subordinate appraisal
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/30/2019 Subordinate Appraisal
1/5
Subordinate Appraisal
Any company thats going to make it in the 1990s and beyond has got to find a way to engage the
mind of every single employee. If youre not thinking all the time about making every person more
valuable, you dont have a chance. Whats the alternative? Wasted minds? Uninvolved people? A labor
force thats angry or bored? That doesnt make sense- John F. Welch, Jr., CEO GE, 360 Degree Feedback (Edwards & Ewen, 1996, pg. 3)
Perhaps the most uncommon type of performance appraisal, the subordinate appraisal can be an
effective way of measuring performance. A general recommendation for any organization is to use more
than one appraisal system and subordinate appraisal is strongly recommended because if implemented,
its intended purpose will greatly enhance personnel development and maximize the utilization of the
talent and skills of department personnel.
If an organization is already using subordinate appraisal then it is a clear expression that it encouragesopenness and that feedback is a two-way process. Secondly, it is a systematic recognition of the fact
that an employees subordinates do play a vital role in his appraisal. Thus, the purpose of subordinates
appraisal is to get first hand assessment of how the subordinates perceive their superior in terms of:
Motivation of Subordinates Guiding and Training of Subordinate Delegation of Authority Team Building Current leadership & improvement areas
The type of appraisal also provides an opportunity to the subordinates to give feedback to their superior
on the kind of things they would like him to continue doing, things they would like him to stop doing,
things they would like him to start doing (areas for new initiatives). The idea is to explore a new
performance appraisal model that turns the appraisal process upside down and is thus known as 360-
degree feedback.
Sense of Importance
Feedback from multiple sources, such as superiors, peers, subordinates and others has a more powerful
impact on people than from a single source, such as their immediate supervisor which is the most
common type of appraisal used. Employees view performance information from multiple sources as fair,
accurate, credible and motivating. It encourages them to be motivated to change their work habits to
obtain the esteem of their co-workers than the respect of their supervisors so that if subordinate and
peer appraisal is used; they are rated among the better ones. The supervisor-only performance appraisal
is subjective and relies on the supervisors judgment. They are time-consuming and are generally
disliked by those who give and receive them. They are typically given once a year assessing the
employees work performance from a subjective point of view and providing management information
for decisions on pay and promotions.
-
7/30/2019 Subordinate Appraisal
2/5
One indirect benefit of a subordinate appraisal is that it empowers employees and gives them a
greater sense of value within the organization. Employees feel as if they have a voice and that the
company values their feelings toward the effectiveness of management. In general, the ability to
provide input in the direction of the company makes employees feel valued. In this case, the input
relates specifically to the day-to-day functioning in their jobs under their current supervisor.
Subordinate evaluations of their supervisors are often perceived as more accurate than typical
manager assessments of supervisor performance. This is because employees are more involved in
daily interaction with their supervisor than is the supervisor's manager. Thus, they observe more
directly and more consistently how the supervisor carries out his responsibilities. A supervisor's
manager spends more time delegating his responsibilities than observing him in daily performance.
Though intended as a tool to aid managers, subordinate appraisals can actually reveal common
needs of employees, as well. If employees consistently note of organizational leaders from which
they don't get regular communication about their work, the company may need to make systemic
adjustments. Instituting management by walking around principles, the organization can encourage
supervisors to take a more active role in giving employees feedback. If employees note that theydon't feel properly trained, the company may need to implement more thorough training systems
and allocate more time to them.
If used properly, collective employee feedback offers critical input on areas supervisors can improve
upon to better lead the subordinates. Stress caused by management is a common reason cited by
employees on exit interviews. The subordinate appraisal offers a tool for employees to convey their
concerns in a less confrontational way. If all employees convey the same messages, the totality of
the feedback can help the supervisor improve his performance. Comments about a negative
attitude, for instance, puts pressure on the lead to assess how his attitude impacts his department's
culture. Research has indicated that subordinate reviews are best at helping supervisors correct
interpersonal skills.
Concerns
There are some concerns from the management and general perception related to the subordinate
appraisal and following are some of the common concerns listed in the literature:
Subordinates will not be truthful in the performance ratings for fear of repercussions Managers will be over-concerned with pleasing subordinates in order to achieve positive
ratings
Managerial authority will be questioned
Managers' ratings will reflect their popularity among the workers, not their abilities Subordinates are not capable of assessing manager's performance and will, therefore, skew
the ratings
Subordinates' ratings will be based on the weight of their workload: The harder the workthat they are assigned, the more negative ratings will be given to their supervisors
Increase in reciprocal leniency- "I'll scratch your back if you will scratch mine" mentality Managers will quit, rather than adjusting to the new system
-
7/30/2019 Subordinate Appraisal
3/5
Academic research has indicated that these concerns are totally unfounded, in fact subordinate
appraisals have been found to be widely accepted and more accurate than supervisory appraisals.
McEvoy and Beatty (1989) compared the validity of subordinate appraisals to traditional
assessment centers. These researchers found that subordinate appraisals were not only more cost
effective as compared with assessment centers, but were also better predictors of managerial
performance. Another research found that 56% of managers reported that subordinates were thebest evaluators for certain aspects of supervisory performance. These researchers also found that
managers were more supportive of subordinate appraisals when they received superior appraisals
as well. This indicates a strong support for multiple source feedback systems. Having another rating
source may have minimized the managers' concerns over the perceived detrimental effects of
subordinate appraisals.
