Question No 1.
Answer:
Introduction
Today's tech industry is interwoven in practically every element of the global economy. The
industry as a whole face a number of significant human resource difficulties in spite of the
far-reaching ramifications of continual technological advancements. There are a few HR
challenges in the tech industry that companies can't afford to overlook.
Any company's backbone is built on a solid human resources foundation, but HR technology
in IT industry is especially important. From new tech startups to blue-chip technology firms,
tech industry is almost certain to grow in the future.
Concept
Common difficulties faced by IT companies related to manpower planning
Attracting Top Talent: The tech industry is tormented by a skill gap and the trend
indicates that this HR challenge will continue in the years to come. HR technology
and software have come around to eliminate the mundane tasks such as basic CV
parsing & filtering. Talent assessments (psychometric, cognitive, behavioural,
technical and language) and AI powered interviews assist the recruiters to hire the
best candidates for the particular job with right skills. These assessments help predict
a new hire’s on-the-job performance; applicants who pass the screening test should
perform better as employees if they're hired. Talent assessments are based on hiring
and retention case studies and analyse employee data. The assessment results will
give the organisation an indication of how close a match the candidate taking the test
will be to the organisation's hiring specifications. As a result, HR personnel can focus
on the more strategic activities such as assessing cultural fit and doing the best skill
mapping.
On-boarding Talent: It is very critical to have an effective on-boarding programme
to initiate the new-hire into the organisation. The new hire orientation programme
should include all important aspects of the business and be interactive and welcoming.
It gives a peek into the organisational culture. The orientation should make the new
hire feel that s/he has entered the right organisation and s/he has a good career ahead.
The orientation should end with the assignment of a buddy / mentor to each one of the
new hires to help them navigate the role and the organisation. Remember, the
orientation programme is a make or break for the new hire who will make a decision
on staying or leaving the organisation basis the organisational culture.
Learning & Development: The dynamic and cross-functional nature of jobs in the
tech workplace make learning and development programs critical. Upskilling is the
need of the hour. The L&D team should organize regular trainings (both technical and
soft skills) for employees based on their periodic training needs assessment. The
organisation should also sponsor high end and critical technology certifications for
employees to keep them abreast with latest technologies. They can also encourage
them to take on these certifications and reimburse a certain portion of the cost on
successful completion through an Education Assistance Program (EAP). Techies
recognize that staying on top of the latest tech trends will keep them relevant in their
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careers. Encouraging and facilitating the opportunity to learn and grow is a win-win
for both the employees and the organisation.
Rewarding and Retaining Talent: As difficult as it is to hire the right talent, it
becomes even more critical to reward and retain them. The organisation should have a
robust Performance Management System (PMS) in place to measure the contribution
of individual employees towards the goals of the organisation. The high performers
should be rewarded adequately through merit pay and promotions as per the industry
standards. It should also help managers to identify high potential employees or HiPos
for effective succession planning and maintain continuity of operations.
Implementation of a latest AI powered HRMS is very effective in this domain. These
HR systems have mechanisms of closely monitoring and recording individual
achievements throughout the performance cycle which helps in recognizing and
rewarding top talent. There should also be an effective Rewards & Recognition
(R&R) program identifying top performers and awarding them at the organisation
level on a quarterly and yearly basis. This helps in the retention of precious talent and
increases work efficiency in the long run.
Employee Benefits: A full-scale organisational benefits program can go a long way
in attracting and engaging techies. It can be the great differentiator between
competitors to attract talent. Organisations should provide a range of attractive
benefits from life and health insurance plans, pension plans, ESOPs, health and
wellness programs, mind wellness programs, generous vacation pay, mat/pat leaves
and sabbaticals.
Employee Burnout: Employee burnout is a common problem in the many tech roles
where long hours appear to be the routine. The organisation should ensure that the
work roster is equitable made. In case it is absolutely necessary, the employees should
be compensated with compensatory leaves or overtime pay. However, it should not be
made the norm. Burnout leads to reduced productivity, negative work culture and
employee turnover.
