Best place to work

In this era of digitisation and automation, Human Resource Management is also going through a paradigm shift

Part-I

Fortune annually publishes the list of best place to work. The top five slots for 2016 includes Google, Acuity Insurance, Boston Consulting Group, Wegmans Food Market and Quicken Loans. Google has been rated as the best in class for consecutive ten years. If we look at the reasons why the company is consistently being rated as best in class, the response will be from the employees.
Work which is beneficial to others
"My work is used by lots and lots of users," wrote a Google developer advocate working in the Mountain View headquarters. "It's cool stuff that makes people happy."
Takes care of Family
A noticeable new theme in this year's Google reviews is the extension of paid paternity leave from seven to 12 weeks. New dads and adoptive parents working at Google can now take up to 12 weeks of paid paternity leave, while moms continue to be entitled to 22 weeks.
"Not only is the policy generous, but the atmosphere at Google is such that you can take the full leave and not hurt your career," an employee wrote on Glassdoor.
"Genius" colleagues
Another reason Google employees love their jobs is that they get to work with "genius" co-workers, Dobroski says, quoting a Glassdoor reviewer. "The company attracts some of the best talent and best people to work with in the world, which is the most important bit," wrote a San Francisco-based Google program manager.
Sweet office perks
Google practically invented the concept of sweet office perks, which now extend even after an employee dies. From the on-site doctors and haircutters to the gourmet cafeteria food, every perk at Google has a calculate reason designed to keep employees satisfied. This applies to how long employees should wait in line during lunch (three to four minutes, ideally) as well as how much paid maternity leave they receive.
In this era of digitisation and automation Human Resource Management is also going through a paradigm shift. In fact, the focus on proper human resource management in the organisation has become so much more relevant in the present context with the increase in foray by competition to snatch quality staffs or the increasing threat from external factors including cyber attacks. The better trained, empowered and engaged workforce ultimately contribute towards the success of any organisation.  Be it in a business enterprise, an educational institute or even in a cricket team (now a days all these are in terms of professionals), the issue of right person in the right place is becoming much more critical due to ever increasing competitive environment. Google is an ultimate destination of work life balance with work environment empowering the employees so much so that the commitment level becomes inbuilt with all other factors. But all the organisations are not Google of this World. The recent incident of an employee of a Nationalised Commercial Bank to usurp the fixed deposit of customers or the collusion of staffs of a Private Commercial Bank with ATM fraud ring show why human resource management is so critical for an organisation. Human Resource Management or simply HR is a function in organisations designed to maximise employee performance in service of an employer's strategic objectives. HR is primarily concerned with the management of people within organisations, focusing on policies and on systems. Performance Appraisal is one of the key pillar of efficient HR function. A Performance Appraisal  (PA), also known as a Performance review, is a documented process through which an employee is evaluated for the performance set in the job objective and job description for incentive, increment, promotion. A proper Performance Appraisal process is one of the key elements of a successful organisation, which ensure the following :
Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps to standardise an effective promotion program. Right Person for the Right Position (often called as Right Fit) helps the organisation to efficiently place the most capable person in their existing organisation structure towards achieving the goals. Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion programmes for efficient employees. The capacity building of the employees to accept new challenges.  Compensation: Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal. Performance Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance. Compensation packages which includes bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria should be merit rather than seniority. The culture of meritocracy ensures the required innovative approach among the employees.
Employees Engagement :Well trained and well groomed employees can contribute more towards the success of any organisation. The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed for efficient employees. It also helps in framing future development programmes.
Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the validity and importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of selection procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be made in this regard.
Communication: For an organisation, effective communication between employees and employers is very important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be sought for in the following ways: it creates an environment of openness helping trust and cohesion, it helps understand the skills of subordinates and helps the entire organisation in unison to achieve the broader aspect of the organisation
 Motivation:  Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating performance of employees, a person’s efficiency can be determined if the targets are achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job and helps him to improve his performance in the future.  Jack Welsh, one of the most successful manager the world has ever seen once told, "There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organisation’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energised employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it". An organisation, like a living being thrives on the perfect balance between health and mind. The well trained employee are engaged and flow their energy towards the customer satisfaction and hence the entire health of the organisation through increase in cash flow. Stephen R. Covey, management scientist, popular for his 7 best habits for successful managers very eloquently said about treating the employees, “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.”
So what are the key steps for an efficient Performance Appraisal system? The six steps involved in process of performance appraisal are as follows: 1. Establish Performance Standards 2. Communicate Performance Expectation to Employee 3. Measure Actual Performance 4. Compare Actual Performance with Standards 5. Discuss the Appraisal with the Employee 6. Initiate Corrective Actions. Let us now touch base briefly on these steps,
Setting up Standardised Goals
The appraisal process begins with the establishment of per¬formance standards. The managers must determine what outputs, accomplishments and skills will be evaluated. These standards should have evolved out of job analysis and job descriptions. In general the performance standards are Stretched, Measurable, Achievable, Rational Target oriented. These performance standards should also be clear and objective to be understood and measured. Standards should not be expressed in an articulated or vague manner such as “a good job” or “a full day’s work” as these vague phrases tells nothing.
Communicate Expectation from the employee
Once the performance standards are established, this need to be communicated to the respective employees so that they come to know what is expected of them. Past experience indicates that not communicating standards to the employ¬ees compounds the appraisal problem.
Here, it must be noted that mere transference of information (relating to performance standards, for example) from the manager to the employees is not communi¬cation It becomes communication only when the transference of information has taken place and has been received and understood by the employees’.
The feedback from the employees on the standards communicated to them must be obtained. If required, the standards may be modified or revised in the light of feedback obtained from the employees. It is important to note that communica¬tion is a two-way street.
 Measure the Actual Results:
This is the third step involved in the appraisal process. In this stage, the actual performance of the employee is measured on the basis of information available from various sources such as personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports, and written reports.
Needless to mention, the evaluator’s feelings should not influence the performance measurement of the employee. Measurement must be objective based on facts and findings. This is because what we measure is more critical and important to the evaluation process than how we measure.
Compare Actual Performance with Standards:
In this stage, the actual performance is compared with the predetermined standards. Such a comparison may reveal the deviation between standard performance and actual performance and will enable the evaluator to proceed to the fifth step in the process, i.e., the discussion of the appraisal with the concerned employees.
 Discuss the Appraisal with the Employee:
The fifth step in the appraisal process is to communi¬cate to and discuss with the employees the results of the appraisal. This is, in fact, one of the most challenging tasks the manager’s face to present an accurate appraisal to the employees and then make them accept the appraisal in a constructive manner.
A discussion on appraisal enables employees to know their strengths and weaknesses. This has, in turn, impact on their future performance. Yes, the impact may be positive or negative depending upon how the appraisal is presented and discussed with the employees.

