Re. Performance appraisals

[Geoff Hart <geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

     Grant Lowe asked how a boss should appraise subordinates. We're
     currently in the midst of a move to working as a "self-directed team".
     No idea yet how or if this will work, and I won't until we've done our
     first performance appraisal, but here's the gist of what we've come up
     with:

     Any performance appraisal for a service group should combine
     subjective and objective factors. Objective factors are simple: did we
     do the job right? On time? On budget? For each of these, we can define
     a criterion and objectively determine whether we met that criterion. A
     simple pass/fail.

     Subjective evaluations are harder precisely because they're
     subjective, thus more emotional than rational. But we work on the
     basis that appraisals are opportunities for self-improvement and
     improving customer service, not just times to determine how much of a
     pay raise we get that year. Thus, even if a subjective impression ("I
     don't like his work") is wrong, it's a sign of something that needs
     fixing. (The fixing may involve helping complainers to realize that
     they're wrong or the source of the problem, accepting the fact that
     some people are never happy, or in extreme cases, getting a big
     elephant to lean on the problem staffer.) Even if "needs fixing" is
     too strong, "could be improved" still fits. Perception is very
     important in the service sector.

     The best appraisal I ever had was from a boss who "graded" me almost
     purely on objective criteria, then after that was done, listed all the
     good and bad comments that she had ever received about me from
     clients. The objective criteria we could both agree upon; the good
     comments were nice, and took away some of the sting from the bad
     comments; the bad comments were generally things that she could
     persuade me were valid or (when invalid) suggest how to resolve so
     that the perceived problem disappeared. Thanks Sandy!

     --Geoff Hart    @8^{)}
     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

     Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of
     our reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.