Performance appraisals are for robots

Robots can help us work better together, but let’s not allow robot fantasies to dehumanize the way we work. That’s what you get with performance appraisals today. Whether you put a fancy web interface on top of it or still do it with paper and spreadsheets, the conclusion is unavoidable: the performance appraisal was designed for machines, not people.

It’s a classic case of form over function: the logic behind appraisals looks good on paper, but it doesn’t work for us in practice because we’re really not that logical. That’s why so many of us are convinced we need performance appraisals but why we’re really bad at them and so many of us hate them. It’s time to speak up!

If we could store and process more information, we’d be better at appraisals. If we were able to give and receive feedback without feeling, the process just might work. But we don’t have robot memories or robot emotions. We’re unavoidably human.

Don’t you remember when…

While machines can remember nearly everything, humans can’t. That’s why many performance reviews mistakenly focus on the most recent few months before the review and not the entire period they’re meant to represent. Have you ever suffered a bad review because of a mistake made the month before, despite eleven months of decent work?

We’re quick, but let’s be realistic

While machines can process many inputs at once, humans can’t. There’s a limit to how much feedback we can absorb at one time and actually do something about. So much information is shared in a typical review it’s difficult for many of us to process it quickly enough to engage in any sort of meaningful discussion. Have you ever thought of something great to say just after the review is over? Something you just wish you could get off your chest but no longer have an outlet to do so?

We don’t feel logically

While machines can be programmed to react in certain ways, humans can’t. That’s why we so often take feedback as criticism even when it’s meant to be constructive. In the performance appraisal process, it’s hard to not get defensive, particularly when the feedback is so closely tied to pay, promotion and our sense of worth (at work?). Have you ever left a review meeting feeling confused or stressed?

Our performance suffers if the process doesn’t account for our reactions in a human way. It’s amazing: when we’re really frustrated at work we do things like complain, slack off and get distracted easily – even with our paychecks on the line! Because we’re not logical in our feelings, implementing a process that assumes we are must, logically, be counter-productive.

Does your manager treat you like a robot?

Probably! After all, you’re here to get $%*! done. Nevertheless, Brian Brim and Jim Asplund of Gallup advise: “people aren’t machines, and trying to fix them as if they were simply doesn’t work.” Many bosses seem reluctant to change things on their own. Maybe that’s why 82% of people aren’t passionate about their work!

It doesn’t have to be that way. To solve the challenge of appraisals, add some “human” to the equation:

  • Push for ongoing dialogue instead of infrequent appraisal. (or risk creating a zombie workforce)
  • Make a point of meeting regularly with your manager (and employees) to be sure you’re aligned. (if you don’t, prepare for disaster)
  • Recognize achievements when they happen. (praise is worth more than money)
  • Where appropriate, make feedback social – get the whole team involved.
  • Share feedback more often. (your team will perform better)

According to Marshall Goldsmith, leaders who follow up frequently are more effective.

Getting in the habit of sharing feedback in bite-sized chunks, more frequently, increases the likelihood of actually doing something productive with it, because it’s easier to remember, process and consume effectively. Focus on people, not process, and good things will happen.

So speak up before it’s too late:

“Robots of the world, you are ordered to exterminate the human race…Preserve only the factories, railroads, machines, mines, and raw materials. Destroy everything else. Then return to work. Work must not cease.”
– Karel Kapek, R.U.R.

It would be great to hear what you think.

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