Here is an excellent article I read while glancing through the web.... This gives a typical insight into the Indian Call center scene and suggests methods that can be implemented to perform a fair appraisal.. The methodologies mentioned here will also help to reduce the attrition rates, since more focus is given to individuals...
Aditya's perspectiveAditya is an associate at a well-known BPO company. He joined the company about 8 months ago and felt that he was doing very well. For example, everytime he got an accolade (rave) from the client, his team leader would appreciate him during the team briefings. Once in a while, his team leader also told him that he was doing a good job (though he did not exactly tell him why).
A couple of days ago, the team leader called Aditya and scheduled an appraisal for the next day. This was the annual appraisal that was held in March every year at the company. Aditya was excited as he was expecting a raise and, possibly, a promotion (or atleast some new responsibility).
During the appraisal, Aditya got a shock to learn from his team leader that he was not performing well. He was infact, below average in terms of performance. The team leader also spoke of numerous complaints that other team members had against him. Aditya was also rated low on parameters such as “team player”, “extra miler”, “initiative” etc.
Today, Aditya put down his papers and is quitting the company. He feels that his team leader and his company have treated him unfairly.
Team Leader's perspectiveAditya is a bright person with a lot of potential. He shows flashes of brilliance sometimes, which earns him some rewards. But he is not consistent. He would do very well on some days, and poorly on others. The team leader told Aditya on many occasions to keep track of his performance scores.
In other areas, Aditya was just an average person. He never took initiative to do anything extra. There were times when Aditya did not turn up for work because the company transport did not arrive. To top it all, Anjali and Michael complained that Aditya was quite arrogant and boastful.
The team leader decided to take the opportunity to inform Aditya about all of these in the performance appraisal. Afterall, that’s what performance appraisals are for. At the end of the appraisal, the team leader thought he did a good job in communicating this to Aditya. He also got a commitment from Aditya that he would work hard this year to correct these problems. Considering this, Aditya’s resignation was a shock.
Why do such incidents occur during performance appraisals?
Most companies do a good job of informing team leaders about the company rules and regulation for conducting appraisals. This includes dates of appraisals, appraisal format sheets etc. Still, team leaders seem to be unaware of the importance of appraisals, how to prepare for them and how to conduct them. The matter is further complicated because many of them may have never experienced a good appraisal themselves, and hence don’t know how to conduct one.
Conducting a good appraisal is not rocket science. It just requires understanding of the appraisee’s mind, expectations and a good amount of preparation. At the heart of the appraisal is the fact that someone’s career and livelihood is being discussed. Therefore, it is an important event that deserves thorough preparation. The team leader should prepare to the extent he expects his manager to prepare for his (the team leader’s) appraisal. Here are some pointers for the same:
1.Year Round Data Gathering Many team leaders tend to get ready for appraisals at the time their company announces the appraisal dates. This means they get anywhere from a week to about a month’s time before conducting the appraisals. This is not enough time to gather the complete annual data about the agent. In any case, human beings suffer from the “recency” effect. Team leaders are likely to remember the most recent events vividly and hence their mind gives more weightage to these events. For example, an agent may have been an excellent performer through the year. However, he may have done one blunder about a month before the appraisal. This fact may weigh heavily on the team leader’s mind, leading him to give lesser weightage to the excellent performance of the agent for the prior eleven months. Alternatively, an agent may have performed poorly for the 10 months. However, he has shown substantial improvement in the last two months. The team leader may give favourable ratings to this agent purely based on the last two month’s performance.
The way to get around this issue is to maintain a file for each agent in the team. The team leader can spend about 10 minutes every week to update these files. The files will contain all information about each agent as regards their performance, initiatives taken, team work, complaints etc. i.e. anything that will affect their performance. Before an appraisal, the team leader can refresh his memory about all the incidents through the year so that the agent can be fairly appraised for the whole year, and not just for the recent past.
2.No Negative Surprises The team leader has ample opportunities to inform the agent about his/her performance. There opportunities come in the form of coaching sessions, monthly reviews or even during breaks/lunch/dinners etc. When the agent walks into the room for the appraisal, he should already know what to expect. The worst thing that can happen is for an agent to think he is good, and get a diametrically opposite message from his team leader during the appraisal.
Many team leaders feel that agents have access to their performance data, and hence they ought to know how they are performing. While this may be true, agents may not be able to appreciate the effect of this data on themselves in terms of their performance appraisals. Taking an analogy, many people are aware of how much they earn. However, they may not know the impact of their earning on the taxes they have to pay, the savings they have to make, or even what should be their financial goals. From an agent’s performance perspective, this type of visibility is available only to the team leader, who must discuss the agent’s performance metrics, its impacts on the process/client/company/agent, and possible consequences (good or bad) at every available opportunity.
3.Plenty of Pre-Work Before starting any appraisal, team leaders need to ensure that they have spent sufficient time reviewing the agent’s data. This is very similar to preparing for an exam. The same importance should be given here. The team leader needs to review performance metrics, agent’s files, previous reviews, progress on action plans, execution on extra responsibility, attendance records etc. Just gathering this data for each agent can take more than half a day (assuming the data is available). Studying the data, analyzing and arriving at conclusions can take a few more hours. This time is worth it because, as mentioned earlier, it’s a person’s career and livelihood we are talking about. Even if the agent is not serious, the team leader must be very serious about this activity.
Another aspect of pre-work is to keep all documentation ready before the appraisal meeting begins. If the team leader interrupts the meeting to fetch any document that is missing, then continuity is lost. The team leader then has the overhead of bringing back the continuity.
4.Collaborative Sessions Unless scientifically proven, most people like to go through their own experience before they decide on a course of action or buy into a solution provided by others. An appraisal is no different. While it is very easy for the team leader to tell the agent about his performance and what he should be doing next, the agent may not be convinced unless he is given a chance to air his views. Therefore, appraisals should be collaborative sessions where the agent and the team leader discuss (or even argue) issues.
The end result of appraisals could be something that is not favourable to the agent in the short run. If the agent has to buy into this end result, he must be encouraged to talk and air his views. This means, even before the appraisal session begins, the agent must be given atleast one week to prepare for the event. He should even be coached as to how the appraisal process will be conducted and what his role will be. This process will ensure 2-way communication thereby resulting in greater chances of agent buy-in.
5.Career Planning The appraisal process is also an opportunity for the team leader to help the agent plan his career. This could be for the next role as well as for long-term career goals. This process is often left out in appraisals with agents. Part of the reason, as mentioned before, is that team leaders themselves may not know how to be career counselors (they may not have gone through this exercise before). There are many career planning tools that team leaders can use. Companies need to acquire these tools and train team leaders on how to use them.
The appraisal process is a time for not just looking at past performance, but to also look at the future. If the agent sees that the current job offers a path towards his career objectives, he will be more inclined to stay with the company and would probably be more satisfied with his current job.
6.Physical Environment Last but not the least, the physical environment in which the appraisal is conducted must be conducive for the event. Physical environment includes the following:
Conducting the appraisal in a room in a one-on-one setting rather than conducting it in a public setting.
Ensuring that the table is clear of all clutter. Only appraisal related documents should be placed on it.
Ensuring that the chairs are comfortable. Damaged chairs, squeaky chairs etc. will serve as distractions.
Ensuring that there is water available. If an agent gets emotional, this will come in handy. Consumption of water calms down people.
Ensuring there is sufficient stationary (pens, pencils, blank papers etc.)
Conducting performance appraisals can be very unpleasant of one is not prepared. The above mentioned points can go a long way in making an appraisal a positive experience for both the team leader and the agent.
