By Wilson Fyffe
Experience in Asia in the 10 years since the release of breakthrough performance management technology by the Kaplan & Norton team has shown that resistance to performance measurement grows stronger as the new techniques are pushed deeper in the organization.
We have identified four major points of resistance (refer Fig 1 below) which need to be dealt with sequentially.
On reflection, such resistance is natural. Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs tells us that our highest level of existence is when we are expressing our creativity – be it developing corporate strategy, searching for new marketing or product ideas, or communicating our status reports graphically to our organizational colleagues.
Next below that, we need to earn the respect of our colleagues after having gained acceptance from them. The latter is important if we are a new team member. At the foundation level, we need to be comfortable, in good health and have a good working environment. Below this is the baseline that we need to free from threats to our continued employment.
The dramatic downturn in the Asian economies since 1996 and the associated downsizing campaigns in many organizations have caused widespread concern that performance management initiatives are a cover for a retrenchment campaign.
Local experience and research with leading UK management schools indicates that the rankand- file employees will collaborate to frustrate any such covert activities. Similarly, concern by employees that performance measurement systems that are subject to favoritism or other forms of manipulation will almost certainly lead to frustration. The system, like the law, must not only be fair but it must be seen to be fair.
The third level of resistance can be considered by comparing the employee to a competitive athlete. The athlete must be able to trust the measuring equipment: the scales, the clock, the judges’ competence. If the data being recovered from an organization’s systems to compare actual performance to targets is ‘dirty’, the employees are unlikely to feel comfortable with the system. This particular point raises challenges for the suppliers of performance measurement software.
The final point of resistance is when the employee does not understand the rules, the formulas being used to calculate their performance results. This is often the case when the employee has not been sufficiently involved in the target setting process.
The bottom line is that there should be no surprises in a performance appraisal. The employee knows what is going to happen, as does their supervisor.
This ideal position is assisted greatly if the performance appraisal process is conducted monthly online, giving the employee and their supervisor 11 practice sessions during the year to get the annual appraisal right.
A new development to watch for is the introduction of “Job Proficiency Certification “™, a new solution aimed at converting employee resistance to performance measurement to employee support.
Wilson Fyffe is President Director of Amplios Consultants Pte Ltd, Singapore
About the Author
Wilson Fyffe has over 25 years of working experience with Oil & Gas companies, including ARCO (now part of BP) and Tidewater on developing their leadership programs and corporate planning. He has also led a consortium of leading Oil & Gas majors, including Caltex, Conoco, Mobil, Total, Unocal and Vico on benchmarking and improving internal processes.
Mr. Fyffe also has extensive cross industrial experience. He spent 9 years in Indonesia as the managing consultant of Coopers & Lybrand, where he assisted numerous organisations in consulting and auditing. As a senior partner of KPMG in Indonesia, he was involved in senior level negotiations.
He has consulting experience in over 30 different industries. As an expert facilitator, he has facilitated over 30 training courses in leadership, performance improvement, business planning and related topics over a period of 20 years.
His global working experience includes Australia, China (Hong Kong), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Thailand and the USA.
Besides English, Mr. Fyffe is also conversant in Malay and Bahasa Indonesia.
Wilson Fyffe is also a facilitator of IQPC Training’s January 2007 course:
Proven techniques to successfully transition technical professionals to managers and leaders
January 30 - 31, 2007 Prince Hotel & Residence, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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