Effectiveness of Performance

Appraisal System in
Pantaloons Retail India
Limited (PRIL)

Submitted To: Submitted by:

MR. MAYANK GUPTA MOHIT BATRA
(Asst. Prof) 00821001909
 Pantaloon

Retail (India) Limited

A future group venture

 Acknowledgement

“People must have guidance in doing

their work and know where to turn
for help & guidance”.

Truly independent project is a contradiction in terms. Every project involves contribution

of many people. This project also bears the imprint of many peoples and it is a pleasure to
acknowledge all of them.

First of all I am thankful to Mrs. Amandeep Kaur, Sr. Manager (HR) in Pantaloon Retail
India Ltd. who gave me the opportunity to do this project & provided the much needed
support & encouragement.

I am especially indebted to managers, officers and workers of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd.
(Future Group) from various departments who have helped me by providing information
& giving me their support & valuable time. It is only because of them that this report is
completed.

Last, but not least I would acknowledge my family & my friends for their help & support
& my project guide MR. MAYANK GUPTA , ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,IIMT.
 MOHIT BATRA
00821001909

Executive Summary

Performance appraisal has finally caught up with 21 st -century management practices. In

the old model, performance appraisal tended to be one-way, adversarial, oriented toward
the past and universally despised by all. In the new model, performance appraisal:
Involves an ongoing process of planning, goal-setting, feedback and performance review
Is an ongoing series of discussions between supervisor and employee rather than an
annual event.
Focuses on the future more than the past
Focuses on improving employee performance and career development rather than
employees' mistakes
Is used as a tool to build trust, open communication and better supervisor employee
relationships at all
This project is aimed at identifying the effectiveness of the current performance appraisal
system in Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. and taking views of the employees on the same.

Objective of the study are:

 To study the problems faced by the appraise during the appraisal process.
  To assess the expectation and satisfaction level of employees with regard to
existing performance appraisal system.
 To offer policy suggestions for better implementation of the scheme

Content

1. Research Methodology 14
2. Introduction
 Objective of the Study 3
 Scope of the Study 4
3. Literature review
 Introduction about PIRL 5
 Introduction about Big Bazaar 7

 Company Profile 10

4. Data analysis 15

5. HR role in Pantaloon Retail India LTD (big bazaar) 21

6. Introduction Theoretical Framework of performance 26 appraisals

7. Performance Appraisal 30

8. Appraisal Process in Pantaloon Retail India LTD. 45

 360 47
  Balance Scorecard 51

9. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 57

 Conclusion 58

9. APPENDIX 60
 Bibliography 61

 Questionnaire 62

Research
Methodology
 Methodology
“If you don’t know where you
want to go,
Any road will get you there”.

The current study is an EXPLORATORY one designed to identify the effectiveness of

performance appraisal system in the organization. The performance appraisal
effectiveness identification was done by soliciting employees’ opinions through a survey
questionnaire, conducting discussions with senior officers for gap analysis and outcome
analysis. With a premise that people concerned are best judges of their needs, the study
was conducted in Bottom Approach.
The study involved collection of both primary and secondary data. The employees sample
was chosen on the basis of RANDOM SAMPLING TECHNIQUE.
Survey:

Questionnaire was developed to survey employees’ opinions about their past experience
of performance appraisal. The opinions were also sought on their future performance
appraisal system based on their job and changes in the job environment and convenience.
Discussions:
Various issues that emanated from survey formed the basis for discussions with senior
officers of the company.
Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. has approximately 600 employees in all. A sample of 100
employees (78 workers, 16 officers, 6 managers) has been taken by applying random
sampling. A well-designed questionnaire containing 10 questions was administered to all
the 100 sample respondents to have their views in various aspects of performance
appraisal. Managers or Head of the Departments were asked three more questions
regarding the members under them, their area of improvement.
Data collected with the help of questionnaire has been analysed and interpreted by
applying statistical techniques like tabulation, percentage and presented accordingly.

Objective Of The Study

“Where vision is one year, Cultivate

flowers
Where vision is ten years, Cultivate trees
Where vision is eternity, Cultivate
people”

The genre of ‘Employees’ seems to have evolved through a transformation process. They
are now more growth oriented, ambitious, industrious, forward-looking and increasingly
vulnerable to the rocking changes in the industry. They have a high self-concept and seek
intrinsic motivation in the form of work satisfaction, intellectual growth and gratification
of cognitive needs. The premium on career growth, self-development and the critical
nature of employee retention are certain issues that have conspired to extend the moving
frontiers of performance appraisal.

The title of the study is self-explanatory as far as the objective of the study is concerned
i.e., Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal System at Pantaloon Retail India Ltd..
The incidental objectives that contribute to the main objective have been:

 To study the problems faced by the appraises during the appraisal process.
 To assess the expectation and satisfaction level of employees with regard to
existing performance appraisal system.
 To offer policy suggestions for better implementation of the scheme

Scope of the Study

On the premise that all levels of personnel are performing roles of support to high level
management in production, administrative, financial, technical goal achievement of
organization, attempts were made to target most of the employees from various
departments in the organization.

