Lisa Haneberg hates performance appraisals. She’s going to spend the week talking about them. I like this statement from her first salvo:
If you are expecting an objective journalistic article about the pros and cons of performance appraisals here you have come to the wrong place. I don’t think that would be a good use of time or space. Most people in their heart know that appraisals don’t work, but the question is always what to do instead. The purpose of this series is to explore the scrap appraisals point of view and the potential alternatives. All week, I will go deep into this one topic.
I have been out of corporate ville for such a long time now, I struggle to remember my last performance review. Personally, I wonder if HR folks have considered a new breakthrough technology: talking to people, finding time to reflect on how things are going, sharing experiences, appreciations, complaints etc day-to-day. But maybe they prefer the ritual of the appraisal and, of course, the exit interview? And of course, it’s not so easy to sell an expensive consulting solution consisting of recommending honest conversation.