Managerial phobia for appraisals & wage hikes 01

Ask any manager in most organisations which time of the year is the worst for them?
Managers dread appraisal time (if they have them) and the time to give promotions and wage increases.

In growing economies and organisations wage increases are more common than in mature and declining ones. Whether growing or declining nearly all organisations often cannot afford to increase their wage bills due to the existing pressure on their bottom lines but are helpless to resist increases because they face the risk of good employees leaving.

What are the causes of anxiety?
1. Managers are under constant and intense pressure from their boards to reduce costs. Managers are forced to go after the most visible factor like reducing wages and salaries.
2. Budgets are tightened and expectations on quality, time and productivity are ratcheted upwards.
3. Employees expect increases in income to meet consistently rising cost of living.
4. Employees carry grudges on perceived injustice of management.


People are more concerned with what others get relative to what they have got and discontent is rampant. Any attempt to correct the situation only makes matters worse. At the end of a couple of months everyone settles down , some carry a chip on their shoulder and leave, some smart over the perceived injustice and managers take medicines for migraine.

This can all be avoided if wage hikes and promotions are implemented after conducting a thorough appraisal of performance, but sadly this is either not done or if conducted is only as a formality or to pre-empt any potential litigation.

Come appraisal time each year and managers and owners are normally in a state of heightened anxiety. Here are some common issues why they hate appraisal time.


Issue no 1: You can't review if you have no plan.
Surprisingly a large number of organisations do not have any structured plans on what they want to achieve and how they plan to achieve it. Sure they have large number of minions, assistants and staff who jump here and there trying to retain their daily ever changing tasks & responsibilities without upsetting their seniors. This is most typical of the reactive organisation which is clueless of strategy, direction or pace. Appraisals conducted in the absence of mutually agreed targets and plans is a waste of time and cause of unwanted tension in organisations.

Issue no 2: Appraisals focus on behaviour than performance.
Human beings love power and influence over their fellow men. This craving for domination leads seniors to bully juniors and pre-empt any discussion on role of seniors for lack of support or direction. Behaviour with seniors is a major

Issue no 3: Managers have little idea on corrective action and vent their frustration making performance of employees and juniors worse. They are sometimes struggling to connect the dots which actually give the picture of how different actions, plans and systems integrate to provide results.

An appraisal should be a review of performance of the individual against targets and plans which are a smaller part of the larger organisation target and plan.
It is supposed to provide feedback on weaknesses and strengths of the individuals, strengths and weaknesses in the immediate superior and the organisation. This should lead to improvements and corrections regarding responsibilities and targets of the individual, standards and system changes necessary within the organisation and changes the boss/appraiser should make in his approach to the issues involved.
After all problems create opportunities for improvement.

If problems exist within the system they need to be addressed and if problems exist with the individual then an assessment has to be made whether the person being appraised is competent, effective sincere and has been focussed. If competency is an issue then training needs are highlighted. If effectiveness is the issue then support in terms of authority , systems, guidelines may need to be reinforced. If sincerity is an issue then serious consideration should be given to separation of individual from the organisation. Focus may be the result of personal problems and may require counselling and big brother/sister approach may be required.

Sadly many organisations treat appraisals as a waste of time and hence miss the opportunity to improve. A well designed appraisal system is essential to build world class organisations where merit is recognised and rewarded and problems /issues promptly resolved based on respect , trust and commitment.

I will take up matter of appraisal systems further in future blog posts.