HR : PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Try bottom-up appraisal as well.


Sun Tzu says,
"Therefore, when laying your plans, compare the following elements and appraise them carefully: Which ruler possesses the Moral Law; whose commander is the most capable... which army is stronger; which has better trained officers and men...?


Although it is common in most firms to conduct formal appraisals of employees' performance from time to time to determine if they are doing their job well, not many managers realize that informal appraisal is best. Yes, there is really no need for formal appraisals if you run informal ones constantly.


But if you have to do the once a year or even twice-a-year exercise just to assuage your conscience, why run a bottom- up appraisal as well? By this, I mean asking your immediate subordinates to appraise you just as you would appraise them. It is a good way to find out what they really think of you. But of course, you must first convince them speak up without fear of retaliation on you part.


I have recently come across one man who had taken it one step further.  Beside getting his managers to rate him, Seet Cher Hung who heads Phoenix Contact (SEA) Pte. Ltd, also gets his staff to rate one and other. Although he wouldn't know who rates him since the results are handed to another manager for tabulation, he feels the system reinforces his appraisal of his people.