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From: reggie@paradyne.com (George W. Leach)
Newsgroups: misc.jobs.misc,misc.misc,comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Elimination of performance ratings.
Message-ID: <1991Jun29.135631.17542@pdn.paradyne.com>
Date: 29 Jun 91 13:56:31 GMT
References: <1991Jun18.133646.12361@auto-trol.com> <5103@mcgp1.UUCP>
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In article <5103@mcgp1.UUCP> flak@mcgp1.UUCP (Dan Flak) writes:
>Ideally, ratings should be given on a continuous basis. You
>wouldn't drive a car by looking out the window, aim the vehicle,
>close your eyes for 12 minutes, open your eyes ...

	Certainly a quarterly review would help one get back on
course, if they were straying from the manager's perspective on
performance.  It is no fun after 12 months or more to find out
how wide apart you are with your manager on opinions concerning
your performance.

>Unfortunately, in our sue happy society, you have to document
>everything. Otherwise, the employee who doesn't get promoted will
>have you in court claiming 20 years salary. A 1,2,3,4,5 rating
>system is an easy-to-do "square filling" fix for this problem.
>(Fixes the symptom, leaves the disease raging unchecked).

	Yes, but just try to justify the numbers!

>Like so many other things in business, (and government,
>education, etc.), people tend to measure what's easy, not what's
>important.

	Yup.  The thing that has always bothered me about performance
rating systems  is that we try to compare someone against others or
against some yard stick, when everyone's job is different.  Yet on
the assembly line, where workers may be doing the exact job, the
unions forbid the company from comparing performance.

George

-- 
George W. Leach					AT&T Paradyne 
reggie@paradyne.com				Mail stop LG-133
Phone: 1-813-530-2376				P.O. Box 2826
FAX: 1-813-530-8224				Largo, FL 34649-2826 USA