replying to "Richard S. Webster" <webster.1@osu.edu>
Subject: Employee Ranking Systems LO16661
>And an idea for testing this matter of ranking employees: do any of >the "100 best companies to work for in America" do intra-work group >rankings? >I don't know but I'll bet a good lunch the answer is NO! Does anyone >else know?
Dr. Webster,
As I stated in a previous post on this subject, Ranking is an integral
part the performance review at Hewlett-Packard and is discussed at
length in the performance review guidelines published by HP. HP
consistently ranks (ooooh! that word again!) near or in the top 20
companies to work for in the U.S.
There is however, a great deal of autonomy at the site, department,
and individual manager level for the actual implementation of the
review/ranking process. In other words, the guidelines are just that,
guidelines. The manager is encouraged develop the process as is
necessary to get the best results for each individual reporting
person. As far as I have been able to tell, HP human resource policy
is to treat the employee as an individual, giving wide latitude for
the fact that what incentives may work for one person probably will
not work for another. This is quite a ball of wax for a manager to
handle, especially when she/he may have a large number of reporting
people. But the fact is that it works. The reason it works is because
it is so loosely structured and allows for the dynamical relationship
between the managers, employees, and their respective peers.
--"Never mistake activity for accomplishment" - John Wooden