Staff should be convinced about appraisal process

A construction site supervisor has refused to sign his appraisal form, which was evaluated without his participation. The technical manager was deeply resentful of the supervisor's attitude.

As a result, a memo was issued to the supervisor to comply with the existing practice on performance appraisal, ie., the rating should be agreed and signed by the job holder. Despite the warning, the supervisor was adamant.

He demanded a review meeting with his boss to record his comments. Further, as a team member, he felt he should be given an opportunity to air his views over the work before the final evaluation. There should have been a formal counselling interview between two.

December is the usual period for consolidating the appraisal results at the company. Though HR had issued guidelines in July as a prior notice, the departments were not keen to implement the process wholeheartedly. The reason was simple - the scheme did not have creditability in the past.

According to the supervisor, HR at the company is very weak. The top management is of the view that accountability rests with line managers for any programme implementation.

A week later, the manager forwarded his decision to personnel to terminate the supervisor on grounds of disobedience. The news astonished everyone in the company. Of course, the decision carried a negative message.

"The supervisor must understand the working practice prevailing in the Gulf. It is not his business to confront his reporting manager. Rather he should highlight the weakness of the appraisal system at an appropriate time," colleagues said.

In such instances, theory by itself will not work, even if you engage a sophisticated consultant . Employees who are practical will be regarded as go-getters!

From this case, one can understand that the senior management was not convinced about the whole process. Managers need behavioural modification.

Top management must shift from their usual focus and enhance HR to create immediate change. Everyone must understand the whole process and must collectively work to influence people to achieve good results.

After all, employees are paid to perform certain tasks that should yield maximum benefits. There should be no difference between seniors and juniors in appraisal. The staff should not have complex issues in their mind and should work collectively.

HR should be bold and act as a facilitator - by conducting workshops on target setting and counselling. A corporate culture should be established that should perceive learning and changing as key competencies for business success.

Employees must feel openness and trust in the process. Counselling is a two-way process in which the manager provides help to his staff by way of advice and guidance. In any case the evaluation should not be unilateral.