THE ABOLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS - PARKVIEWS STORY

Background: Traditional performance appraisals, with their emphasis on individual (versus systemic or organizational) performance, are thoug ht to undermine efforts to implement a total quality management or con tinuous quality improvement strategy. Searching for a new process: A t eam charged in 1989 with the mission of improving the performance eval uation process finally determined it was simply not possible to improv e a system so fundamentally flawed and recommended eliminating it. As an interim step, directors were told to dispense with scores and simpl y provide feedback to employees. A model for doing this was later adop ted as the template for the annual feedback meeting Parkview eventuall y developed. A Piece of Paper (APOP) is born: The breakthrough, in 199 2, came in realizing that an annual meeting should focus not on evalua ting the employees but rather on identifying processes and systems in need of improvement. APOP in practice: Managers and employees alike vi ew APOP as an improvement over the old performance appraisals. One dir ector sees APOP as a way of finding out what is going on in her depart ment and how she can help. Another director finds that APOP not only h elps him recognize the needs of good employees but also helps him to w ork constructively with employees having problems. Holding the gain: S eventy-two percent of the directors have a highly favorable opinion of APOP; employees will be surveyed soon. Additional training in the APO P philosophy and process for first-line supervisors and follow-up trai ning for leaders will be provided.