Performance appraisal

– Dr.C.Priyesh,  Director, SIMS

Performance appraisal is a regular activity in any organization. Most of the IT majors follow bell curve performance appraisal system. The bell curve is common type of distribution for a variable, and known as a normal distribution. In this appraisal system, management pre defines the % in each category. For example, appraisal system would have 4-5 categories ranging from low to high and for each category there would be a fixed %. For example 10% non performers, 10% mediocre performers, 60% good performers, 20% great performers and so on. Every department will be given this distribution and the leaders will be expected to fit the employees in one of these mandatory buckets. Individuals are reduced to statistical numbers as part of this system.

This system does have a negative impact in the morale and productivity. Unfortunately, this is a widely used appraisal system. In last one or two years, few IT majors started moving away from this appraisal system. The focus should shift from annual appraisal process to continuous mentoring and coaching. It does involve significant time but this helps in the long run. Companies should look for task based feedback and not wait for end of the year, course correction is the key. Positive attitudes need to inculcated and appropriate training and guidance should be provided. At the same time, even after repeated intervention if things don’t improve, then decisions need to be taken.

Instead of annual reviews, quarterly reviews would help and on need basis it can be task based as well. This helps for the feedback to be a continuous process. Annual appraisal feedback should not be a surprise for the employee. For a change at organization level, the reporting structure and span of control should also be looked at. Appraisal process should not be looked at as a statistical item or checklist item. Systems should enable the leaders to take right decision and not vice versa. While the debate continues on bell curve based appraisal model, it is up to the organization leaders to take a final decision based on the size and feedback.