Though the findings of the study can be generalized to majority of organizations yet for
the sake of convenience and accuracy the study has been conducted at Pantaloon Retail I
Limited..

Total number of employees in Pantaloon Retail India Ltd is approximately 6000.

To identify gray areas for performance appraisal in most of the organization in Retail and
at Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. in particular the study has been conducted.
Company
profile
Future Group Manifesto
It is this understanding that has helped us succeed. And it is
This that will help us succeed in the Future. We shall keep relearning. And in this process,
do just one thing.
“Rewrite Rules. Retain Values”
“Future” – the word that signifies optimism, growth, achievement, strength, beauty,
rewards and perfection. Future encourages us to explore areas yet unexplored, write rules
yet unwritten create new opportunities and new successes. To strive for a glorious future
brings to us our strength, our ability to learn, unlearn and re-learn our ability to evolve.
We, in Future Group, will not wait for the Future to unfold itself but create_ future_
scenarios in the consumer space and facilitate consumption because consumption is
development. Thereby, we will effect socio-economic development for our customers,
employees, shareholders, associates and partners.
Our customers will not just get what they need, but also get them where, how and when
they need. We will not just post satisfactory results, we will write success stories.
We will not just operate efficiently in the Indian economy, we will evolve it
We will not just spot trends; we will set trends by marrying our understanding of the
Indian consumer to their needs of tomorrow.
Group Vision

“Future Group shall deliver ‘Everything, Everywhere, Every time for Every Indian
Consumer’ in the most profitable manner.”

Group Mission

We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall be served only
by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading to economic
development.
We will be the trendsetters in evolving delivery formats, creating retail realty, making
consumption affordable for all customer segments – for classes and for masses.
We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition. We shall be
efficient, cost- conscious and committed to quality in whatever we do. We shall ensure
that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility and united determination shall be the driving
force to make us successful.
 Future Group

Pantaloon Retail is the flagship enterprise of the Future Group, which is positioned to
cater to the entire Indian consumption space. The Future Group operates through six
verticals: Future Retail (encompassing all retail businesses), Future Capital (financial
products and services), Future Brands (management of all brands owned or managed by
group companies), Future Space (management of retail real estate), Future Logistics
(management of supply chain and distribution) and Future Media (development and
management of retail media).
Future Group companies include, Indus League Clothing that owns and retails brands like
Indigo Nation and Scullery and Galaxy Entertainment that manages Sports Bar, Brew Bar
and Bowling Co. Future Capital Holdings, the group’s financial arm, focuses on asset
management and consumer credit. It manages assets worth over $1 billion that are being
invested in developing retail real estate and consumer-related brands and hotels. The
group’s joint venture partners include Italian insurance major, Generally, French retailer
ETAM group, US-based stationary products retailer, Staples and UK-based Lee Cooper
and India-based Talwalkar’s, Blue Foods and Liberty shoes.

 Future Retail
 Future Media
 Future Brands
 Future Capital
 Future Space
 Future Logistics
 INTRODUCTION ABOUT
PANALOON-PRIL

Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited is a leading retailer with a turnover of over Rs. 3550
Crore for the financial year 2006-07. Headquartered in Mumbai, the company operates
through primarily the ‘Lifestyle’ and ‘Value’ formats through multiple delivery
mechanisms and lines of business — some of them being, fashion, food, general
merchandise, home, leisure and entertainment, financial services, communications and
wellness. The company has stores in 54 cities across the country, constituting over 7
million square feet of retail space. The company caters to the ‘Lifestyle’ segment through
its 39 Pantaloons Stores and 5 Central Malls, as well as its other concepts. In ‘Value’
retailing it is present through 83 Big Bazaar hypermarkets, 130 Food Bazaars and other
delivery formats.
Pantaloon Retail forayed into modern retail in 1997 with the launching of fashion retail
chain, Pantaloons in Kolkata.
In 2001, it launched Big Bazaar, a hypermarket chain that combines the look and feel of
Indian bazaars, with aspects of modern retail, like choice, convenience and hygiene.
Food Bazaar, food and grocery chain and launch Central, a first of its kind seamless mall
located in the heart of major Indian cities, followed this. Some of its other formats
include, Collection i (home improvement products), E-Zone (consumer electronics),
Depot (books, music, gifts and stationary), all (fashion apparel for plus-size individuals),
Shoe Factory (footwear) and Blue Sky (fashion accessories).
It has launched its entailing venture, f u t u r e b a z a a r. c o m .
The CEO of Big Bazaar is “Mr. R a j a n M a l h o t r a ” .
In 2001, PRIL opened its first Big Bazaar Hypermarket a 30,000 square feet store
kolkata. The major USP OF Big Bazaar store is low pricing. These stores offered the best
price proposition to customers. As, part of the stores focused less on branded items and
more on unbranded products with the same quality as branded ones, at much cheaper rate.
The stores stocked a wide range of products including apparel, footwear, home linen,
electronic items, furniture bazaar and many others, aimed at covering 70% of a customers
shopping basket. Big Bazaar offered these products at prices lower than the maximum
retail price by 5% to 60%. To highlight its low prices, the company used the tagline, (Isse
sasta aur aacha kahin nahin).
PRIL tied up with Arvin Mills for selling for selling the latter’s Ruf and Tuf denim brand,
exclusively through Big Bazaar. Under the Ruf and Tuf brand, Big Bazaar offered a wide
range of denim apparel for children and adults, PRIL also tied up with many
manufacturers in non-apparel section, some of whom included Liberty (footwear), Cello
(Plastic items) and Safari and American Tourist (Luggage items).

