On 26 Jan 98 at 10:21, Larry Erdman wrote:
> I have however been frustrated in my reading of this list with the lack of
> a clear direction or suggestions that offer alternative methods of
> performance appraisals. If performance appraisals don't work, what can
> we do? What alternative suggestions can I take to this committee? How do
> you debundle function from performance? Pay and performance are facts of
> life in the real world. How do you not tie one to the other? Sales in my
> department were up 30% over last year yet the organization as a whole was
> up over a couple of percentages. How do you reward my department for there
> hard work but not the rest, or should you? What kind of system allows for
> individual creativity, goal setting and feedback but isn't tied to pay?
Larry, in my white paper entitled Performance Management - Why It Fails, I
discuss some of the things you are looking for but certainly not all. I
don't have the time or space here to reiterate even the main points, but
on the key question:
One problem with the various varieties of performance management (be they
rankings, ratings, or objectives) is that the systems try to accomplish
goals that are in conflict (eg. developing staff and evaluating staff for
pay purposes).
We have suggested a different approach, one we call Effective Enhancement,
where the focus is on learning, development and increasing performance
through development. We also suggest that a one-size fits all employee
approach makes no sense, and that EE systems allow for flexibility so that
the conditions of performance discussion are tailored to what the staff
member needs and wants for improving performance. This is more inline with
learning org. principles. Unfortunately, it still leaves some goals and
purposes unaddressed, although this is more due to lack of time on my part
to work those pieces out.
There's a bit more information at our site
I thought that we had more chapters of the book online, but can't find
them (perhaps I'm tired).
I just completed an article entitled "Why Employee Ranking Systems lead to
Disaster". It will be included in our online monthly newsletter
Workplace2001/Public Sector Manager. I hope to have it online and to email
subscribers this week, or perhaps next.
If you can't find the material on our site, let me know and I will hunt
around...the site is rather large, and I sometimes forget what is where.
Robert Bacal, Inst.For Cooperative Communication, rbacal@escape.ca
Visit our Resource Centre for articles on mgmt.,training,communication, and defusing hostility
at http://www.escape.ca/~rbacal (204) 888-9290
*Site Last Updated On Jan 24, 1998*
--"Robert Bacal" <rbacal@escape.ca>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>