Employee Performance Management (EPM)

Multiple Channels of Reporting: Some organizations have two levels of Appraisal: by the Manager & Manager's Manager (called Reviewer).There are cases where cross-functional reporting is also undertaken (example: Appraisal by Line Manager for operational role & by Functional Manager for the Technical/ Functional role). In Matrix organizations, same employees report to 3 to 4 different positions. Multiple reporting channels require Work flow Management to ensure timely completion of Appraisal.

Normalization of Appraisal Scores: Rating tendencies of different Managers vary from lenient (called soft ratees) to stringent (called harsh ratees). Normalization, through trend analysis, helps in removing these abberations. The process requires continuous estimation of moving average of the Rating for each Manager & for the organization as a whole. This leads to the calculation of a 'correction factor' for each Manager. Since trend analysis requires collation of all the reports initiated by a Manager during the last few years, the normalization process is difficult to be managed without automation.

Counseling Records: It is a good practice in some organizations to maintain a record of all the counselings done to an employee during the year by his/ her Manager. These could be viewed at the time of completing the annual appraisal of the employee. Counseling requires one to one interaction between the manager & the subordinate and is done every quarter in some of the companies as a best practice. The employee is asked to document the same after the counseling is completed & forward it to the Manager for vetting. Faithful reproduction by the employee builds good rapport between the two & encourages mutual understanding. Maintenance of counseling records makes the appraisal process objective.

Critical Incidents Diary: A Line Manager needs to maintain a record of all critical happenings/ events/ activities in which each of his subordinates exhibits some unique contribution. Also he needs to record incidents where gross violations are made by the subordinates. Such a diary, if available, helps in reporting objectively on the employees at the time of their annual appraisal.

EPM-on line: This is a preferred approach even with the small organizations today since much of the time spent by Line Managers in completing the Appraisal process gets curtailed. The on-line help to view JDs, Counseling Notes, Goal Sheets, Critical Incidents diary, meanings of each Rating on the scale, description of competencies, & many other interactive features make the Appraisal process meaningful & enjoyable.

Integration: An EPM integrated with the Employee data base (HRMS), Payroll application, Succession Planning, Training Management, Transfer management & Remuneration will be desirable since it will ensure the use of a common data base, thereby ensuring the integrity of information provided for decision making.