Flexible Working: The restive tech workforce comprising mainly millennials look
for flexible working. Organisations need to accommodate flexible working with flexi
worktimes and remote working to engage talent. Also, with rise of the gig economy, a
large chunk of the workforce is being moved to the system of contract-based, remote
employment. Business conditions affected by the Covid pandemic have hastened it.
The adoption of flexibility needs to be recognized as an enabler of positive
development.
Conclusion
In conclusion, due many challenges that are facing human resource departments, there is need
for organisations to adopt correct and workable policies that will not only ensure they
alleviate these challenges, but also develop mechanisms of dealing with such challenges in
case they occur in the future.
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Question No 2.
Answer:
Introduction
Performance appraisals are periodic assessments of an employee’s job performance.
Businesses often use performance appraisals to provide employees with feedback on their
work and to justify decisions like salary increases, bonuses and, in some cases, terminations.
Although performance appraisals can be performed at any point in time, many companies
conduct assessments on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis.
Concept
Companies can keep their staff interested and encouraged to work more by conducting
performance appraisals on a routine basis. Some of the advantages of performing a
performance evaluation are as follows:
Creates Career Growth Opportunities: Employees can improve in their jobs with
the help of performance appraisals, especially if they want to rise to a higher position
within the organisation. A performance assessment can assist employees in
developing a professional development plan.
Improves Employee Performance: Giving feedback encourages employees to
perform better. When a manager gives positive feedback, employees are motivated to
perform in a better way. Because performance reviews are frequently used to evaluate
how incentives are distributed, they can help motivate and recognize employees for
their efforts.
Boosts Employee Engagement: Employee engagement and retention can be
increased by incorporating them in the performance appraisal process on a routine
basis. Employees will be more likely to perform well when they can see how their
actions influence the organisation as a whole. Regular performance reviews also
demonstrate to employees that their employer cares about them and is ready to take
the time to offer them the guidance they need to succeed.
Helps Determine Training Requirements: Companies can use performance
appraisals to see which employees require additional training and to choose what
subjects to re-train in. If several employees are struggling to achieve a daily target, for
example, an employer may offer a seminar on how to work more productively or
consider cutting down the target.
Establishes Clear Expectations: Managers might reiterate their expectations for staff
during performance appraisals. This aids employees in understanding their everyday
tasks as well as what their employer expects of them.
Enhances Team Communication: Performance appraisals provide managers with a
scheduled, defined period to review how each employee is performing overall,
allowing for a smooth flow of conversation with no interruptions. Managers can
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coach employees and provide tips on how to enhance their productivity during these
sessions. This time is also set up for employees to ask questions and address any
issues they may have.
Helps in Goal-Setting: Employers can assess how effectively an employee met their
objectives and provide input on what kinds of objectives should be set for the next
quarter. Creating a goal management system that is updated regularly ensures that
staff is progressing and contributing to the organisation’s goal.
Helps Highlight Areas for Improvement: Employers that conduct performance
reviews regularly can identify areas that require improvement before they harm the
firm or become permanent. Employers frequently offer suggestions and actions that
employees might do in the future. Employees can continue to develop and become the
best they can be as a result of this.
Develops Team Bonding: Managers and staff can use performance appraisals to
synchronize their goals and brainstorm together. Meetings regularly might help to
strengthen ties and make the boss appear more accessible. Peer reviews allow people
to know how much their colleagues value them.
Helps Communicate the Company Vision Clearly: Employees frequently overlook
why they are working or how their actions make a big difference in the day-to-day
functioning of the company. Employees can recall why their effort counts by
obtaining feedback on tasks they've done. Managers can use performance appraisals
to reinforce the organisation's values and the goals that employees are striving toward.
Threats to performance appraisal:
Unstructured methods of performance appraisal systems: Many organizations do
not set the parameters for measuring the performance levels of employees.
Performance managers include “primary result areas” in the performance appraisal
system, but do not include “primary performance indicators” which result in the
qualitative appraisal system instead of quantities appraisal. So, this approach involves
lots of manager’s perceptions, views like or dislikes, and personal side favors. Such
appraisal processes also lack the feedback system between employees and managers.