Kishore Biyani-led Future Group is considering hiving-off its hypermarket format Big
Bazaar into a separate company. “Managing a $1 billion business already is a challenge”;
Biyani said speaking to the reporters on Friday, referring to the big Bazaar format, which
is expected to generate revenue of $1 billion in the fiscal 2007-08. Big Bazaar is a
hypermarket format of the Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd.
The Group expects to increase its revenues to $7-8 billion by 2011, of which Big Bazaar
is expected to contribute a large chunk of around $4 billion. It has emerged as the largest
retail format of Future Group's retail division. Biyani said that the proposal is at a very
initial stage and has to be taken to the board. “Currently we have more than 80 Big
Bazaars and we are planning to scale it up to 160 by the year end”, he said. Highlighting
that the company was going to go very aggressive in rolling out the Big Bazaar format,
he said that the total floor area by 2011 would scale up to 30 million square feet from the
present figure of 10 million square feet. Speaking on the other formats, Biyani said that
the group was expecting revenue of Rs 1,300 Crore from the Home Town stores, which
the company launched last year.
 Biggest Format of PRIL

April 05, 2008 - Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, part of the Future Group, announced
the launch of its flagship hypermarket retail store – Big Bazaar – in Ranchi city. This is
the second Big Bazaar in Jharkhand region and the first biggest store with 80,000-sq.ft
areas in East Zone for the company.

Annual turn over of Rs. 3000 Crore around

India’s largest chain of Discount Stores. Pioneer in initiating the concept of
‘Hypermarket in India’.
All products are available at up to 60% lower than market price.
83 Big Bazaars & 125 Food Bazaars across India.
More than 1.7 Lakh items - Food, Groceries, Apparels, Home needs, Kitchen needs, etc
HR Role in Pantaloon retail India
Limited (Future Group)

 Medical checkup
 Recruitment
 Joining Formalities – Personal Dossier
 Generation of Employee Code and Position Code
 Hiring in SAP.
 Entry in MIS and Payroll.
 Account Opening
 Uniform Issue
 Locker Issue
 Identity Card Issue

 Preparation of MIS and Payroll on Monthly basis.

 Maintaining attendance and leave records of all the employees in the store.
 Dealing with Employee Grievance.
 Complying with all the statutory compliances.
 Maintaining data of ESIC, Provident Fund, Med claim
 Taking Exit Interview of employees when they resign.
  Maintaining data of all kinds of loans – Benevolent, Pantaloon
Foundation.
 Maintaining record of all education programs for employees like –
Shishya, Seekho.
 Making PERK data.
 Organizing Employee of the month, Birthday Celebrations and Prerna.
 Maintaining the Fun Zone.
 Maintaining discipline among the employees.

Appraisal process

A process of encouraging and nurturing a culture of continuous improvement, which

identifies and aligns organizational goals with individual development.

Objectives:
 To assess the individuals performance for last year.
 To identify areas of improvement.
 To establish a clear linkage between the performance and financial rewards and
thereby create a pay for performance culture in organization.

Scope: All functions and jobs are covered by this process.

Guidelines:

 The HOD does the appraisal.

 The appraisal is conducted in the month of March.
 Self-appraisal is a part of the appraisal exercise.
 Final rating is not disclosed to the appraise.
 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

TRAINING AREAS FOR WORKERS INCLUDE:

Skill Development activities in assistance with the technical department.
Behavioral Attitudinal Development of workers with assistance of internal and external
faculty. Games and Role-playing techniques are used to motivate the workers and
improve
 The quality of work life,
 Communication skills
 Teamwork.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

ATTENDANCE: Punch Cards are used to record the attendance of all the
employees. The attendance is also stored in the MASTER ROLL register by the HR
department.

General shift- from – 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

11:30 a.m. to8: 30 p.m.
1:30 p.m. to10:30 p.m
Availability of leave:
All employees of the Company shall be entitled to the following leave
All Purpose Leave
Compensatory Off: is granted to employees for working on holidays or for working on
extra shifts.
.
PAYMENTS AND welfare of staff and workers in fulfillment of govt.
norms

Salary and wages include basic salary, overtime payment, ESI (employees state
insurance), and PF (provident fund). Above 8 hours is considered as overtime for workers
and they are to be paid twice the normal rate.

