Content area
Full Text
LET ME ASK YOU three questions regarding performance management: 1) Do you have a performance appraisal system?; 2) Do you have a written vision and values or mission statement?; and 3) Does the wording of your performance appraisal match the wording of your mission statement? If people see no connection between the mission and their performance appraisal, they will become cynical about the stated mission. A performance appraisal system can tightly link strategy-mission, vision and values-with daily performance.
Used well, performance appraisal enables managers to mobilize the energy of people to achieve strategic goals. Appraisal can focus every person's attention on the mission, vision and values and answer the questions that everybody wants answered: How am I doing? Am I meeting expectations? Is my future bright?
But too often performance appraisal is done poorly. Forms are inadequate, and systems are poorly designed. So, employees are frustrated, managers simply go through the motions, and the procedure quickly becomes the target of lampoons.
Should we then abolish performance appraisal? No. Performance management systems and appraisals give us the data we need to provide feedback, encourage performance improvement, make valid decisions, justify terminations, identify training and development needs, and defend personnel decisions.
The best response is to create...