Lack of interest and ownership of manager: The performance appraisal process is
long and time-consuming. This process involves lots of talks discussion, feedback,
and designing techniques of managers. Most of the time managers do not show much
engagement and interest in designing and developing the performance standards and
set goals for their team members objectively. In other words, instead of a
collaborative approach of the human resources department, function/ department
head, and reporting manager, whereas it becomes a coordinating approach for
executing this activity in a few organizations.
Lack of a proper channel of communication: In many organizations, managers
avoid giving direct acknowledgment to employees on their performances. They resist
and close the channel of exchanging feedbacks with their subordinates.
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Lack of reward and recognition policy: In many organizations, management avoids
giving rewards and recognition to the employee performer in view to avoid any
business or unrest among other team members.
Lack of leadership: Implementation performance appraisal system in an organization
is the responsibility of organization management and its supervisor/managers
respectively. In the lack of proper leadership, supervision, and communication
channels network system, an organization loses its objectivity for employee.
Performance appraisal is a continuous process that approaches from top-level to
bottom in an organization.
Lack of communication: Sometimes, managers aren’t able to communicate what
they expect from their employees. They need to communicate properly with the
employees about the benefits of performance management. Employees should be
provided with the necessary resources to improve themselves constantly and should
know the importance of continuous learning and a performance management system.
Overemphasizing recent performances: This is one of the most common mistakes
that managers/ HRs make. Performance management processes are plagued with
various biases in general. Recency bias is one of them. This is an unconscious bias
since part of the problem can be attributed to memory and the way the mind makes
associations. But it is a dangerous bias all the same. Very simply, it is because
recency bias can make or break a performance review. So, overemphasizing recent
performance can fail the performance management system.
Annual performance evaluation: Performance evaluation is valuable only when it is
carried out regularly. An annual performance review is not enough for any
organization. Some managers claim that it consumes a major portion of their time.
But if performance evaluation is carried out annually, employees have to wait for a
year to give or receive feedback; which is not good for the organization’s
productivity.
No recognition/ rewards: Appreciation and recognition are very important to keep
your employees inspired and to drive productivity. A performance management
system that doesn’t include recognition and rewards for employee performance tends
to fail more easily. It is important to keep track of employee performance and
appreciate their good work.
Conclusion
In most cases, it has been found out that in organizations performance appraisal systems
defeat the purpose of achieving their intended purposes and objectives. There may be
numerous causes of such failure, but mostly it occurs as the top management fails to share
information and extend support. These failures of performance appraisal can be attributed to
ambiguous performance standards, rater bias, lengthy process of form filling and
documenting, and wrong selection of performance criteria. At times, the appraisal process
itself may be conflicting. A reward-aligned performance appraisal may conflict with
administrative and developmental needs.
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Question No 3.a.
Answer:
Introduction
Popularly known as multi-rater feedback, 360-degree feedback is the systematic collection
and feedback of performance data on an individual or group, which is derived from several
stakeholders. The data is collected via respondents, including the reporting manager,
colleagues, subordinates, and in some cases, also clients. The participants’ opinions and
ratings are then fed into the system to churn out comprehensible, actionable development
reports.
Concept
There are a few strong reasons how 360 degrees feedback is an effective method of
performance appraisal.
The 360-degree performance appraisal system creates room for employee
development by providing individuals with both direct and indirect feedback.
Employees receive feedback from anonymous sources; they can accept information
that may be otherwise difficult to process. This enables individuals to receive negative
feedback with a positive attitude and adapt their behavior and approach to better suit
the demands of the workplace.
It makes for a holistic form of assessment. Since the information collected on each
employee is from multiple sources, from different departments and employee levels,
the scope is broader and has the potential for higher accuracy. It is possible to uncover
factors that may otherwise go unnoticed under more typical performance appraisal
methods.
It develops a level of self-awareness among employees. As employees receive plenty
of information regarding their behavior through different sources of feedback, they
have the opportunity to journey inward to understand what they can do to improve
their skills and character for that suit their workplace.
The 360-degree feedback process enhances productivity and professional
relationships. Since so much feedback and constructive criticism are gathered from
co-workers, employers, supervisors, customers, and other additional sources,
employees can be more open in the workplace. It encourages a growth culture and
offers greater visibility into their performance.
