{"id":77264,"date":"2016-09-06T15:29:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T22:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betterworks.com\/?p=77264"},"modified":"2021-06-23T15:41:48","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T22:41:48","slug":"bridging-gap-eliminated-ratings-effective-performance-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betterworks.com\/magazine\/bridging-gap-eliminated-ratings-effective-performance-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Gap Between Eliminated Ratings and Effective Performance Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A recent report from the CEB Corporate Leadership Council<\/a> delivered interesting news: the \u201cquick fix\u201d many companies are implementing in the hopes of generating a performance management revolution isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While enterprise leaders expect their performance management processes to improve immediately after eliminating performance ratings, it turns out they could actually worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the bad news. The good news is that this doesn\u2019t mean eliminating ratings is wrong; it just means it isn\u2019t enough. After removing ratings, organizations should focus on implementing other necessary changes to ensure that there isn\u2019t a gap between eliminated ratings and a successful performance management process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizations Are Hungry for Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s becoming increasingly clear that companies want to change their performance management practices. CEB reports that a meager 4% of human resources leaders think their performance management systems are effective at accurately assessing employee performance. CEB also validates what we\u2019ve pointed out for some time: the problem with traditional performance management approaches is that they\u2019re hierarchical, annual, weakness-based and backward-looking. They\u2019re also focused on measuring employees with ratings\u2014boiling down all the skills and nuances of an employee to a number\u2014which becomes a central point of frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees, and many managers, don\u2019t like ratings, and more and more organizations are now looking to do away with them\u20146% of organizations surveyed by CEB have already done so, 15% plan to do so in the near future and 28% say they\u2019d consider doing so. The premise is easy to understand: get rid of the measures people don\u2019t like, as well as the time-consuming processes that come with generating them, and manager-employee interactions will improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it appears that reality falls a bit short of expectations. To prove it, CEB surveyed nearly 10,000 employees across 18 countries with a representative sample of industries and organization sizes. They gathered a variety of data, all aimed at answering this key question: \u201cWhat\u2019s the real impact of eliminating ratings?\u201d The results may be surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just Removing Ratings Makes Things Worse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their research, CEB found a severe mismatch between the expectations business leaders have after removing performance ratings and what actually happens in the workplace:<\/p>\n\n\n\n