BOOK REVIEW: Abolishing Performance Appraisals: Why They Backfire And What To Do Instead (By Tom Coens & Mary Jenkins, Berrett-Koehler, 2000, ISBN #1-57675-076-0)
BOOK REVIEW: Abolishing Performance Appraisals: Why They Backfire And What To Do Instead (By Tom Coens & Mary Jenkins, Berrett-Koehler, 2000, ISBN #1-57675-076-0)
And there has scarcely been a client of mine that wasn’t in the process of revising their PA process. It always “needs updating,” or “we’re moving to a competency-based approach,” or “our objective this year is to update the form.”
So, why do so many organizations do (or at least go through the motions of doing) them? Well, they will tell you, a PA fosters better individual performance...it enhances communications and understanding between the manager and her staff...it motivates people...it enables the manager to coach and develop his employee... without it how would we determine compensation?...besides, we need documentation in case we have to discipline or fire an employee.
Abolishing Performance Appraisals boldly presents the skeptical position of a growing number of managers, human resource professionals, consultants and researchers: PA’s don’t do what they are purported to do AND they cause a lot of other damage in the meantime. Coens and Jenkins may be right. Perhaps PA is a toxic process for people—especially employees—to go through. Maybe the emperor is, in fact, wearing no clothes! Take a look at their case:
First of all, they list a number of false assumptions underlying the PA process, such as:
The authors make a strong case for getting rid of formal PAs altogether. They recommend replacing them with a work culture where the employee takes responsibility for soliciting feedback on her own performance and development. Removed from the emotional baggage of “the big appraisal meeting,” the manager/coach’s input will be more readily welcomed and acted upon. It should be noted, however, that the manager still has a responsibility to implement a formal process, if it becomes necessary, to address unsatisfactory performance.
What about compensation? Without performance ratings, how do you assign merit increases? They recommend you simply stop awarding merit increases, except for truly exceptional performance results, a situation that applies only to a handful of your employees. A merit component of 1–3% motivates only a few and upsets almost everyone else. Why? Because 98% of your people regard themselves as performing in the top half of the employee group and 80% place themselves in the top quarter. Instead of merit amounts, pay everybody a competitive market rate and timely cost-of-living increases plus team-based bonuses, gain-sharing, company- wide profit sharing, and the like.
As for PA documentation as a firewall against legal challenges to dismissal, Coens & Jenkins find formal appraisal information is frequently too inaccurate and inconsistent to support the employer’s case. Instead they counsel you, when required, to implement a formal corrective action process, including progressive discipline steps backed up by the requisite “paper trail” documenting meetings, critical performance incidents, and assistance you give the employee to remedy the situation. After all, the vast majority of your employees are good workers. Why force all of them to go through a performance appraisal in order to cover yourself against the very few?
So, how do you go about abolishing your PAs? Start with an honest look at your current appraisal process, how it is regarded, the results you are getting (e.g., motivated staff, increased communication with management, more accountable employees, performance turnarounds), and the assumptions about people, work, trust, motivation that underlie it. Then develop alternative processes to handle the major outputs of PA (coaching for development, performance feedback, compensation, motivation, promotions and downsizing, legal documentation). The book provides a thorough step-by-step process to gradually wean your organization off appraisals. However, it cautions that this constitutes a major change in the very culture of your enterprise and can take some time, even several years.
This volume serves us the way books such as In Search of Excellence and Stewardship have done. It challenges our status quo thinking. Does our traditional performance appraisal approach in fact perpetuate employee dependency on the “boss” and discourage self-motivation, initiative, creativity, accountability and enthusiasm- all hallmarks of today’s successful, high performance organizations?
This book is a must read for Human Resource professionals and for managers who care about accessing the full potential contribution of their employees.
BOOK REVIEW Abolishing Performance Appraisals Why They Backfire And What To Do Instead By Tom Coens Mary Jenkins BerrettKoehler 2000 ISBN 1576750760 - To learn more about this author, visit Ian Cook's Website.
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Nobody likes to do performance appraisals (PA’s). Nobody! Not even the Human Resources department. For them, it is a constant struggle to get line managers to complete them correctly and on time.