ESI contribution by employees is 1.75% of wages and by the employer is 4.75% of

wages. PF contribution by employee is 12% and by employer is also 12 %( 3.67%to PF
(to a limit of 6500) and 8.33% to Pension fund). Advance PF can be availed if the person
has worked for a minimum of 5yrs and have a minimum balance of Rs.20000 as PF
contribution. A bonus of 20% is given to those whose basic salary is up to Rs.3500.
Gratuity is payable after completion of a minimum of 5yrs of service or in case of death
or permanent disablement.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
 Locker Facility
 Uniforms
 Gift Vouchers
 Loans
 Salary advance
 , Special Privilege scheme
 Late sitting Allowance
 , Celebrations
 Pantaloon Shishya, Seekho
 Pantaloon Foundation

UNIFORMS

All uniformed employees receive 2 or 3 sets of uniform, depending on their designation

and nature of work.
 INTRODUCTION
--Theoretical
Framework of
PERFORMANCE
APPRAISAL

Definition

Performance appraisal provides a periodic review and evaluation of an individual's job

performance. Although the appraisal forms may only be completed once a year, the job of
performance appraisal is continuous – sometimes daily - and requires effective
communication on both the part of the supervisor and the employee. The supervisor is
ultimately responsible to make sure these conversations actually take place and are
documented.

It is essential that the supervisor hold all performance discussions and documentation in
complete confidence. One employee’s performance should never be discussed with
another employee. This is one of the best ways for a supervisor to lose the trust of all
employees. The completed Performance Appraisal forms are maintained in the
employee’s personnel file in Human Resources and are released only to the employee, the
supervisor or other persons authorized by law, regulation, or policy.

Uses

Performance appraisal has many uses, but perhaps the most important is that it provides
employees with critical feedback with which they can improve their performance.
Without your feedback, your employee may have a difficult time figuring out what you
want done differently.

It also provides supervisors with critical feedback with which they can help employees
improve their performance and often also provides supervisors with ideas on how they
can become a better supervisor.
Training needs should be identified during performance discussions. If an employee is
having trouble completing assignments, you should always investigate whether you have
provided the employee with all needed training for the tasks. Just because other
employees may not have needed additional training, doesn’t mean none of them need
training.
The University may use completed performance appraisals for many things, including
 Determining the promo ability of employees;

 Validating tests used for recruitment and selection;

 Evaluating the training program to find areas where additional training needs to
be offered and possibly

 To determine merit pay when applicable. Employees wishing to have their

performance appraisals reviewed by potential supervisors for consideration for a
new position need to make sure Human Resources are aware of their wishes.

As an employee, you should use your performance to help you plan your career and
assess strengths and weaknesses to identify potential job growth.

Since performance evaluations may also be used in legal disputes, it is essential that the
information entered is truthful, accurate and based on performance, not personalities,
rumors, or opinions.

The annual performance appraisal must NOT be the sole basis for initiating formal
discipline. When employee performance requires correction, it is the supervisor’s job to
identify the problem, discuss it with the employee, and document the discussion as soon
as the correction is identified. There should be no surprises during the annual discussion.

METHODS OF APPRAISAL
 Performance Appraisal

Traditional Methods Ideal

Methods

Traditional Methods

 Unstructured appraisal
 Employee Ranking
 Forced Distribution
 Graphic Rating Scales
 Check Lists
 Critical Incidents
 Field Review

IDEAL Methods

 Management by Objectives
 Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
 360 Degrees Appraisal
 The Balanced Scorecard
Essay Method

In the essay method approach, the appraiser prepares a written statement about the
employee being appraised. The statement usually concentrates on describing specific
strengths and weaknesses in job performance. It also suggests courses of action to remedy
the identified problem areas.
The statement may be written and edited by the appraiser alone, or it be composed in
collaboration with the appraise

Advantages
The essay method is far less structured and confining than the rating scale method. It
permits the appraiser to examine almost any relevant issue or attribute of performance.
This contrasts sharply with methods where the appraisal criteria are rigidly defined.
Appraisers may place whatever degree of emphasis on issues or attributes that they feel
appropriate. Thus the process is open-ended and very flexible. The appraiser is not locked
into an appraisal system the limits expression or assumes that employee traits can be
neatly dissected and scaled.

Disadvantages
Essay methods are time-consuming and difficult to administer. Appraisers often find the
essay technique more demanding than methods such as rating scales.
The techniques greatest advantage - freedom of expression - is also its greatest handicap.
The varying writing skills of appraisers can upset and distort the whole process. The
process is subjective and, in consequence, it is difficult to compare and contrast the
results of individuals or to draw any broad conclusions about organizational needs.
Graphic Rating Scales
The rating scale method offers a high degree of structure for appraisals. Each employee
trait or characteristic is rated on a bipolar scale that usually has several points ranging
from "poor" to "excellent" (or some similar arrangement).
The traits assessed on these scales include employee attributes such as cooperation,
communications ability, initiative, punctuality and technical (work skills) competence.
The nature and scope of the traits selected for inclusion is limited only by the imagination
of the scale's designer, or by the organization's need to know.
The one major provision in selecting traits is that they should be in some way relevant to
the appraiser’s job. The traits selected by some organizations have been unwise and have
resulted in legal action on the grounds of discrimination.
Advantages
The greatest advantage of rating scales is that they are structured and standardized. This
allows ratings to be easily compared and contrasted - even for entire workforces.
Each employee is subjected to the same basic appraisal process and rating criteria, with
the same range of responses. This encourages equality in treatment for all appraise and
imposes standard measures of performance across all parts of the organization.
Rating scale methods are easy to use and understand. The concept of the rating scale
makes obvious sense; both appraisers and appraise have an intuitive appreciation for the
simple and efficient logic of the bipolar scale. The result is widespread acceptance and
popularity for this approach.

