each has a definite place in the group. They learn together, push each other to perform and the victory or defeat is for the team. A lone batsman scoring a double century may well mean that he is an excellent batting talent… but if he took all the fifty overs, taking only the easiest shots, the team loses on the whole, because the target was 300! If you had a performance appraisal for this team, how would it be for this particular dude and the rest of the team?
Some would say – he likes to hog the limelight. There were other really good batsmen in the team who never got a chance.
He would say – I was doing my best for the team, I needed to keep standing and not let wickets fall.
Doesn’t something similar happen in a lot of teams in office too? Do you remember any times when you were a part of a vibrant, cohesive team? Where everybody seemed to be magically suited to the role he or she played? Don’t you think, almost everybody over performed in that team? The same people may have moved elsewhere in the hope of continuing the winning streak… but somehow, failed to be as spectacular?
Say, this team was your college soccer team, and after a consistent winning record, it lost one of the hyped matches. The Forward missed an easy goal. What would be the team’s responses to this event be like? I believe, at the least, there wouldn’t be a blame game. Assuming all these guys gel together, there could even be a strong solidarity. If the spirit is right, people would take this in their stride and fix the faults of the last game.
Working with such teams is not only highly enriching but also a strategy for winning.
So here it goes… my hypothesis towards the apparent distrust and circumspection with which our appraisals are treated. It applies to places where teams are the basic unit of performance. It may not be relevant to some professions, where team work is minimal.
First of all ...Acknowledge that, it is the Team that works for you
There may be some high performing individuals in your team. There also would be some average ones. There could be a few mediocre people too.
Assess each individual’s fitment in the group, do they complement each other?
Make sure, each member has a well defined area of work; while, each knows that, completing their individual tasks would not necessarily make the team win. Unless the whole team has a view of the final deliverable, and how their tasks fit in, the sense of “Yes! We did it!” will never form.
Appraise the team… Easier said than done… it may even sound like injustice to the high performers when their team doesn’t perform as well as they do… what does this tell us? If nothing else, special efforts need to be taken for putting together teams, as I said in point 3.
Also, it is important to make everybody realize, that no matter what our personal achievements be, unless the team wins, nobody wins.
I know I know…. There are a lot of wrinkles, grey areas, even utopian ideas here. Even the methodology of conducting team appraisals is not clear. (That could well be the next post in this series from me).
But seriously, isn’t it worth a thought? We might be on to something here… something that might truly bring out the essence of Appraisals and even help people take the whole process positively.