Validity
There are three important conditions necessary for the successful implementation of an upward
appraisal system. First, managers must be supportive of the use of subordinates' appraisals;
therefore, a participative style of management is beneficial. Second, the statements of the feedback
survey must be representative of the managerial areas that subordinates are able to evaluate.
Finally, subordinate appraisals work most effectively with another feedback source, such as peers,
supervisors, or customers. The support for subordinate appraisal may be summarized below:
Subordinates have a better perspective of many important aspects of managerialperformance, such as leadership, and interpersonal skills
Employee commitment and involvement is enhanced through active participation in theappraisal processes
The accuracy of performance feedback is increased with multiple raters and multipleperspectives
Early identification of potential problems, such as turnover, groups conflict and lowproductivity is possible through subordinate ratings
The validity of subordinate appraisal is clear from the above discussion and shows that for a better
overall appraisal the subordinate appraisal should be included for effective performance
measurement and management
Subordinate Appraisal in Telenor Pakistan (IVC & EES)
Telenor uses subordinate appraisal once a year and is named as the Internal Value Creation (IVC)
and is recently renamed to Employee Engagement Survey. As already stated it is a once-a-year
activity and is not frequent enough like the supervisor appraisal. Although during the time the IVC is
around the corner, there is a lot of stress on it by the top management and its effectiveness.
The subordinate appraisal in Telenor Pakistan is coined as something which asks for an honest
feedback not only for the immediate line but also the top management. To ensure anonymity, a
third party vendor is hired by the Telenor Group which has its own online form for the appraisal and
-
7/30/2019 Subordinate Appraisal
4/5
gives a unique username and password to every employee who takes part in the whole process. The
results are then compiled and shared with Telenor Group who then shares the same after analyzing
to Telenor Pakistan management. The department of Compliance in Telenor Pakistan looks after the
whole process ensuring smooth layout and effective results. Other than the questionnaire, there is
a comments box at the end of the process in which the employee can fill out any other relevant
information which he thinks should be mentioned.
The maximum portion of the IVC questionnaire is about immediate line however, there are also
some questions about the top management and the employee satisfaction and trust on the top
management regarding their decision making about initiatives which affected whole organization
during the year.
There is also a strong emphasis on active participation from the employees and all divisions are
continuously pinged by the HR team to keep the IVC response rate above 90% so that the overall
efficiency and effectiveness of the whole process increases and the whole logic of this type of
appraisal process materializes.
Concerns
Although the IVC/EES process in Telenor Pakistan is fair compared to some of the other practices within
Pakistan, however there are few concerns as well, few of them are listed below:
Once a year exercise The questionnaire is not prepared with the help of involved employees and/or managers There are some issues/critical incidents which are not included or asked about in IVC/EES
relating to supervisor
The questions related to top management are few in numbers The comments box allows very little to write and if a mishap or misbehavior is experienced by
an employee and he/she wants to report that, the allowed length of the comments box is not
sufficient for the whole information
Some employees still believe that IVC/EES doesnt have any significance and no value is addedthrough it
There is a strong emphasis by the top management when the IVC/EES dates arrive whereasduring the whole year there is no stress on its importance
There is no emphasis on recording or keeping information throughout the year regardingsubordinate appraisal so when the employees fill out the questionnaire, their responses are
colored because it is based on memory and only recent memory
Ganging up by subordinates has been faced in some departments when they are not satisfied bytheir supervisor because he/she misbehaved with one of them
These concerns show that the top management is lagging the very basic point of conducting the
subordinate appraisal i.e. communicating the importance of subordinate appraisal across the
organization. The other major area of concern from the employees is that the questionnaire is not
prepared with their input. The questions are general and not specific to the tasks of each supervisor.
-
7/30/2019 Subordinate Appraisal
5/5
Recommendations
There are things to do and there are ways to do those things. What Telenor Pakistans management
needs to do as a foremost initiative is to highlight the value of the whole subordinate appraisal thing. As
mentioned earlier the significance of the appraisal is only sought after when it is due, for the rest of the
year there is no mentioning of the IVC.
Secondly, they need to make it more frequent because they have been able to make the supervisor
appraisal more frequent over the years which show that its a learning organization. They need to make
the subordinate appraisal more frequent.
There should be a strong emphasis on making the subordinate appraisal as meaningful as it can be so
that all the investment which the company is making on it shows results and helps make it valid and
reliable.
There should be more questions related to behaviors and traits as well. Currently there is negligibly low
number of questions related to behaviors and traits whereas most part of the whole questionnaire isabout people management and very little are related to task management. One questionnaire is made
for everyone hence the questions are mostly general which can be applied at almost all departments.
Employee input should be taken when preparing the questionnaire because they are the ones who are
actually doing the job or are actually working under a supervisor and are subordinate to one. Currently
there is no input from the employees, only the HR has some input in making the questionnaire hence it
needs to be corrected and optimized as well.
Overall Telenor Pakistan is doing better than their competitors in conducting the subordinate appraisal
and are trying to optimize it however, if the above mentioned points are also incorporated in preparing
and conducting the next IVC/EES there will be greater validity and reliability as well as better resultsfrom the overarching goal and the sense of conducting this process as a whole.