meeting targets not key anymore

8/3/2019 Meeting Targets Not Key Anymore

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MEETING TARGETS NOT KEY

ANYMOREAttitude Tops Performance in Appraisals

Workers being judged on risk-taking, and willingness to learn & co-operateSHRUTI SABHARWAL & DEVINA SENGUPTA BANGALORE

At Microsofts Global Technical Support Centre (GTSC) in Bangalore, a team of

over 1,000 engineers solves problems for the Redmond, Washington-basedcompanys blue-ribbon corporate customers, including the likes of the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration and GE, the engineering and financial

services major.The problems have become increasingly complex over the years and average time

to resolve a complaint is upwards of eight hours. The engineers work under intense

time pressure as the glitches they are solving could result in loss of business for

clients.But at the end of the year, the engineers are not being judged on how fast they

solved problems or how high they were rated in customer satisfaction surveys.

Instead, performance rating is linked to much more qualitative parameters such as

readiness to ask colleagues for help, and the ability and willingness to learn fromthe problems they were solving. The willingness to share knowledge and the

doggedness and persistence in solving problems are also high on the

desirability charts at the Bangalore unit of the maker of Windows Software.

These changes are not unique to Microsoft. Employees are increasingly being

judged on the quality of their interaction with colleagues with values such as

proclivity towards collaborative behaviour and knowledge-sharing being highlyrated. Risk-taking ability is also valued. For some companies, behaviour, rather

than the ability to meet targets, is the route to a good increment this appraisal

season. And in some places such as Microsoft GTSC, it is the only criterion. HardNumbers do not Show the Whole Picture

We dont hold the frontline staff accountable for productivity any longer. That isonly for most senior managers, says Binu Philip, director (HR) at Microsoft

GTSC.

Hard numbers do not show the whole picture and can be manipulated as well,says Anandorup Ghosh, practice head for executive compensation and corporate

governance, at Aon Hewitt.

Two years ago, Microsoft junked its performance review system, doing away withtargets for engineers. Instead, they are now judged on behaviour and how they

performed the task rather than what they did. The company changed the parameters

after internal surveys showed employees were not happy with the way their

performance was being reviewed.The simple guidance is doing whats right for the customer, says Thomas

Payyapilli, senior director and head of Microsoft GTSC.

The result: a 12% increase in employee satisfaction within a year of changing the


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appraisal process.

The practice is resonating with some other technology companies, though few have

linked pay exclusively to behaviour to the extent of Microsoft has. Software

products company Adobe Systems started giving greater weightage to behaviourtwo years ago and is now applying the new criterion to its India operations. Senior

managers, for instance, are now judged on how their teams have worked with theirglobal counterparts and their trust and credibility among peers. You can no longer

be a superperformer and climb up the ladder if you do not score high onbehaviour, says Jaleel Abdul, director (HR) of the company. Although the

company is yet to assign a percentage to behaviour-related performance benefits,

attitude-related yardstick will percolate to junior levels soon.

IT services company Igate Patni increased the weightage for behaviour-relatedparameters in 2011 from 20% to 40%. Employees in different teams are made to

go through behavioural tests these are known as Distinguishing Competencies

once every six months to help the company distinguish the successful from themediocre, says S Kandula, the HR head of the company.

For instance, the sales team is tested under the gambling competency, which islinked to risk-taking and motivation. When you have this competency, despite

hurdles you will continue to take risks. For example, a failed sales pitch should notbe a demotivating factor. Only 5% of cold calls at times are successful. Therefore,

sales employees will be tested on how much they can motivate themselves everytime they fail, says Kandula.

ICICI Bank, Indias secondlargest lender by assets and market capitalisation, has

linked only a part, albeit a crucial one, of its compensation structure EmployeeStock Option Plans (ESOPs) to behaviour. ICICIs Executive Director and

Head (HR, operations & treasury) Ram Kumar says bonuses or increments have to

be linked to hard metrics.Bonus has to be linked to performance metrics. Those who cannot deliver key

business numbers cannot be leaders, no matter how good they are in other areas.

The converse is not true, says Kumar.Nonetheless, the bank has linked ESOPs to behaviour, which plays a key role in

assessing leadership potential. Senior executives are checked for their ability to

manage change, the middle cadre for nurturing talent and building organisationalcapability and the junior employees for their ability to troubleshoot and resolve

problems, says Kumar.


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meeting targets not key anymore

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