Wednesday, December 29, 2010

IS IT FAIR?

This is my 50th post of the year. I was searching for suitable topic to put my thoughts across and it struck me that it is time of the year for annual appraisals in many organizations. So why not say something about that.

The meaning of appraisal as given in Oxford Dictionary is “1. the action of assessing. 2 a formal assessment of an employee’s performance.”

So this is supposed to be an assessment of an employee’s performance during the period of assessment. But is it so? Most of the organizations including Governmental set %age limits of giving various levels of assessments i e exceptional, above average, average, satisfactory etc etc should not exceed so much % of strength of employees being assessed. Thus appraising authority has now to categorise employees he or she is assessing within those limits. So it therefore becomes a process of comparison of each individual’s performance vis-à-vis his or her colleagues. Don’t you think that when this comparison is done, it can lead to extraneous factors? This defeats the main purpose of appraisal “ A FORMAL ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE’S PERFORMANCE.”

I have always been advocating that we do not compare one with other but his or her performance be judged as it is - be it Good, Bad or Ugly.

May I have your views on this?

7 comments:

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Hey Jack!

Didn't really get what u meant...

But, in Govt annual appraisals are mere eyewash, they hardly serve a purpose. Now, we have transparency, and the ratee must be told what grades he has been given, so that influences the one rating him/her...

yes, it's comparative mostly... the rating... the individual's capabilities are hardly brought out. It's mundane for most assessing officials.

But, hey I thought, when I begun reading ur post, that u will be assessing ur performance of blogging this year!! just kidding!!

Happy New Year Jack!

RESTLESS

Rià said...

Appraisals are a mere paper filling experiment...sad but true. I think most of us wud hav a lot to write on appraisals.

Alka Gurha said...

Comparisons are odious..

Raj said...

assessment. add to that a sense of bias. and you get what you have now. its more about contacts now. any of it.

Jack said...

RESTLESS :

You got the main point about comparative assessments. Do I assess my performance here or is it upto you all to do so?
Take care


RIA :

But what a big issue is made out of this, isn't it? Take care


ALKA :

So true! Take care


RAJ :

Little bit of work and more of PR, isn't it so? Take care

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Jack - I really cannot assess you... don't have that liberty! But I really like this new way of ur writing, when u write about tit bits of things, which affect you, like small notes. It's easier to express that way.

I also keep thinking of writing but then preparing a whole post is a little painstaking work, so the little idea slips away. Will be adopting ur style! and u know I will be naming the tag as "sweet somethings - salty nothings'!! how was that?!!

btw, am touched that u took my joke so seriously, and did write a self appraisal!

tc

RESTLESS

Jack said...

RESTLESS :

One can do own introspection but it is basically upto others to categorise him or her. I am really touched that you liked my short posts. I am looking forward to yours also. "Sweet somethings - salty nothings" sounds very attractive. Looking forward to it. I did mention that you said what you did was in lighter vein. Take care