Trait Relevance
Are the selected rating-scale traits clearly relevant to the jobs of all the appraise It is
inevitable that with a standardized and fixed system of appraisal that certain traits will
have a greater relevance in some jobs than in others.
For example, the trait "initiative" might not be very important in a job that is tightly
defined and rigidly structured. In such cases, a low appraisal rating for initiative may not
mean that an employee lacks initiative. Rather, it may reflect that fact that an employee
has few opportunities to use and display that particular trait.
Rating Errors
The problem here is not so much errors in perception as errors in appraiser judgment and
motive. Unlike perceptual errors, these errors may be (at times) deliberate. The most
common rating error is central tendency. Busy appraisers, or those wary of confrontations
and repercussions, may be tempted to dole out too many passive, middle-of-the-road
ratings (e.g., "satisfactory" or "adequate"), regardless of the actual performance of a
subordinate. Thus the spread of ratings tends to clump excessively around the middle of
the scale. This problem is worsened in organizations where the appraisal process does not
enjoy strong management support, or where the appraisers do not feel confident with the
task of appraisal

Field review

When there is reason to suspect rater bias, when some raters appear to be using higher
standards than others, or when comparability of ratings is essential, essay or graphic
ratings are often combined with a systematic review process. The field review is one of
several techniques for doing this. A member of the personnel or central administrative
staff meets with small groups of raters from each supervisory unit and goes over each
employee's rating with them to (a) identify areas of inter- rater disagreement, (b) help the
group arrive at a consensus, and (c) determine that each rater conceives the standards
similarly.

This group-judgment technique tends to be more fair and more valid than individual
ratings and permits the central staff to develop an awareness of the varying degrees of
leniency or severity -as well as bias- exhibited by raters in different departments. On the
negative side, the process is very time consuming.
Forced-choice rating

Like the field review, this technique was developed to reduce bias and establish objective
standards of comparison between individuals, but it does not involve the intervention of a
third party. Although there are many variations of this method, the most common one
asks raters to choose from among groups of statements those which best fit the individual
being rated and those which least fit him. The statements are then weighted or scored,
very much the way a psychological test is scored. People with high scores are, by
definition, the better employees; those with low scores are the poorer ones. Since the rater
does not know what the scoring weights for each statement are, in theory at least, he
cannot play favorites. He simply describes his people, and someone in the personnel
department applies the scoring weights to determine who gets the best rating.
The rationale behind this technique is difficult to fault. It is the same rationale used in
developing selection test batteries. In practice, however, the forced-choice method tends
to irritate raters, who feel they are not being trusted. They want to say openly how they
rate someone and not be second-guessed or tricked into making "honest" appraisals.
A few clever raters have even found ways to beat the system. When they want to give
average employee Harry Smith a high rating, they simply describe the best employee they
know. If the best employee is Elliott Jones, they describe Jones on Smith's forced-choice
form. Thus, Smith gets a good rating and hopefully a raise.
An additional drawback is the difficulty and cost of developing forms. Consequently, the
technique is usually limited to middle- and lower-management levels where the jobs are
sufficiently similar to make standard or common forms feasible.

Finally, forced-choice forms tend to be of little value- and probably have a negative
effect- when used in performance appraisal interviews.
Critical incident appraisal
The discussion of ratings with employees has, in many companies, proved to be a
traumatic experience for supervisors. Some have learned from bitter experience what
General Electric later documented; people who receive honest but negative feedback are
typically not motivated to do better - and often do worse - after the appraisal interview.
Consequently, supervisors tend to avoid such interviews, or if forced to hold them, avoid
giving negative ratings when the ratings have to be shown to the employee.
One stumbling block has no doubt been the unsatisfactory rating form used. Typically,
these are graphic scales that often include rather vague traits like initiative,
cooperativeness, reliability, and even personality. Discussing these with an employee can
be difficult.
The critical incident technique looks like a natural to some people for performance
review interviews, because it gives a supervisor actual, factual incidents to discuss with
an employee. Supervisors are asked to keep a record, a "little black book," on each
employee and to record actual incidents of positive or negative behavior. For example:
Bob Mitchell, who has been rated as somewhat unreliable, fails to meet several deadlines
during the appraisal period. His supervisor makes a note of these incidents and is now
prepared with hard, factual data "Bob, I rated you down on reliability because, on three
different occasions over the last two months, you told me you would do something and
you didn't do it. You remember six weeks ago when I . . ."
Instead of arguing over traits, the discussion now deals with actual behavior. Possibly,
Bob has misunderstood the supervisor or has good reasons for his apparent
"unreliability." If so, he now has an opportunity to respond. His performance, not his
personality, is being criticized. He knows specifically how to perform differently if he
wants to be rated higher the next time. Of course, Bob might feel the supervisor was
using unfairly high standards in evaluating his performance. But at least he would know
just what those standards are.
There are, however, several drawbacks to this approach. It requires that supervisors jot
down incidents on a daily or, at the very least, a weekly basis. This can become a chore.
Furthermore, the critical incident rating technique need not, but may, cause a supervisor
to delay feedback to employees.
Results Method (MBO Method)

