Many organisations in Oman at this time of the year will be undergoing through an end-of-the-year appraisal. A time of the year to reflect on the organisation’s (company) performance in overall, and the individual’s (employee) accomplishment in specific. So basically on what went well, what went wrong, what needs improvement, and finally what’s next, as far as the organization’s growth and the individual’s career is concerned. Unfortunately, the session is not a walk in the park, yet my article today will focus on a productive system that organization can follow in order to undertake the end-of-the-year appraisal effectively.
I can tell you for a fact, based on my personal and professional experience of working in various organizations, so as serving in a couple of boards already, that the manager and the respective employee, generally go through a range of rollercoaster feelings (before and after the session of course). These feelings, include but is not limited to, anticipation, anxiety, disappointment, frustration, appreciation, gratitude, hopes and confusion. Reasons are purely due to the way the evaluation was taken place. Some attribute these sessions to being disappointing (due to insufficient clarity) but the majority attribute these sessions to being unfair (due to an absence of factual measure or a system of appraisal in place).
Feedback is shared, some constructive while others are destructive. Promotions are given, some are well-deserved, while others are due to personal favoritism. Monetary bonus are distributed; some are even, others are odd. Majority of the employees end up with the annual 3% salary increment/increase by default, while others are taken through a PIP engagement i.e. a “performance improvement plan” that helps the underperforming individual/employee improve their performance according to the organization’s workplace in question expectations.
Unless organisations recognise and address these bitter feelings and concerns, high employee turn-over and disloyalty, among other negative attributes, will be the result an organization will encounter, apart from achieving low top line (revenue) and bottom line (profit) financial results. Good employees will leave to the next available opportunity, while the rest will remain as good as dead bodies at the respective organisations.
To ensure a productive end-of-year appraisal system is in place, organisations need to first create clear yet tangible objects/goals along with a tangible methods (called Key Performance Indicators/KPI) to measure the results. These goals needs to be linked, in one way or another, to organizations bottom-line. Everyone needs to see the importance and how each objective or activity undertaken helps the organization moves forward.
Next, the organisations in question, via its managers, need to communicate, train, and consistently follow-up to ensure clarity (of the goals and measure) is obtained. Periodic meetings (weekly and/or monthly) depending on the complexity of the work needs to take place as a form of performance review to ensure everyone is on track.
Lastly, as an employee, you must ensure you understand, accept (or positively debate/argue on tasks assigned) yet at the end, you need to ensure you follow the system consistently to avoid end-of-the-year appraisal results surprises that may not be in your favor. The key is to understand the requirement clearly, apply the activities assigned successfully and then finally attain the rewards at the end of the year.
Transparent communication, fair periodic evaluations across the year, and a focus on the employee’s performance development will surely contribute to a productive appraisal experience which will ultimately impact and effect the overall growth of the organization. Employee’s satisfaction creates love towards the organization, and the love in return, attracts and generates happy customers. To conclude and relate, I would like to share a quote that I recently read that state "Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first”.
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