The problem with performance appraisals
My dad sent me a Forbes article claiming that 98 percent of HR executives say that annual performance appraisals aren’t useful.
A number like that immediately makes me very skeptical of the article. That’s a bold claim, and a majority of HR professionals I meet think performance appraisals are useful and a good use of time.
I, however, don’t.
The problem with them is actually pretty simple: If your organization has managers who properly manage performance throughout the year, appraisals are superfluous and time consuming. If you don’t, they’re of no value.
Notes & Further Reading
- Forbes asks, “Are annual performance appraisals neccessary?” I’m wary of the data here.
- Frank Roche asks a few insightful questions about performance appraisals, and shares his idea for the daily performance review.
- On Renegade HR, my old blog, I’ve argued that performance appraisals fail at their main objectives, and that if managers were more effective people leaders, a lot of what HR does would be unnecessary.
2 Responses
Leave a comment or contact me on Twitter at @ChrisFerdinandi.
Adam Axon
As a current HR Professional, I agree completely with you mate. I just have not seen them add real value whatsoever. It’s more about ticking a tick box, “we do them because everyone else does”, without any further thought to it. I’ve been trying, (in vein, most of times) to move the businesses away from annual performance appraisals.
Some of work that Atlassian down in Oz have done in this regard has been quite impressive and often served as a bit of a road map.
http://www.managementexchange.com/story/atlassians-big-experiment-performance-reviews
John Hunter
I agree that performance appraisals are wasteful and harmful. As you say feedback is necessary but it needs to be done throughout the year in ways much more effective than a performance review.
My posts on the topic:
http://management.curiouscatblog.net/category/performance-appraisal/