Appraisals: Companies across sectors on what they did to make performance appraisal a win-win process

Most employees dread appraisals. Not fair, not frequent enough, no proper feedback, no career plan are just some of the criticisms that are levelled at the annual performance review exercise. A bunch of leading companies though have tried to work their way around these challenges, and come up with practices that employees take to in a much better way. Sreeradha D Basu & Rica Bhattacharyya get companies across sectors to weigh in on what they did to make their performance appraisal a win-win process.

DELOITTE INDIA
WHAT THEY DID?: Focused on fuelling future performance

OBJECTIVE: An internal engagement survey at Deloitte threw up the need for a more nimble, real-time and individualised framework focused on fuelling future performance rather than assessing it in the past.



INNOVATION
Launched ‘Reinventing Performance Management’ (RPM)—a system that has no once-a-year review or 360-degree feedback tools. Instead, it’s hallmarked by speed, agility, engagement and the one-size-fits-one approach. It also offers the staff real-time performance feedback from the team leader. RPM allows giving professionals, 80% of whom are millennials, instant feedback.



AXIS BANK
WHAT THEY DID?: Created a more inclusive performance culture

OBJECTIVE: Meritocracy often creates anxiety. While it is critical towards nurturing a high performance culture, Axis feels it should be inclusive, so that both stars and other solid performers shoulder the bank’s performance agenda equally.

INNOVATION
Axis has introduced the Enhancement Program. This is a ‘second chance’ where employees can volunteer to take on stretch targets to get a retrospective upgrade in their rating. With this, the bank has managed to do away with employees’ negative perceptions around lower performance ratings while keeping the meritocracy intact.






SUN PHARMA
WHAT THEY DID?: Honed longterm professional development

OBJECTIVE: Review and redesign existing processes, courtesy the opportunity provided by the merger of Ranbaxy and Sun Pharma, which brought together two distinct cultures and performance management philosophies.



INNOVATION
PRIDE was designed as the new global performance management process for Sun Pharma, enabling an employee to perform, reflect, invest, develop and excel. This process is tech-enabled and includes longterm professional development objectives, backed by a formal mid-year process.




GODREJ INDUSTRIES
WHAT THEY DID?: Rigorous goal setting, timely feedback

OBJECTIVE: At Godrej, the emphasis is on aligning every team member’s goals with the organisation’s objectives. These sessions help Godrejites understand the link between their performance and associated rewards & recognitions.

INNOVATION
Godrej focuses not just on the achievement of specific goals (the ‘what’), but also how they are achieved with reference to Godrej Capability Factors, a set of key capabilities unique to the organisation (‘the how’). Technology is used to analyse performance of each team member and enable managers to cascade their expectations to teams.






ACCENTURE
WHAT THEY DID?: Performance achievement method

OBJECTIVE: Accenture aims to put staff at the centre of the performance assessment mechanism, allowing them to get feedback as often as they like, so that it becomes a continuous process.



INNOVATION
Accenture has shifted from an annual performance management process to performance achievement. The company has eliminated performance reviews, ratings and rankings. The focus is on setting priorities, growing strengths and creating rewarding career opportunities for the people to help them be more successful. This means the leaders spend more time coaching and talking with employees.