| > Performance reviews should be given in the context of preset goals. Without defined goals, a review is pointless. The last time I worked as a permanent employee, yearly appraisals were built out of three factors: a) Performance against defined goals. b) Helping the company meet its social programme. c) Moving the company forward. ... with the last two undefined. People could go into their appraisal with all their defined goals met, only to be told they'd only got 1/3 of what was needed. Just before I left they changed it again to stress they wanted everyone to go above and beyond, so simply meeting your objectives would in future get a "progressing" result, which was below average. There was, literally, no way to guarantee a favourable result without playing politics. That said, however, I don't think I'd like the solution where the system just works better. My ideal solution would be to have no annual goals or targets at all (which is the position I'm in currently as a contractor). I don't think it's an understatement to say that my opinion is that metrics are amongst the most evil things ever invented in the corporate world, and frequently the root of all trouble. In case that seems a hyperbolic statement, I'm thinking for example of the sub-prime issues which almost brought down the world financial systems and was in my opinion caused by the needs of some managers to put sales figures above ethics to make their yearly targets. |