What types of employee review/evaluation methods and techniques are used?

RoxaneB

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#51
My oh my, I'm blushing!

energy said:

RC,

Oh my goodness, how did I miss that? I always read your posts and never saw a thing that would indicate that you were of the opposite sex. What do they sound like? I don't know, it's just a feeling. When I'm curious, I usually check the profile. I apologize, because your obviously a looker and I'm trying to get over my embarassment for not recognizing the beauty behind the post.
What do think, Boys? Was the kissing up adequate? Or, did it remind you of your latest performance review?
:rolleyes: :smokin:
Energy, you're getting a shovel and trowel at Christmas. I don't know when I last saw someone lay it on so thick! :vfunny: It *was* you who sent me the flowers yesterday, wasn't it? Admit it. Although, next time, please don't have the florist sprinkle gold dust on them. It's everywhere...my desk, my hands, my hair, my face, my workboots, my hard hat....

Getting back on track though, I agree that the 3% diff between a loafer and a hard worker makes a girl question why she's working so hard. Being still relatively young, I try to get more training promised on my P.A. Anything that will increase my "employability"....(scrabble players out there, is that a word?) is my goal. Anything that will encourage me to think outside of the box with regard to my job is greatly appreciated.

I've been officially in the Quality field since 1993/1994, but this company I currently work for was the first to send me on Lead Auditor training and will support me if I decide to go for accredication/certification/whatever it's called (coffee's getting cold beside me).

They've also sent me on Cost of Quality training and Emergency Response training (making me part of the main team here). Not too shabby considering I've only been here for 1.5 years.

To me, the fact that the company recognizes my value and my potential means much. Yes, I have a mortgage and a pay raise would be nice, but I appreciate more the fact that they support my willingness to grow and learn. Our P.A. system may be a lovely break twice a year, but if everyone takes it seriously, the outputs can be very rewarding for all involved. :)
 
Elsmar Forum Sponsor
#52
It doesn't take much

To me, the fact that the company recognizes my value and my potential means much
Thanks for the comment RcB! This adds to my point. Too many folks think that performance evaluations (What does PA stand for?) need to be strictly about money, and to some employees it is. I’m not sure anyone would turn down a raise, but I would rather have a straight forward analysis of how I’m performing!
 

RoxaneB

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#53
Re: It doesn't take much

db said:

What does PA stand for? I’m not sure anyone would turn down a raise, but I would rather have a straight forward analysis of how I’m performing!
PA = Performance Appraisal

I suppose department size does play an impact on how PA's are used. My department is 2 people. I lean over the cubey-wall and ask questions and get answers. I have projects assigned to me that require a monthly status update, so I tend to get feedback then on my performance, as well. This semi-annual review that my organization does, for me anyway, is just a repeat of the past six months and makes the feedback "official."
 

Kevin Mader

One of THE Original Covers!
Staff member
Admin
#54
I’m with Carol. Reviews are a waste of time and contrary to what folks think that they achieve. The whole process is littered with false assumptions and places both the reviewer and reviewee in a bad spot.

As Dr. Deming stated, the main false assumption with the Review Process is this: the performance of the individual can be separated from the performance of the system. If you believe as Dr. Deming did, most of the effects we realize are system born. He writes in OOTC that the ratio is something like 94%/6% System/Individual. In later videos that I have seen, he goes as high as 97% and 98%. He offers this as well:

Y= the contribution of the individual
XY= the contribution of the system

Then he says solve this equation: Y+XY=1

Since this can’t be solved individually, it would be silly (harmful) to think that we have some special ability to fairly assess the performance of the employee or the boss. As Dr. Deming said, draw a line in the sand stating that this day forward the performance appraisal will be abolished. I did. Maybe you’ll be as lucky?

Many organizations couple the ‘raise’ with the performance review. When this happens, it makes the abolishing of the Performance Appraisal difficult. However, if we were to agree with Dr.s Juran and Deming that the System is mostly responsible, then we should give proportionately equal raises across the board. While this doesn’t sit well with the folks who work the hardest, if we are all in a system we recognize, then we only deserve an equal share. Oh, by the way: 90% of folks believe that they are in the top 50% of the company. 40% must be wrong, but who are the wrong people? Better than 70% believe that they are in the top 10%. Here, 60% must be wrong. As you can see, ‘reviewees’ have a high opinion of themselves.

Since the Reviewer cannot separate the System from the Individual effects and because the Reviewee has a high opinion, the evaluation process is doomed. Spare everyone the BS and reject the Performance Appraisals. Instead, do something that matters with the time you save by not doing them. Try System Measures.

Regards,

Kevin
 

Mike S.

Happy to be Alive
Trusted Information Resource
#55
Kevin,

Let me make sure I understand you. I have to ask again, don't most (95 - 99%?) organizations agree that (irrespective of raises)you should somehow, some way, give feedback to the employee whether you call it a review, coaching, performance evaluation, or bullsh!t session? You said "it would be silly (harmful) to think that we have some special ability to fairly assess the performance of the employee or the boss." Are you in opposition to this concept of some type of performance feedback to the employee? Because you can't do it fairly/accurately?