The use of management objectives was first widely advocated in the 1950s by the noted
management theorist Peter Drucker.
MBO (management by objectives) methods of performance appraisal are results-oriented.
That is, they seek to measure employee performance by examining the extent to which
predetermined work objectives have been met.
Usually the objectives are established jointly by the supervisor and subordinate. An
example of an objective for a sales manager might be: Increase the gross monthly sales
volume to $250,000 by 30 June.

Once an objective is agreed, the employee is usually expected to self-audit; that is, to
identify the skills needed to achieve the objective. Typically they do not rely on others to
locate and specify their strengths and weaknesses. They are expected to monitor their
own development and progress.

Advantages
The MBO approach overcomes some of the problems that arise as a result of assuming
that the employee traits needed for job success can be reliably identified and measured.
Instead of assuming traits, the MBO method concentrates on actual outcomes.
If the employee meets or exceeds the set objectives, then he or she has demonstrated an
acceptable level of job performance. Employees are judged according to real outcomes,
and not on their potential for success, or on someone's subjective opinion of their
abilities.
The guiding principle of the MBO approach is that direct results can be observed,
whereas the traits and attributes of employees (which may or may not contribute to
performance) must be guessed at or inferred.
The MBO method recognizes the fact that it is difficult to neatly dissect all the complex
and varied elements that go to make up employee performance.
MBO advocates claim that the performance of employees cannot be broken up into so
many constituent parts - as one might take apart an engine to study it. But put all the parts
together and the performance may be directly observed and measured.
Disadvantages
MBO methods of performance appraisal can give employees a satisfying sense of
autonomy and achievement. But on the downside, they can lead to unrealistic
expectations about what can and cannot be reasonably accomplished.
Supervisors and subordinates must have very good "reality checking" skills to use MBO
appraisal methods. They will need these skills during the initial stage of objective setting,
and for the purposes of self-auditing and self-monitoring.
Unfortunately, research studies have shown repeatedly that human beings tend to lack the
skills needed to do their own "reality checking". Nor are these skills easily conveyed by
training. Reality itself is an intensely personal experience, prone to all forms of
perceptual bias.
One of the strengths of the MBO method is the clarity of purpose that flows from a set of
well-articulated objectives. But this can be
 BARS (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales)

The method was developed by Smith and Kendall. The BARS approach relies on the use
of critical incidents to serve as anchor statements on a scale. A BARS rating form usually
contains 6 to 10 specifically defined performance dimensions, each with 5 to 6 critical
incident anchors (both positive and negative). Employees prefer the using of this method
instead of others, as it seems that they become more committed, less tense and more
satisfied than in case using other methods.

Benefits of Appraisal

Perhaps the most significant benefit of appraisal is that, in the rush and bustle of daily
working life, it offers a rare chance for a supervisor and subordinate to have "time out"
for a one-on-one discussion of important work issues that might not otherwise be
addressed. Almost universally, where performance appraisal is conducted properly, both
supervisors and subordinates have reported the experience as beneficial and positive.
Appraisal offers a valuable opportunity to focus on work activities and goals, to identify
and correct existing problems, and to encourage better future performance. Thus the
performance of the whole organization is enhanced. For many employees, an "official"
appraisal interview may be the only time they get to have exclusive, uninterrupted access
to their supervisor. Said one employee of a large organization after his first formal
performance appraisal, "In twenty years of work, that's the first time anyone has ever
bothered to sit down and tell me how I'm doing.” The value of this intense and purposeful
interaction between a supervisors and subordinate should not be underestimated.

Motivation and Satisfaction

Performance appraisal can have a profound effect on levels of employee motivation and
satisfaction - for better as well as for worse.
Performance appraisal provides employees with recognition for their work efforts. The
power of social recognition as an incentive has been long noted. In fact, there is evidence
that human beings will even prefer negative recognition in preference to no recognition at
all.
If nothing else, the existence of an appraisal program indicates to an employee that the
organization is genuinely interested in their individual performance and development.
This alone can have a positive influence on the individual's sense of worth, commitment
and belonging.
The strength and prevalence of this natural human desire for individual recognition
should not be overlooked. Absenteeism and turnover rates in some organizations might be
greatly reduced if more attention were paid to it. Regular performance appraisal, at least,
is a good start.

