It destroys morale, kills teamwork and hurts the bottom line. And that’s just for starters…
(0)Tag Archive for 'PerformanceReviews'
More WorkUSA 2004 survey findings from Watson Wyatt (based on a survey of 1,191 US workers from a broad cross-section of industries):
- Approximately 90 percent of surveyed employees participate in a performance management program.
- Only 30 percent of employees believe the program helps them improve their performance.
- Less than 40 percent say the system establishes clear performance goals or generates honest feedback.
- Only 39 percent of employees see the connection between their day-to-day work and company goals.
- Only 54 percent of workers think their companies set high performance standards.
- Only 44 percent feel that people are held accountable for their performance.
- 20 percent say their companies help poorly performing employees improve.
- 43 percent of employees feel they don’t get enough guidance to improve their performance.
- Only 38 percent of employees say that their company uses technology to streamline the performance management process.
These numbers are subject to interpretation. For example, while Watson Wyatt reports 30 percent believe their company’s performance evaluation process helps them improve performance, only five percent strongly agree with that statement. Put another way, 95 percent of employees think their system could be improved! Similarly, 93 percent of employees think the connection between their work and company goals could be improved!
Watson Wyatt says these numbers present a measurable opportunity to improve financial results and productivity. Their recommendations:
- Eliminate “HR-speak” and focus on business results in the performance management process
- Recognize top performers and confront poor performers as soon as possible
- Implement user-friendly automation to re-engage managers and employees
Great suggestions all. Still, it’s not clear that automating current performance evaluation processes will lead to improve a company’s bottom-line performance.
There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that performance appraisal systems hurt more than help. I’ve been looking for evidence performance review systems help or hurt the bottom line. A New York Times article by Kelley Holland entitled Performance Reviews: Many Need Improvement points to some interesting survey data:
“According to one study by Watson Wyatt, the human resources consulting firm, only 3 in 10 employees believed that their companies’ performance review system actually improved performance. In another study by the firm, almost half of the employers surveyed thought that their managers were at best only slightly effective in helping underperforming employees to improve.”
Those findings feel right, but focus on what managers or employees think about their systems, not how the programs affect actual company performance.
Holland suggests there’s no consensus on a replacement:
“But performance reviews are unlikely to disappear. Many companies believe that a paper trail of reviews can protect them against lawsuits from former employees, and many consultants and human resources executives contend that well-designed reviews, along with frequent conversations about performance, can truly help employees improve and develop.”
50 to 70 percent of managers and employees think their programs are not working, but there’s no movement to change them. Wonder why? According to Watson Wyatt’s study:
“Many corporations view their performance management programs as ‘organizational wallpaper,’ meaning they exist only in the background and aren’t expected to add value.”
Maybe I can’t find hard data because performance mananagement isn’t expected to add value in the first place?
What do you think about performance review systems? Do they help the bottom line? How would you design a replacement?
