Overcoming Individual Perspectives

So long as humans are being rated by other humans, a certain amount of bias is bound to be introduced into the process, and this aspect should be readily acknowledged. Accordingly, we must set about creating a culture, systems and processes that can help minimize the impact of such a bias.

- Dr. Arup Varma

It is indeed ironic that in spite ofalmost a century of research (andpractice) on the subject, we are still struggling to understand the nuances of managing human performance. Beyond doubt, there are a host of complicated issues associated with managing human performance. However, rather than delving deep into the issues and working towards developing and designing appropriate system and processes, we appear to be ready to write the very epitaph of performance management. I find it ironic that many HR systems and processes are subject to such treatment by the so-called gurus perhaps, they do not quite get it themselves. As with any human oriented system, the emphasis should not be on the system part-instead, it is the human aspect of the system/ process that should be the front and centre when designing such systems/ processes.

Since the time of the industrial revolution, organizations have relied on human beings and human performance to achieve their organizational goals. Given our long history dealing with human performance, one would assume that by now, we would have mastered the process and, at the very least, come to accept it as an integral part of organisational management. In my humble opinion, the problem lies with organisations and their managers who fail to render HR and related systems the due respect that they deserve. It is common knowledge that for any organisation, the only source of competitive advantage are its employees. Innovations, technology and products, may function as enablers for organisations to relish successes for shorter durations, but, it is in fact, human intelligence which functions as the true source of sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, it is not wrong to assume that given the critical importance of performance management, we would have accepted that it matters, and developed appropriate interventions to deal with it.