Is there a perfect way of evaluating performance? Rating systems, ranking systems and objective based systems are just some of the common approaches to performance appraisal. Each of them has their advantages and limitations, hence it is important for managers to recognise the shortcomings of each system and know how to work around the limitations in evaluating their employees. What are rating systems? Rating systems are common and is popular in assessing performance in many

Most appraisals consist of an annual meeting between the manager and the direct report. In recent years, organisations have attempted to enhance the performance management system by incorporating feedback from various sources. One of these is called peer appraisal. Peer appraisal is the assessment of the individual by people working in the same job function and is considered as part of the 360 degree performance appraisal. There is evidence to suggest that peer assessments ar

Would you give a candid review of your boss for appraisal purposes? Managers are used to delivering feedback to employees during performance appraisal but what happens when the role is reversed? Giving feedback to your managers can be a daunting experience for many of us who are accustomed to the receiving end of feedback. In reality, great managers seek feedback and are open to change. Giving your manager feedback can help them improve. However, given the top-down culture of

It is year end at RST Company. Managers and employees are going through their annual routine of performance appraisal. Malcolm the Manager manages a team of 10 employees. He sure has a lot on his plate, having to meet with direct reports and filling out forms as Human Resources (HR) department needs the performance appraisal to be completed by the end of the month. Malcolm figures that the fastest way to do it would be to email a copy of the appraisal form to each employee he

How do you identify employees with potential? How do you know if someone is capable of taking on more responsibility or move on to leadership positions? Some companies may have formal programmes to select certain employees and observing their progress over a period of time while other companies wait till a crisis - such as a serious illness or sudden loss of key personnel to find the right people to fill the gaps. Here are some possibilities to consider to help you assess pot

How will your organisation cope if there is a loss of one or two key personnel due to sudden death or perhaps striking lottery and leaving a gap in the organisational chart? Replacement planning is about implementing backups for all important positions in the organisation. As the saying goes, “The show must go on”, hence both short-term and long-term planning is crucial to ensure business continuity. Here are 5 common mistakes to avoid when identifying replacements:  1. The “

Most high potential employees can benefit from a well-designed stretch assignment. However, there are some concerns and downsides that has to be carefully planned for.  Here are some concerns and how to overcome them:   1. Putting inexperienced employees in an important role may put your business at risk  Concern: Employees who are given tasks that require them to stretch their skills may not perform as well as those who are already in their role. Work done may not be error-f

Job rotations and stretch assignments allow employees to grow and learn within the organisation and exposes them to new aspects of the new environment.   Here are 5 factors to consider in providing support and resources to make it work:   1. Tools of the trade Before embarking on the new role, ensure that employees have the relevant tools and materials. For instance, ensure that there is a work desk allocated to the employee if it is a desk job so that they will have a place

A job rotation programme moves employees through various positions within the company.  It is not just a tool for employee development, but it helps to improve employee morale and retention as it promotes career growth opportunities within the organisation.   Here are 5 tips to follow if you are new to job rotation:   1. Define the objectives for the job rotation   The first step in any job rotation will be to define what is the purpose for the programme. What does the organi

Knowledge transfer is the process of transferring specialised knowledge from one person or group to others. For instance, when an experienced medical researcher retires, he brings valuable information acquired over the years with him. While it may be relatively easy to replace him with a younger successor, the knowledge he possesses cannot be easily replaced by others. Therefore, managers and companies have to take steps to actively transfer knowledge from mature, experienced

Team building activities are a good way to build up rapport and cohesiveness among the employees in your organisation.  "Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people." --Steve Jobs   Click here for our module on the 6 steps to follow to run a successful team building activity:  http://noodlefactory.com.sg/course/6-steps-to-conduct-a-successful-team-building-activity

While team members are usually friendly and accommodating at the initial stages, there is bound to be conflict sooner or later. How you handle conflict among your employees demonstrates your ability to engage with employees. 1. Take every grievance seriously. If your employee is upset to the point that he or she has to come to you with the problem, that is reason enough for you to hear them out. He or she may be looking for someone to vent their frustrations on and look for a

Teambuilding with your employees can be fun, rewarding and productive.  However, there are some challenges you may encounter during the teambuilding process. Here are some ways to tackle them: Employees do not understand the instructions Sometimes you may see employees asking one another what to do, nothing happens when the activity begins or them not doing what is expected. This could be due to poorly explained instructions, too lengthy or too fast. To prevent this from happ

Not only do managers have to set clear goals and expectations for their employees, they also have to lay down what’s in it for them. Rewards and recognition have to fit the achievement and also the employee. Here are 3 tips that will help you get the point across to your employees that you want to recognise jobs well done: Make it public A good rule of thumb is to praise in public and to criticise in private. Most employees would appreciate being recognised in the company of

Every time you communicate with an employee, you get a chance at fostering engagement and a sense of belonging to your company. Here are 5 tips to help you build up engagement: 1. Use stories Stories stick around in the minds of people, but facts can be easily forgotten. If you want people to remember key learning points, incorporate that into a story. Use the power of storytelling to describe the history of your company, share examples of employees going the extra mile and i

When we invest time in hiring the best people for the company, we need to think of ways to keep them in the company. Here are 3 tips to retain your staff: Richard Branson has a famous quote that reads “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t have to.” Money is not everything As the title goes, financial rewards are not the only reason that determines whether employees want to stay on at your company. Take time to find out what your emp

Employee engagement starts from engaging with your employees on a one to one basis. Here are 4 tips to get to know your employees better. 1. Understand their strengths When you focus on the strengths of your employees, it encourages you to spend more time acknowledging when your employees shine, rather than trying to fixate on what their limits are. While it is true that most managers will focus on the areas of improvement during performance appraisals, this means that we spe

As a manager, your responsibility is to ensure that everyone is contributing in a team.    Here are 5 tips to help you bring out the best in your team:   “Anyone can find the dirt in someone. Be the one that finds the gold.”—Proverbs 11:27   1. Be a good coach An important skill for any team leader or manager is to be able to coach effectively to draw out the capabilities of your team members. Your ability to ask the right questions and bring different insights becomes more i

It can be tough when it comes to reaching a decision that is agreed upon by everyone in a team. What are some of the behaviours that good teams adopt in making decisions?   1. Develop a well-defined criteria Before making any decision, the team must develop a set of criteria to determine whether the choice is a good one. One way to use this is to adopt the use of decision matrixes. The use of decision making matrices is a good evaluating tool that allows the team to score eac

Like any business objectives, there is a need to develop metrics to measure the results of employee engagement within your organisation. Here are 5 metrics to consider: 1.  Employee engagement surveys These surveys are an outlet for employees to give feedback on aspects of work such as benefits, working environment and managerial effectiveness. Conducting these surveys shows that the company values the opinions of their employees and that they have a voice in shaping their wo