Performance Appraisal - The Judgment Day: Will You Fail Or Succeed?

Performance appraisal is a formal process through which organizations measure performance of employees against set objectives. It is the day of reckoning . . . the proverbial judgment day.

This explains why many employees dread performance appraisal sessions.

But wait. Do organizations need to carry out appraisal of employee performance?

The answer is . . . YES.

The employee appraisal session is like EXAM DAY.

Remember when you were in school? Remember when you have to take your school exams? Did you remember feeling nausous as the exam officer distributed the question papers? Can you remember the tension in the air?

Yes, most students dread exam day. But there seem to be no other way to test students' knowledge and understanding of the concepts they have been taught or the training they have received over a period of time.

Same is true of performance appraisal.

The appraisal sessions, like school exams, reveal areas of strength and weakness of the individual being appraised. In modern appraisal terminology, the areas of weakness are termed 'areas for development' because the appraisal session is basically meant to groom or develop individuals in their areas of weakness.

Employee appraisals serve multiple purposes.

1. Appraisals help to identify high performing individuals - individuals that are ready for the next level in their career, people who can take up higher responsibilities

2. Appraisals help to point out areas where improvements are required and to develop the individuals involved to such an extent that their presence in the organization does not hamper productivity

3. Appraisals also help to show-case individuals who are not fit to be in the organization. These individuals are employees whom the company have tried to develop after several appraisal sessions have revealed a significant flaw in them but who have not made the required changes to qualify them to remain in the organization

Organizations that succeed and win in the highly competitive marketplace of the 21st century are those that are lean, agile, competitive and adaptible to the constantly changing dynamics of business. Organizations that have and retain this competitive edge are those that have the right people.

The right people will develop . . .