Performance Appraisal

Ad Lib: [This entry probably would become unappealing to some but, sometimes a guy suffer a case of andropause and steam should be let loose.]

Late last year the management introduced a new Performance Appraisal System that shant out the old one because as we all see it, it is not an effective measurement of one’s effectiveness in the corporation. Well and good. The new PAS as we’ve been divined will do away with the influence of favoritism and the like in regard to the employee’s role. Well and good. A series of emails, memos and a seminar on how to fill the new form was embedded in our hearts and brains. Well and good. The new PAS which was labeled Performance Evaluation Form (PEF) will be effective on 2009. Well and good.

Fast forward to Now.

I have two subordinates whom I appraised with the new form. These subordinates should have two of their own subordinates. And after appraising them, it turns out that they each have a rating of EXCELLENT. The rating period is January to June 2009, and it got monetary benefits if you’ve hit the marks, mind you.

The PEF is divided into the following categories

• Job Performance
• Attitude
• Leadership

The scoring system have a result like this

 

Outstanding	Excellent	Very Satisfactory	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
9.0 to 10.0	7.0 to 8.99	5.0 to 6.99	3.0 to 4.9	1.0 to 2.99

 

The two subordinates rated Excellent because they perform their job well, never have I’ve heard them complain about their job and that most of their job should be done by their supposed subordinates. You don’t have to whip them to do their job, don’t have to remind them of their function and yes they have been doing their job for the past 5 years that it seems they have automatic switches built into them. They’re some well functioning machine to me if you could forgive the connotation to automatons. By and by, I think because of their dedication and what have you, their family life suffers. And it is there that neither me nor any one could do anything.

All in all the PEF is a totality of numbers and if you failed on one sub-category this will be then compensated with another higher rating. No factoring out say Job Performance= 50%, Attitude =30% and Leadership = 20%. Totality is a no no. But put in a weight factor you’ll get a result very different indeed.

See that third category over there? The Leadership one? I have to put on there Not Applicable because they don’t have no subordinates, and the measurement clause of the PEF limits the scoring for at least one subordinate. If I’m wrong in surmising this, do correct me.

Anyway, on September 9, 2009 we’ve received a memo from top management which requires us to fill in another form to justify our ratings for our subordinates. It is now called the the STARs thingy. STARs’:

• S/T = Situation/Critical Incident or Task
• A= Action Taken
• R= Result- Effect

Not well and not good.

On the new directive we should now incite two incidents to justify an EXCELLENT rating, three incident for an OUTSTANDING rating and three incident why an employee gathered a stagnating UNSATISFACTORY rating. Ah-bee-damned.

With one finger on an ear and another finger inside a nostril, I was thinking, why? Why the STARs? You don’t have to look up the sky at night to see the STARs, you only have to have a blow on the top of your head to see the STARs and the fairies and Tinkerbell in congregation. Think… why? I did when I got something gooey on the finger inside the nostril. I said to myself.

1. “The STARs evolved because there are many employees who’d either had an OUTSTANDING, EXCELLENT, and UNSATISFACTORY rating. And now management did what it supposed to do – try to minimize the surge of tsunamis that will bring havoc to finances.”
2. The STARs thing is in no way connected or related to the PES as the memo implies, since the PES is an evaluation of the employees performance for the period of six months while the STARs needs, at the most, justify three  physical occurrence/situation/incident why you gave the dude or dudette an OUTSTANDING rating.

OK NOW, my evil brain tells me that if I should satisfy and stick to the STARs all I have to do is do my job nice and slow, as slobby as I can for six months but within the rating period I’ll do two or three very significant things that will not be ignored nor deplored by my rater like doing overtime up to and beyond 9:00 P.M. without pay for two days, volunteer to do the job of an absent personnel with a higher or lower pay scale so that there will be no pending work for him/her when he/she arrives and just be there, available to do or help other employees in need and make them sign something to that effect that I’ve helped them…. etc,. To hell with deadlines. To hell with tardiness. To hell with quality, timeliness and other things that I could label to hell with… Three POGI points is all I have to do.

Aw! forget it.

The thing is this -- PEF failed grandly.

o…………..

sometimes sarcasm should be pondered as constructive criticism… don’t you think?

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