If this is your belief, I just can't buy it. How would you issue promotions, by lottery (since you cannot fairly/accurately evaluate individual contributions)? How would you decide which political candidate to vote for? Can you honestly say that in your company you can't differentiate the difference between top performers and slackers? And that the fairest thing to do is give everyone an equal raise/bonus/increase?

Is it equally unfair to grade students in college/school?
 
#56
Evaluation score creep

Back when I was an oscafor (officer) in the USAR, I had to give my enlisted personnel an evaluation. Talk about 70% thinking they were in the upper 10%, If I rated anyone less than a 96 percentile, it would ruin their career! Despite that I am a firm believer in evaluations. I just think they should be continual and informal.

As a side note; I am a strong believer that if individuals are not accountable for their actions, they will tend to move away from performance. “System fixes” usually don’t work. We make new money because the old money was too easy to counterfeit. Guess what, the new money is being counterfeited as well. As long as we have human employees we will have employees causing system failures. And they need to be told when they do.
 
M

Michael T

#57
Time to jump in...

Mike S. said:

Kevin,

Let me make sure I understand you. I have to ask again, don't most (95 - 99%?) organizations agree that (irrespective of raises)you should somehow, some way, give feedback to the employee whether you call it a review, coaching, performance evaluation, or bullsh!t session? You said "it would be silly (harmful) to think that we have some special ability to fairly assess the performance of the employee or the boss." Are you in opposition to this concept of some type of performance feedback to the employee? Because you can't do it fairly/accurately?

If this is your belief, I just can't buy it. How would you issue promotions, by lottery (since you cannot fairly/accurately evaluate individual contributions)? How would you decide which political candidate to vote for? Can you honestly say that in your company you can't differentiate the difference between top performers and slackers? And that the fairest thing to do is give everyone an equal raise/bonus/increase?

Is it equally unfair to grade students in college/school?
Hi Mike...

I'm not trying to answer for Kevin - he is quite able to do that for himself. However, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in here...

First - feedback should be a continuous process, not something provided once a quarter(?), semi-annually(?), annually(?) -- if your employer is using a performance appraisal/review/evaluation as a feedback mechanism - the feedback is woefully inadequate, extremely late in coming and really provides nothing beneficial to the reviewee. So... as a feedback mechanism - a performance appraisal isn't a good tool. So, what good is a performance appraisal? What good does it do the employee? If he/she gets a glowing appraisal and no raise or is passed over for promotion due to circumstances beyond his/her control - what message is this sending? If he/she gets a lack-luster appraisal - why? If the lack-luster appraisal is a surprise to the employee - why and how does it motivate them to improve?

As for grading students... what separates an "A-" student from a "B+" student? Objective testing? How about effort? Class participation? Those "less tangible" subjective criteria can have just as much influence as cold hard test scores. Besides, basing grades on pure test scores doesn't take into consideration "potential". Take the SAT's, GRE's, GMAT's, LSAT's, etc. Standardized tests are crutches for college administrators to be able to easily place a minimum cut-off without having to take the time to really evaluate the potential of a student.

So... my opinion... Feedback is absolutely necessary in order to grow your employees or correct problems. Performance reviews and grades, unless they are instantaneous feedback tools - do nothing to enhance a person and everything to demoralize them.

Cheers!!!

Mike
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Kevin Mader

One of THE Original Covers!
Staff member
Admin
#58
Mike,

Yes, I agree that feedback is extremely important and I fully support it. That is why I recommend a System Measure in place of individual measures. However, we must agree on what feedback is and isn’t. Feedback should not be subjective if it is to be worth anything. Feedback should be data driven. Most of the feedback given employees and students is ‘subjective opinion’, nothing more. Mike T.’s example on the difference of an A- and a B+ serves this point well. To give us feedback on a process, we should rely on statistical data to understand it and be able to fairly act on it. Rating systems 1-5 or 1-10 are generally subjective and lack operational definitions. Operational definitions are critical to establishing ‘accountability’ (raised by Dave). If anyone is to be accountable for anything, they must understand things in the same way anyone else would. Common knowledge (sense), and as we known, it is often ‘uncommon’.

As for differentiation between employees or students, we must examine what it is we are after. Even if past rankings/scores were accurate, would they be helpful in predicting tomorrow’s events? To my knowledge, their may never be a way to fairly rank folks to make use of it. Mike T. raises the point about schools using standardized test scores to sort out the ‘good’ from the ‘bad’. Just what is good and bad? Does this mean a bad students cognitive skills are inferior to a good student’s skill? Or has the good student prevailed under the Pygmalion Effect, getting this an that because of a subconscious ‘lottery’? The False Assumptions about rating and ranking that we have been using or have had used on us are numerous. It has gotten to the point where we accept these things as facts of life, a label they most certainly do not, or should not, hold.

