How did you handle this situation?

There is a person in my team, who is currently on the last leg of a special performance assessment. The special performance assessment was necessitated because the annual performance evaluation cycle, found him to be in the bottom of the pile.

He is, unfortunately, not a good performer and has trouble completing some of his basic tasks. His previous managers have experienced some issues in his attitude as well – he apparently feels that he should not be working with “ordinary” science graduates when he has a PG degree.

The main issue I face with him is his attitude of a different kind – lethargy. Here is someone who has been informed that his performance is not of a satisfactory level; that he needs to improve drastically; that he is being put on a separate path where his work would be evaluated more closely.

Yet, his approach hasn’t really changed. He is still working the same way as before. In normal circumstance, I had an easy way out – simply release the guy from my team and hope that some other manager, who is in a dire need of heads more than skills, would take this individual. At least that’s how this guy ended up in my team in the first place.

But now, I do not have that luxury. If I have to fill out his assessment report now, I may not have very kind things to say. I would have to admit the lethargy that he brings to work. I would have to note down the fact that he is still approaching work in a reactive mode and not in a pro-active mode. I would have to mention that his quality of work still needs to improve. All this is only going to make the senior management decide to let this guy go. And by letting this guy go, I mean out of the company.

Here comes my dilemma. If I fill in an objective report, he is going to be asked to leave. The only way I can avoid this is by saying that he is good. But when he gets back to the annual evaluation exercise, the truth would come out. And at that point in time, my assessment is going to be questioned and probably, I might even be asked to leave.

So the obvious thing for me to do is to do the former – file an objective report. But it is the aftermath that worries me. I can’t really recollect providing feedback that has lead to the severance of the relationship between an employee and his/her employer. And in this case, the employee is actually an old guy who is at least some 3-4 years behind schedule on his career track and I believe this also has impacted his personal life. And how is someone going to fare in this current market situation when there barely any new job vacancies in the Software sector?

You can give me all the clichéd advices – that I should steel myself; that I should eliminate the “personal” angle; that I should remember that I am only doing my job; that I should remember that my job is itself at stake if I don't do this; that this is a perform or perish time; that this guy was given a chance but he didn’t take it up etc. etc..

But I want to know if you have actually been in that situation ever in your life? Did you face a similar predicament? If so, how did you handle the events after the decision was made? Or were you one of those gifted people who see everything as black and white and hence able to arrive at clear and bold decisions? Or have you been on the other side of the coin and if so, how did you handle things?

Lots to blog but cant

The trip to Tirupati was a MAJOR eye-opener for me. Many things happened during this trip and unfortunately, I cannot blog any of those, because it will surely hurt the sentiments of many.

And I am yet to recover fully from the ordeal of travelling by a f***ing rick-rack called a bus, run by APSRTC. This is a busy week at work as well, since it is time to disclose the results of the appraisal exercise. So I may not write anything for some more time, but trust me, your patience could be rewarded.

My strength is my weakness

Its the appraisal season at work again. Unlike the previous cycles, this time I don't have to appraise many people. In fact, I have to appraise only one person. But, I am playing the role of a moderator or reviewer for the appraisal discussions of many others.

And I had my appraisal discussion earlier this week. I expected a particular line of thought to be guiding the evaluation and I was proven right. But I must highlight a couple of salient oxymorons that came up during the discussion:

1.a. I don't communicate the proper things
1.b. But the way I communicate is good

2.a. I didn't give early warning signals or alarm bells
2.b. But I seem to give more bad news than good news

Essentially, the evaluation has identified a skill that is my strength, but unfortunately, I am also bad in it!

Sorry for the delay, but you may still have to wait

I've been wanting to post for quite some time now, but my carpal problem has prevented me from doing so.
My appraisal post deserves responses and I hope to post it in the next day or two.
I have couple of other topics to discuss as well.
So, please pray that my carpal trouble gets over soon.
On a related note: All x-rays taken of my spinal area - cervical and thorasic - came out with good results. So its likely that I am having only a local sprain.

Appraisal - is it supposed to be 'A Praise All' ?

This week at work was pretty torrid. We had to close out appraisals by the 15th and so there was a beeline to finish up things ASAP.

When it was my turn to hand in my self appraisal, I rated myself decently on the various tasks. Probably my maturity levels are really high or its a direct reflection of the time one spends at work, but whatever it is, basically I didnt over-rate myself. Actually, even 3-4 years ago, I never did that.

Does not mean that I dont take pride in my work. Of course I do. So does everyone. But I also accept reality.

So tasks where I did just what was expected, I rated myself against the grade that said - met expectations.

Unfortunately, thats what I expect my reportees also to do. I know very well that not all would follow my principles. But the sheer audacity with which some rankings came up in front of me, absolutely shocked me.

People who havent even met the very basic of expectations, had rated themselves as having exceeded exceptions. I didnt know if I had to laugh or take offense at that.

Then there were people who assumed that having spent long hours at work was tantamount to having excelled in work. Cant they just look around. Is (s)he the only person who is working long hours? If not, then obviously the entire team is having to face the music of improbable deadlines, caused by mistakes made by their superiors - people like me. In which case, I will rate myself badly and will still have to rate them against people who are stretching as much as they are.

If they find that (s)he is the only person being overloaded, again it either means:
1. Probably their ineptitude is the cause
2. They have somehow been assigned more work by their lead or manager and they have the right to stand up and say - 'I feel I am having to do more work than others and am afraid that the quality of my work will be affected'.

The second option may sound too utopian for one's comfort. If there is a fear to escalate such things and keep quiet, how come one is able to talk back all stuff during the appraisal meetings? All that I ask is that one shows this communication skill much earlier.

I have given bad ratings to people earlier too. Most often, the appraisees tend to dispute that, which is completely normal. But people are generally open-minded to accept the feedback and at least strive to work towards improvements.

Not the few people I interacted with this week. The moment they saw negative feedback - bhoomph... TEARS from one person, total stubborn behavior from another and another taking the 'by-pass' route and escalating to superiors.

The last two, I can face. No issues. There is at least a communication going on and there is at least a possibility of arriving at a conclusion. But what do you do when one cries? This person was literally crying. Is this how things work in an office? Should we get this emotional?

I agree, there are a lot of things associated with the ratings. But shouldnt that have motivated one to actually perform. Claiming that having spent long hours or coming on weekends directly means a high rating, is quite pathetic. And I even dug up the attendance records of these people. If I show it to my superiors, there is no way, they will agree to the appraisee's claims of having worked extended hours or during non-business days.

If one doesnt even have the data to back themselves, how can one make such fantastic claims? I sound like a real old man, but I seriously dont get the attitude of the youngsters coming in to work. They have a gala time during office hours and then rate themselves to a level that implies that the company has grown only because of their work.

Another fundamental problem I saw was that each one was comparing their rating with the other. One of the most basic fundamentals preached in an organisation is that the ratings should not be discussed amongst each other. But these people basically show all information to one and they all come out like a consortium with the same set of remarks and claims.

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH.....

I know I have babbled a lot in this posting, but then I am basically totally drained with all this emotional drama that I had to endure this week.

I only hope these kids dont try these things with their next manager. I dont think any other manager will even spend so much time listening to their unearthly demands.