I was reading an article in Business Week : Pointless Management Practices to Nuke . The list is "Forced Ranking Exercises", "Key Performance Indicators", "360 degree feedback programs", "Engagement Surveys", and "One-size-fits-all performance reviews".

The article falls for the age old trick of saying ... look at these poorly implemented practices - we should stop doing them.  I agree with nearly everything in the article other than the conclusion.  If you use 360 feedback to allow people to say things they wouldn't say to someones face then you may have an issue.  If you design a performance appraisal system that doesn't reflect what the employees/staff want from performance appraisal then again you will have an issue.  Don't nuke the practices - nuke the way you are doing it.

If you take great care on your 360 feedback design and make it an open, inclusive process;  if you build a performance review process that balances the individual's requirements equally with the organisation's needs; then you will find you have great, core tools for supporting your team in their personal development and in achieving the company goals.

Best practice in 360 feedback and best practice in performance reviews (and KPIs, and engagement surveys) will lead to fantastic results.

I might agree completely on forced ranking exercises!

Brendan

Read the complete post at http://blog.bowlandsolutions.com/blog/hints-and-tips/should-we-nuke-these-management-practices