Dr. Deming offered this quote, “In God we trust. All others, bring data.” It is an important quote as he sought to eliminate the hearsay and guesswork as much as possible. Still, he recognized, as do I, that good data won’t always be available. In these cases, we must rely on subjective means. However, there are informed opinions (my many postings are just that, I hope) and uninformed opinion. If we are to guess, we should do our best. But what is the worth of ranking employees in an organization? Is it helpful? Sure, for those who prevail under the Pygmalion Effect. Still, the many others who don’t rate well, they are left to feel as a second class citizen. Are we trying to hurt the others? I hope not, but the effect is undeniable. People feel badly.

I have many opinions on the worth of bonus systems in schools or in work, but I’ll hold off on these for now.

Tom Coen’s offers this in regards your question on the ability to make distinctions about those who live on social extremes: when we begin our careers in school, we can make assumptions about which classmates are going to get the A’s and which will get the F’s. We can do this without having to rank students formally with a standardized test either. We do this through observation. Still, it has little worth in predicting who will achieve the most in life or if anyone will even notice.

I’m challenging your paradigm I realize, so I hope you don’t think that I am down playing your point of view. I certainly recognize that you make a great deal of sense to me on a number of points and topics. I regard you as being pretty bright. And guess what…I never had to grade you to arrive at my subjective conclusion either.

Regards,

Kevin
 

Mike S.

Happy to be Alive
Trusted Information Resource
#59
Michael T and Kevin,

I guess I'm one of those poor students, because I still don't think I understand some of your points completely. In my mind you contradict yourselves in some places.

Do you guys suggest that grading/ranking students -- K-12 or college -- should not be done? Just teach the class and if they show-up everyone "passes" because we cannot adequately "rank" or "grade" them???? Or because some people unfairly benefit or are punished by the Pygmalion Effect (self-fulfilling prophesies - I had to look it up)?

Same thing in sports? The coach should say he cannot fairly define who should be first, second, and third-string during practice, so everyone gets equal playing time?

Kevin says "the many others who don’t rate well, they are left to feel as a second class citizen." Without trying to sound crass, so what? Is this not the way of life? Not every wolf can be the "Alpha male"; not every Mule Deer buck gets to be the harem leader and do the breeding; you cannot have 500 CEO's in a company.

Further, IMO, whether you consciously or unconsciously "rank" folks or not it is nevertheless a fact that every one of us has talents and gifts that make us sometimes better than, and sometimes inferior to, everyone else in some way. I might have an inferior ability to do math problems or to write well compared to Kevin, but maybe Joe can run faster or maybe is more artistic. But if I need a statistician in my next project, I want Kevin, not Joe. Let Joe go to work for an interior decorator!

I agree that much of what is done in companies today under the heading "Performance Evaluations" etc. is poorly done, sometimes counterproductive, sometimes unfair. There are many ways to skin a cat, some much better than others, and we need to find the best practice(s). But I cannot go along with a "touchy-feely, everyone is okay, no one is better than anyone else unless they get that way unfairly, we cannot rank fairly" kind of philosophy. IMO that philosophy is the real way to make people "feel badly" and encourage lackluster performance.

"Bring data" you say??? Okay, the best that I can. But paralysis by analysis ain't for me. I don't have all year to decide who I want to lead that next critical project, or who I will hire, or who I will make my "Lead Person". I'm gonna go on the best data I have and not look back. Perfect? Heck no! Nothing is. But you gotta try something - do the best you can. I think I can beat the random picks by a mile.

If I had the choice of what kind of system to work in -- one with zero ranking/rating or one with a good but not perfect ranking/rating system, I'll take door #2 every time.

JMO as always.



:cool:
 
R

Randy Stewart

#60
I look at the feedback / evaluation issues as being the utmost in importance, it has to happen continuously. There is little or no benefit telling an employee that s/he is getting no or a smaller raise because of the performance over the past year when nothing was done to try and improve their performance. They'll look at it as an excuse to hold down costs. It doesn't help your department either. Call it OJT, hands on management, or whatever you like but the bottom line is the same. If you are not involved in the training or direction of your subordinates you miss an opportunity to improve. I'm not saying it has to be "the flogging will continue until productivity and morale increases", the feedback must be both possitive and negative. I'm not going to stroke their egos because I'm afraid they will feel bad about themselves and I'm not going to brow beat them over every little detail that goes wrong. They can either handle the job or they can't. It really is that simple. My responsiblities are to ensure they are properly trained to do the job, provide directions and the proper tools to complete the job and to make sure they know what is expected out of them.
Set annual goals, that you both agree to, for each one and monitor achievement of the goals and see how the attitude changes. A good test of this is to let the employee evaluate themselves and see how it stacks up with your evaluation of them. You'd be surprised how honest they will be.
 
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