    (To be continued)

The writer, a banker by profession, has worked both in local and overseas market with various foreign and local banks in different positions

Best place to work

In this era of digitisation and automation, Human Resource Management is also going through a paradigm shift

Part-I Fortune annually publishes the list of best place to work. The top five slots for 2016 includes Google, Acuity Insurance, Boston Consulting Group, Wegmans Food Market and Quicken Loans. Google has been rated as the best in class for consecutive ten years. If we look at the reasons why the company is consistently being rated as best in class, the response will be from the employees. Work which is beneficial to others My work is used by lots and lots of users, wrote a Google developer advocate working in the Mountain View headquarters. Its cool stuff that makes people happy. Takes care of Family A noticeable new theme in this years Google reviews is the extension of paid paternity leave from seven to 12 weeks. New dads and adoptive parents working at Google can now take up to 12 weeks of paid paternity leave, while moms continue to be entitled to 22 weeks. Not only is the policy generous, but the atmosphere at Google is such that you can take the full leave and not hurt your career, an employee wrote on Glassdoor. Genius colleagues Another reason Google employees love their jobs is that they get to work with genius co-workers, Dobroski says, quoting a Glassdoor reviewer. The company attracts some of the best talent and best people to work with in the world, which is the most important bit, wrote a San Francisco-based Google program manager. Sweet office perks Google practically invented the concept of sweet office perks, which now extend even after an employee dies. From the on-site doctors and haircutters to the gourmet cafeteria food, every perk at Google has a calculate reason designed to keep employees satisfied. This applies to how long employees should wait in line during lunch (three to four minutes, ideally) as well as how much paid maternity leave they receive. In this era of digitisation and automation Human Resource Management is also going through a paradigm shift. In fact, the focus on proper human resource management in the organisation has become so much more relevant in the present context with the increase in foray by competition to snatch quality staffs or the increasing threat from external factors including cyber attacks. The better trained, empowered and engaged workforce ultimately contribute towards the success of any organisation. Be it in a business enterprise, an educational institute or even in a cricket team (now a days all these are in terms of professionals), the issue of right person in the right place is becoming much more critical due to ever increasing competitive environment. Google is an ultimate destination of work life balance with work environment empowering the employees so much so that the commitment level becomes inbuilt with all other factors. But all the organisations are not Google of this World. The recent incident of an employee of a Nationalised Commercial Bank to usurp the fixed deposit of customers or the collusion of staffs of a Private Commercial Bank with ATM fraud ring show why human resource management is so critical for an organisation. Human Resource Management or simply HR is a function in organisations designed to maximise employee performance in service of an employers strategic objectives. HR is primarily concerned with the management of people within organisations, focusing on policies and on systems. Performance Appraisal is one of the key pillar of efficient HR function. A Performance Appraisal (PA), also known as a Performance review, is a documented process through which an employee is evaluated for the performance set in the job objective and job description for incentive, increment, promotion. A proper Performance Appraisal process is one of the key elements of a successful organisation, which ensure the following : Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps to standardise an effective promotion program. Right Person for the Right Position (often called as Right Fit) helps the organisation to efficiently place the most capable person in their existing organisation structure towards achieving the goals. Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion programmes for efficient employees. The capacity building of the employees to accept new challenges. Compensation: Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal. Performance Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance. Compensation packages which includes bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria should be merit rather than seniority. The culture of meritocracy ensures the required innovative approach among the employees. Employees Engagement :Well trained and well groomed employees can contribute more towards the success of any organisation. The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed for efficient employees. It also helps in framing future development programmes. Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the validity and importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of selection procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be made in this regard. Communication: For an organisation, effective communication between employees and employers is very important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be sought for in the following ways: it creates an environment of openness helping trust and cohesion, it helps understand the skills of subordinates and helps the entire organisation in unison to achieve the broader aspect of the organisation Motivation: Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating performance of employees, a persons efficiency can be determined if the targets are achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job and helps him to improve his performance in the future. Jack Welsh, one of the most successful manager the world has ever seen once told, There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organisations overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energised employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it. An organisation, like a living being thrives on the perfect balance between health and mind. The well trained employee are engaged and flow their energy towards the customer satisfaction and hence the entire health of the organisation through increase in cash flow. Stephen R. Covey, management scientist, popular for his 7 best habits for successful managers very eloquently said about treating the employees, Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. So what are the key steps for an efficient Performance Appraisal system? The six steps involved in process of performance appraisal are as follows: 1. Establish Performance Standards 2. Communicate Performance Expectation to Employee 3. Measure Actual Performance 4. Compare Actual Performance with Standards 5. Discuss the Appraisal with the Employee 6. Initiate Corrective Actions. Let us now touch base briefly on these steps, Setting up Standardised Goals The appraisal process begins with the establishment of performance standards. The managers must determine what outputs, accomplishments and skills will be evaluated. These standards should have evolved out of job analysis and job descriptions. In general the performance standards are Stretched, Measurable, Achievable, Rational Target oriented. These performance standards should also be clear and objective to be understood and measured. Standards should not be expressed in an articulated or vague manner such as a good job or a full days work as these vague phrases tells nothing. Communicate Expectation from the employee Once the performance standards are established, this need to be communicated to the respective employees so that they come to know what is expected of them. Past experience indicates that not communicating standards to the employees compounds the appraisal problem. Here, it must be noted that mere transference of information (relating to performance standards, for example) from the manager to the employees is not communication It becomes communication only when the transference of information has taken place and has been received and understood by the employees. The feedback from the employees on the standards communicated to them must be obtained. If required, the standards may be modified or revised in the light of feedback obtained from the employees. It is important to note that communication is a two-way street. Measure the Actual Results: This is the third step involved in the appraisal process. In this stage, the actual performance of the employee is measured on the basis of information available from various sources such as personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports, and written reports. Needless to mention, the evaluators feelings should not influence the performance measurement of the employee. Measurement must be objective based on facts and findings. This is because what we measure is more critical and important to the evaluation process than how we measure. Compare Actual Performance with Standards: In this stage, the actual performance is compared with the predetermined standards. Such a comparison may reveal the deviation between standard performance and actual performance and will enable the evaluator to proceed to the fifth step in the process, i.e., the discussion of the appraisal with the concerned employees. Discuss the Appraisal with the Employee: The fifth step in the appraisal process is to communicate to and discuss with the employees the results of the appraisal. This is, in fact, one of the most challenging tasks the managers face to present an accurate appraisal to the employees and then make them accept the appraisal in a constructive manner. A discussion on appraisal enables employees to know their strengths and weaknesses. This has, in turn, impact on their future performance. Yes, the impact may be positive or negative depending upon how the appraisal is presented and discussed with the employees. (To be continued) The writer, a banker by profession, has worked both in local and overseas market with various foreign and local banks in different positions