Training and Development

Performance appraisal offers an excellent opportunity - perhaps the best that will ever
occur - for a supervisor and subordinate to recognize and agree upon individual training
and development needs.
During the discussion of an employee's work performance, the presence or absence of
work skills can become very obvious - even to those who habitually reject the idea of
training for them!
Performance appraisal can make the need for training more pressing and relevant by
linking it clearly to performance outcomes and future career aspirations.
From the point of view of the organization as a whole, consolidated appraisal data can
form a picture of the overall demand for training. This data may be analyzed by variables
such as sex, department, etc. In this respect, performance
appraisal can provide a regular and efficient training needs audit for the entire
organization.
Recruitment and Induction
Appraisal data can be used to monitor the success of the organization's recruitment and
induction practices. For example, how well are the employees performing who were hired
in the past two years?
Appraisal data can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of changes in recruitment
strategies. By following the yearly data related to new hires (and given sufficient
numbers on which to base the analysis) it is possible to assess whether the general quality
of the workforce is improving, staying steady, or declining.

Employee Evaluation
Though often understated or even denied, evaluation is a legitimate and major objective
of performance appraisal.
But the need to evaluate (i.e., to judge) is also an ongoing source of tension, since
evaluative and developmental priorities appear to frequently clash. Yet at its most basic
level, performance appraisal is the process of examining and evaluating the performance
of an individual.
Though organizations have a clear right - some would say a duty - to conduct such
evaluations of performance, many still recoil from the idea. To them, the explicit process
of judgment can be dehumanizing and demoralizing and a source of anxiety and distress
to employees.
It is been said by some that appraisal cannot serve the needs of evaluation and
development at the same time; it must be one or the other.
But there may be an acceptable middle ground, where the need to evaluate employees
objectively, and the need to encourage and develop them, can be balanced.
Performance Standards

Performance standards are what we use to differentiate between acceptable and

unacceptable behavior. The standards are identified for each
of the job elements and explain what satisfactory performance will look like. Justification
must be provided for any less than satisfactory rating. The
employees should have been notified well before the formal annual appraisal if they will
be rated less than “Meets Expectations”.

 Ratings Definitions
 Use the following as a general guide when determining your ratings for each item:

 Unacceptable: Well below minimum requirements; not effective; fails

to satisfactorily accomplish virtually all aspects of the job element; has negative
impact on the department in the job element

 Needs Improvement: Usually below acceptable standards; not

proficient; fails to satisfactorily accomplish some of the aspects of the job
element; requires more than average supervision; needs development

 Meets Expectations: Consistently meets all requirements of the

job element; solid performer; fully competent

 Exceeds Expectations: Generally exceeds expected results;

high quality results; well above average; has positive impact on the department in
the job element.
Performance Goals (SMART)
Performance goals must have certain characteristics in order to be effective. Goals must
be:
S) Specific
M) Measurable
A) Attainable
R) Relevant
T) Tractable

Be sure goals and objectives are clearly connected to the department or University
strategy or vision.

Rating Errors
It is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure the Performance Appraisal accurately
reflects the performance of the employee. Rating employees on their performance alone
is not easy. Most raters (even the best) make many common mistakes. If you are going to
have an effective rating system, you must avoid making any of the following rating
errors:

 Halo/Horn - allowing perceptions of performance on one rating

dimension to affect the rating of all performance dimensions. An employee who
has difficulty working with others may rate very high in dependability or job
knowledge.

 Leniency/Severity - Rating easy or harsh regardless of

performance. This is usually done with employees we especially like or
employees we may not like so much. Be sure to rate the performance, not how we
feel personally about the person.
 Central Tendency - Rating everyone average regardless of
performance. This takes a lot of responsibility off the supervisor’s shoulders as it
is difficult for any one to complain since no one got either a very good or a very
bad rating. It could also mean rating the same employee average in all behaviors
or job elements.

 Contrast Effect - comparing employees with one another. Remember

that you rate each employee’s performance against the job description—not how
they compare with other employees, or how they compare with the last employee
in that job.

 Primacy/Regency - First impression and memory errors. We remember

best what we see either first or last. This is a good reason to keep an event
record/log. Using this method should eliminate this error along with several others
mentioned above.

 Escalation of Commitment - as familiarity increases commitment

increases. Once we have made up our mind about an employee – good or bad – it
is difficult to change our opinion. We look for good behavior in good employees
and we look for bad behavior in bad employees. We continue to look for and only
see behavior that supports our opinion.

 Self-fulfilling Prophecy - managers who hire employees

usually want them to succeed. It is a good reflection on the good manager. At the
same time, managers may not expect success from an employee that someone else
selected. It is also easy to put too much credence in what others have told you
about this employee. We look for performance that supports our beliefs and
disregard performance that is contrary to our beliefs. This is also called the
Pygmalion Effect.
 Bias - value systems affects opinions. For example, it may be difficult to
consider someone of a different religion or ethnic group as being a good person,
and so it may be difficult to rate them as a good employee.