And there has scarcely been a client of mine that wasn’t in the process of revising their PA process. It always “needs updating,” or “we’re moving to a competency-based approach,” or “our objective this year is to update the form.”
So, why do so many organizations do (or at least go through the motions of doing) them? Well, they will tell you, a PA fosters better individual performance...it enhances communications and understanding between the manager and her staff...it motivates people...it enables the manager to coach and develop his employee... without it how would we determine compensation?...besides, we need documentation in case we have to discipline or fire an employee.
Abolishing Performance Appraisals boldly presents the skeptical position of a growing number of managers, human resource professionals, consultants and researchers: PA’s don’t do what they are purported to do AND they cause a lot of other damage in the meantime. Coens and Jenkins may be right. Perhaps PA is a toxic process for people—especially employees—to go through. Maybe the emperor is, in fact, wearing no clothes! Take a look at their case:
First of all, they list a number of false assumptions underlying the PA process, such as:
- A mandatory, organization-wide, onesize-fits-all annual face-to-face feedback process is effective for just about everyone in all functions and groups
- All our managers have the requisite interpersonal skills and sensitivity to give feedback accurately and counsel around emotional reactions to the feedback
- The boss has the prime responsibility for ensuring the employee performs and develops himself
- Ratings are objective enough to be perceived as fair and to motivate effort
- PA’s are objective enough to stand up in court
- People will withhold performance if they are not appraised and rewarded annually (i.e., they need their PA “fix” or they won’t continue to produce)
The authors make a strong case for getting rid of formal PAs altogether. They recommend replacing them with a work culture where the employee takes responsibility for soliciting feedback on her own performance and development. Removed from the emotional baggage of “the big appraisal meeting,” the manager/coach’s input will be more readily welcomed and acted upon. It should be noted, however, that the manager still has a responsibility to implement a formal process, if it becomes necessary, to address unsatisfactory performance.
What about compensation? Without performance ratings, how do you assign merit increases? They recommend you simply stop awarding merit increases, except for truly exceptional performance results, a situation that applies only to a handful of your employees. A merit component of 1–3% motivates only a few and upsets almost everyone else. Why? Because 98% of your people regard themselves as performing in the top half of the employee group and 80% place themselves in the top quarter. Instead of merit amounts, pay everybody a competitive market rate and timely cost-of-living increases plus team-based bonuses, gain-sharing, company- wide profit sharing, and the like.
As for PA documentation as a firewall against legal challenges to dismissal, Coens & Jenkins find formal appraisal information is frequently too inaccurate and inconsistent to support the employer’s case. Instead they counsel you, when required, to implement a formal corrective action process, including progressive discipline steps backed up by the requisite “paper trail” documenting meetings, critical performance incidents, and assistance you give the employee to remedy the situation. After all, the vast majority of your employees are good workers. Why force all of them to go through a performance appraisal in order to cover yourself against the very few?
So, how do you go about abolishing your PAs? Start with an honest look at your current appraisal process, how it is regarded, the results you are getting (e.g., motivated staff, increased communication with management, more accountable employees, performance turnarounds), and the assumptions about people, work, trust, motivation that underlie it. Then develop alternative processes to handle the major outputs of PA (coaching for development, performance feedback, compensation, motivation, promotions and downsizing, legal documentation). The book provides a thorough step-by-step process to gradually wean your organization off appraisals. However, it cautions that this constitutes a major change in the very culture of your enterprise and can take some time, even several years.
This volume serves us the way books such as In Search of Excellence and Stewardship have done. It challenges our status quo thinking. Does our traditional performance appraisal approach in fact perpetuate employee dependency on the “boss” and discourage self-motivation, initiative, creativity, accountability and enthusiasm- all hallmarks of today’s successful, high performance organizations?
This book is a must read for Human Resource professionals and for managers who care about accessing the full potential contribution of their employees.
BOOK REVIEW Abolishing Performance Appraisals Why They Backfire And What To Do Instead By Tom Coens Mary Jenkins BerrettKoehler 2000 ISBN 1576750760 - To learn more about this author, visit Ian Cook's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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