It is extremely difficult to design an effective performance                                                                                          
measurement system that is able to cover a wide spectrum of                                                                                           
the diversified business activities of a very large complex                                                                                           
company (VLCC, to borrow a shipping acronym) that is agreeable                                                                                        
to the employer and employees.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
There are, however, many Organizations in different industries                                                                                        
that use one fixed set of performance measurement criteria and                                                                                        
attempt to measure their employees across the board. Most of                                                                                          
these systems place heavy emphasis on the behaviour of the                                                                                            
employee.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
This approach ultimately, bogs the important question: can a                                                                                          
system with one fixed set of performance measurement criteria                                                                                         
be able to adequately evaluate the performance of employees                                                                                           
working in different business activities? The answer seems to                                                                                         
be a clear "no."                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The debate on what is a 'most suitable system of performance                                                                                          
evaluation to measure employees' performance on an annual                                                                                             
basis has not subsided. Indeed, it is very much alive, thanks                                                                                         
to the recent disquiet among civil servants.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
When the SSB was launched some years ago, it was hoped that                                                                                           
this new system of performance measurement would be sufficient                                                                                        
to provide the objectivity in evaluation and cover the wide                                                                                           
spectrum of the diversified services in the public sector. But                                                                                        
that was not to be.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Once the system was crystallised and applied, its many                                                                                                
subjective shortcomings were exposed.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Just why is this happening in VLCCs in the private and public                                                                                         
sectors when planners who had the best intentions had often                                                                                           
failed to come out with a performance measurement system that                                                                                         
could take care of measuring performance correctly in their                                                                                           
organisations?                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
There are probably three reason's why one fixed set of                                                                                                
performance measurement criteria system when used in a VLCC                                                                                           
would fail.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The first is that when such a system is introduced, there is                                                                                          
inadequate training for the appraiser and appraisee. Also,                                                                                            
insufficient depth is given in the training to, explain the                                                                                           
rationale behind the design of the system.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Most training, when it occurs, teaches the "how" and not                                                                                    
enough emphasis is given to the "why" of the system.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Above all, in a system that is capable of being used with                                                                                             
bias, it is important to clarify to appraisers that                                                                                                   
objectivity and organisational interests should supersede                                                                                             
their personal interests at all times.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The second reason is that employees' expectations have changed                                                                                        
very rapidly over the last ten years - from learning to behave                                                                                        
according to a standard established by the organisation, to                                                                                           
realising that competence is more important now in delivering                                                                                         
the results of the job.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Thus, a behavioural measurement system which is modelled on                                                                                           
stability and seeks to promote uniformity (which usually is                                                                                           
the case in organisations of such size and structure) is                                                                                              
woefully slow in handling this shift in thinking and                                                                                                  
expectations.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The third reason is that one cannot, realistically expect the                                                                                         
one fixed set of performance measurement criteria format to be                                                                                        
able to cope with the great diversity of service delivery                                                                                             
covering the vast spectrum in a VLCC.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
It is difficult to imagine how such a system is going to be                                                                                           
able to evaluate fairly and accurately people acting out                                                                                              
different roles and performing different types of work.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
This one-pill-cure-all approach is oversimplistic and will do                                                                                         
a lot of damage to employees' morale and productivity.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
In short such a system does not build employee confidence and                                                                                         
generate performance, but rather, short- circuits performance                                                                                         
and productivity.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Perhaps the reason why VLCCs continue to pursue this slippery                                                                                         
path is that the people who are in charge of this area of                                                                                             
management plan their performance measurement system from the                                                                                         
angle of centralisation, standardisation, and control.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
This is done with the assumption that the structure of the                                                                                            
organisation is sacrosanct and that the same behaviour of                                                                                             
employees is applicable, regardless of type of work and                                                                                               
industry.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
In reality, different behaviours and competencies are required                                                                                        
for different types of work, and therefore, the behaviours and                                                                                        
competencies that are critical to delivering results in each                                                                                          
operational area should be evaluated differently.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
This strategy recognises the need for differentiation in                                                                                              
performance evaluation and challenges the organisation to                                                                                             
think about hiring people with the right competency and                                                                                               
behaviour capacity to deliver the desired results.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
But quite importantly, too, this strategy considers that the                                                                                          
performance structure of the different parts of the VLCC can                                                                                          
be differentiated from the administrative structure of the                                                                                            
organisation.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Thus, the performance evaluation system is dovetailed to suit                                                                                         
the needs of each business in the VLCC.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
What this means is that a trading entity will have a set of                                                                                           
performance measurement criteria that is different from one                                                                                           
for a hospitality business.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
One of the greatest dangers of changing the employee                                                                                                  
performance evaluation system is to do so without having a                                                                                            
clear understanding of desired results before you decide on                                                                                           
the content.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
There is now a pressing need for organisations to take a                                                                                              
balanced approach when it comes to evaluating the employee's                                                                                          
performance.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Gone are the days when the evaluation is solely focused on                                                                                            
employee behaviour - an employee who knows how to behave may                                                                                          
not have the technical skills to perform well.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The preferred model takes into account a balance between                                                                                              
competency and behaviour in the evaluation design.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Hence, the competency measurement approach is often structured                                                                                        
on key result areas and key result factors which by themselves                                                                                        
have rather well defined performance indicators. This removes                                                                                         
the appraiser's subjectivity and replaces it with objectivity.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Performance evaluation, apart from the probationer's                                                                                                  
evaluation for confirmation, has an important purpose to the                                                                                          
employee and the organisation.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
This is a tool designed to measure how employees perform based                                                                                        
on the aligned expectations of the organisation.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Usually, a performance evaluation system is a feedback                                                                                                
mechanism that informs management how well its employees have                                                                                         
done.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Once the performance evaluation system is aligned to the                                                                                              
organisation's direction and goals, the organisation can now                                                                                          
measure whether the cumulative results based on its employees'                                                                                        
performance are moving the organisation forward in achieving                                                                                          
its goals.