Job Performance Evaluation

If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it, you almost don't have to manage them. ~ Jack Welch,

The concept of evaluating work has been an age-old phenomenon and in the post industrial revolution era, where corporate companies are owned as joint stock companies, an employee performance evaluation is becoming a more and more sensitive issue. I wish to put forth before you two great evaluation models. The objectives of these two methods is the same, and is targeted at same points, which go as follows.

• The evaluation process involves the analysis of the productiveness of the employee. The entire process determines whether the employee has been successful in achieving the target that has been set forth.
• The second motive of the evaluation is that whether the employee has maintained a high standard of quality in getting the job done, and is the result satisfying.
• The third aspect of the evaluation is to find out whether the employee has been a good person. In some companies this aspect is totally dismissed however, in companies where the employees deal with external projects, this has been a key evaluation criteria.
• Reward and also warn employees of merits and short comings, and provide good performance appraisals.

Now the reason that I would advocate you to make your own process is that every employee is unique and has a different set of problems, not mention a different approach towards the job. In the following two systems, the employees job evaluation and performance management has been done in a very unique manner and in both the system, the planners of the evaluation have yielded positive results, both, from the point of view of employee satisfaction and economic advantage to the establishment.

Vitality Curve: Jack Welch

Today, we know the American giant General Electric as a pinnacle of eminent success in the American electronics industry. Jack Welch, CEO of the company, has successfully developed and implement the vitality curve for employee performance evaluation in the company. In his book Straight from the Gut, Welch explains the employees of any organization can be divided into 3 types, namely A-B-C. In case of GE the ratios were 20% to 70% to 10%. Welch explains the features of the three proportions.

1. The group A was a leader in making things happen for the company and for themselves. This group of people were considered to be the most productive and their job performance evaluation was rated positive.
2. The second group B was that one that was productive but not substantially. This group was the major workforce of the company and encouraging them should be the priority.
3. Lastly, group C the one where negativity was rife, and the will to work was almost absent.

Now, you can easily implement this performance evaluation method in your company. In the first paragraphs 3 parameters for evaluation have been mentioned, rate all the employees in percentages for the 3 criteria. Next ask the personnel's superior and subordinate for the same ratings. Average out the three, and you have your evaluation. Decide where the person fits in A, B or C. Of course you can have a separate formula for every person, as per your own standards and requirements. Note that position and work experience should not become a part of the evaluation. Personal problems must be also accounted for. When Welch implemented the model, the revenue increased by 5 fold. This model has been advocated, and also criticized.

Maverick: Ricardo Semler

The model established by Semler is termed to be suicidal by some executives. However, in spite if its difficulty, it has been rated as an excellent system of human resource management and a success among all examples of performance evaluation that are used in the modern era.

Semco, Semler's company believes in the soul of people. The company's operational memorandum is 'we the people'. This is how Semco evaluates performance.

1. The employees set targets for themselves, with sufficient reasoning and logical grounds. The productivity of an employee is evaluated by the company as a whole, including juniors and superiors, at the end to the year. And, in some cases, also the people from some other departments.
2. The employees have an access to all financial statements and engineering drawings so that they can study it.
3. Employees cannot give suggestions. However they can implement the suggestions. A proportion of their salary is cut, if the implemented suggestion works, then the company shares the substantial profits with the employee.
4. A review of performance by a junior is reviewed seriously and juniors, as a group, can rate the person's performance.
5. There is no restriction to the amount of time for which a person may work per day.
6. Semco is the only company where employees also evaluate themselves and the jobs that they have done.

Semco evaluation methods make people believe in their own conscience and their own soul. Interestingly, the company has significantly reduced job stress of the people in a highly instrumental manner.

Based upon your own business model, you may set up your own, evaluation criteria, and employee satisfaction survey.