It creates transparency within the organization and establishes trust. The 360-degree
feedback improves the level of trust between co-workers and the management of an
organization. This results in creating a more positive working environment, improved
productivity, and even spikes in revenue due to overall development in the
organization’s efficiency.
Conclusion
360 feedback reviews are useful to the employee as they provide a well-rounded and
balanced view of their skills and behaviors. In this model, feedback isn’t just given from the
individual’s supervisor but from various people in the organization. This provides a fair and
more accurate picture of the employee’s demonstrated behavior.
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Implementing a 360-degree feedback process in organizations is a smart investment and a
business decision as it promotes self-awareness and creates transparency in communication.
The benefits of 360-degree feedback are increased transparency among the internal team via
trust, sharing, and increased clarity toward expected behaviors and goals. A well-crafted 360-
degree feedback tool and the process can boost overall team performance.
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Question No 3.b.
Answer:
Concept
Resistance to rate peers:
Difficulties: Feedback collected during a 360 feedback cycle will not be valuable to
employees or the organization if reviewers aren't prepared to provide candid feedback. Your
people may be reluctant to give honest back if they haven't had the right training or
experience. If your employees are not comfortable giving feedback, especially if it is
negative, it could also cause them stress.
Solution: You must prepare reviewers to provide feedback. To top 10 challenges with 360
feedback reduce resistance to participate in the process, provide resources and training to
reviewers to help them provide accurate ratings and useful, constructive comments. It is also
important to select the right questions and rating scales, focus on attitude and soft skills rather
than performance.
Employees reacting negatively to feedback:
Difficulties: Receiving feedback, whether positive or constructive, can be a stressful
experience. This is normal and to be expected. No one likes to hear negative feedback, so you
must make sure feedback is provided in a correct and constructive way - otherwise it could
cause strain between your employees. In addition, reviewees are likely to be concerned about
how the feedback will be used and its impact on future pay and promotion decisions.
Solution: The first step to success is clearly defining the purpose of 360 feedback and
making sure people understand why you are doing it. Communicate the purpose of 360
feedback to all employees, the benefits to stakeholders and how the results will be used.
Prepare individuals to receive feedback, and provide feedback training to reviewers.
Encourage reviewers to leave constructive comments.
Concerns over anonymity:
Difficulties: Peer reviewers often fear sharing uncensored peer feedback with their
colleagues. They may well have concerns over whether their feedback will be anonymous,
and be worried that the reviewee will find out what they wrote.
Solution: To ensure success, all employees need to feel comfortable with the 360
assessments. Do not be concerned about over-communication, the more the better! Explain
how confidentiality and anonymity will be maintained. Educate all employees about the
process and provide proper training prior to execution.
Inaccurate ratings:
Difficulties: Achieving a feedback culture can be tricky. The first round of 360 feedback is
not always objective because evaluators are often very lenient towards their peers. If this
happens, the rating distribution will be skewed and the results may be inaccurate. In addition,
like any other appraisal processes there are natural biases which can affect the validity of the
ratings.
Solution: To resolve this, make it clear to your employees what you want to achieve. Explain
how using 360 will help them improve their leadership skills and performance. Or perhaps
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the aim is to improve collaboration and teamwork. If the benefits are clear, employees will
want to participate properly.
Doesn’t improve performance:
Difficulties: Whilst feedback can be useful for performance, 360 feedback assessments are
most effective when used for growth and development purposes. It should give the employee
an idea of how their colleagues perceive them, rather than judge them on specific
performance metrics which usually require input from their manager. Peers often will not
have the necessary experience to rate their colleagues on their performance.
Solution: Always link 360° survey questions to development and not performance. Cover
skills that the employee can improve on in line with company values and desired behaviors.
360 evaluations can be tied to performance appraisals, but it should not be used to assess
employees on job related metrics.
Conclusion
Despite these challenges, it is a great development tool to use when trying to
generate authentic, honest and balanced feedback. It gives a complete picture of employee
performance, and provides vital insights to help them grow and develop.
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