DECEMBER 2019HR TECH OUTLOOK8In MyOpinionCalibrate To Motivate: A structured approach that precedes performance evaluationsMost employees give poor marks for their employer's performance review process. This lack of confidence in the process leads to employees having a perception that the performance review process is unfair. The perception of inequity has a profound and unfortunate impact on an employee's motivation and engagement. In reflecting on your current and past employers, how would you rate their performance rating processes? Would you give them an A+, a B-, or perhaps an F. Employees rarely give management high marks for the processes by which they are rated. Before discussing a strategy to address the issue of unfair reviews, let's peel back the outer layers of the onion and get to the core. Most managers do not give considered objective ratings. Some managers are tough graders who seldom give a positive review.Other managers seek appeasement by easily handing out high marks to everyone, Santa Claus on one end, Scrooge on the other. Yet there are some managers who take all meaning out of the process by handing out average marks across the board. Rarely do we see a lot of thought and differentiation based on performance. Without a properly structured process in place, most managers would handle their reviews in a vacuum without input from others. At best, they are asking matrix or co-managers for feedback and incorporating it into the review. This is not good enough for this generation of employees. Millennials seek feedback from managers, peers, and clients, and a more well-rounded approach. Performance calibration can be utilized to facilitate meaningful reviews that are consistent across an organization. It is a process for a group of managers to compare and contrast performance of their individual team members. While there are different methods of conducting performance calibration, they all involve active collaboration by managers. In a calibration meeting, managers come together to build a consensus on how they look at the company's rating scale. For example, on a five-point scale, managers might agree to reserve the highest rating for employees who had a spectacular year or are promotion-Pam BrownPam Brown, CCP, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, HR Director, Gallagher [NYSE: AJG]By
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