 Stereotyping – If we consider a certain group of people as hard working

then we may tend to rate anyone in that group as being highly productive even if
they are not.

 Glass Ceiling Effect – The supervisor may sometimes decide

when an employee has reached their peak performance and stop challenging the
employee to continue to improve.
Appraisal Process
In
Pantaloon retail
India
Limited
In the Beginning

At the beginning of the rating cycle you and your employee must reach an understanding
of how the appraisal process is going to proceed. You should begin by reviewing the
position description and determining which Position Specific Factors will be used to
evaluate the employee. Although you need to discuss this with the employee, you need to
get their input and then make the final decision. You might want to select the area with
the greatest percentage of time assessed to it, or you may want to select one that is very
critical to the success of the employee. In any case, you should select the areas that you
want the employee to concentrate on during the cycle because “what gets measured gets
done.”
You also need to determine which of the Job Elements will be rated. You may want to
rate all of the elements or you may decide that up to two of the elements are not
important for this job and leave them out of the evaluation. Again, although you will
discuss this with your employee, you will make the final decision.

The last thing you will need to do is determine and document at least two goals for the
employee. Once it is clear how the employee will be evaluated, you should both sign the
form and you should give the employee a copy.

During the cycle

As the year goes by, you need to have regular contact with your employee so you can
actually see for yourself what is going on and discuss it with the employee as needed.
Make regular entries in the Event Record/Log and discuss each entry with your
employee. You should include both positive and negative events. Address any problems
as they come up and take any necessary action to correct them. As you make entries in
the log, be sure to provide a copy to the employee.
30 days and counting
About 30 days before you plan to conduct your annual appraisal discussion, meet with
the employee and make sure they are aware of the scheduled meeting time and place, and
also they have a copy of all Event Records/Logs as well as the originally agreed to
Appraisal Form. Give the employee a blank copy of the Employee Worksheet and ask
them to complete it and bring it with them to the meeting.

The Day has Come

On the day of the appraisal discussion review all the forms together with the employee.
You may use the Checklist at the end of this booklet as a guide for the discussion.
Remember to review performance – not personalities. Discuss and document next year’s
goals, position specific factors and job elements and you are done. If you have followed
the steps up to now, addressed problems as they occur and discuss performance regularly
with the employee, this meeting should be a snap.

When the Dance is Done

 After your appraisal meeting you should formalize the form according to the
discussion, 1) Get the employee’s signature on the form;
 2) Provide a copy to the employee; and
 3) Forward the original copy to your department director for signature and
forwarding to
 Human Resources.
Evaluate the System
Now that you have completed a cycle, you should evaluate the system to be sure your
employee understands the feedback and to see if there is a positive change in
performance as a result of the appraisal.

360 Degree

About 360 Degree Feedback

The (360 degree) feedback process...involves collecting perceptions about a person’s
behavior and the impact of that behavior from the person’s boss or bosses, direct reports,
colleagues, fellow members of project teams, internal and external customers, and
suppliers. Other names for 360 degree feedback are multi-rater feedback, multi-source
feedback, full-circle appraisal, and group performance review" I Pantaloon Retail India
Ltd.
In order for an organization to be ready for effective 360-degree feedback, a number of
questions need to be answered. The effectiveness of the feedback is directly linked to the
integrity of the process, and the integrity of the process is measured in terms of
commitment, clarity of purpose, and follow-up. A 360-degree feedback team is
recommended for accomplishing a detailed plan to address these issues prior to
implementation

360-degree performance appraisals: More value, or just more to ignore?

Although it seems like performance evaluations should be a logical and productive part
of an employee’s development, they are often not anything more than ignored. We have
all heard comments similar to: “Why should we do these appraisals at all? Employees just
ignore them and the company spends more money on these programs without getting any
results” or “I don’t see the point; I never get anything that actually helps me improve my
performance!”

Statements like these reflect a widely-accepted reality: few people seem to value
performance appraisals. Employees often consider the process biased, with unsupported
ratings that do not reflect the work they actually do. The appraisal either just pats them on
the back, or criticizes them with no workable suggestions for improvement. Their review
has become just another distraction during the annual (or less frequent) evaluation
process. On the other hand, managers for the most part aren’t equipped to give productive
feedback; often they are afraid to provide negative feedback because of legal threats or
they do not want to adversely affect someone’s already small bonus; they are forced to
spend hours filling out detailed forms and looking up figures or trying to remember
specifics to evaluate their direct reports.

But hold on Becky, there is a way to do performance evaluations more effectively, a way
to save the process from becoming disregarded. Multi-rater or “360-degree” appraisals
can provide an accurate and acceptable way to evaluate performance while saving
managers time and effort.

360-degree appraisals are founded on the idea that any employee’s performance is seen
by many others–their manager, peers, direct reports, customers, etc. Nevertheless, none of
these people see anyone else’s performance all the time. 360- degree appraisals improve
on any evaluation done by one person by combining ratings from many people who see
different parts of an employee’s performance. For example, direct reports probably have
the best understanding of someone’s delegating skills, while managers probably see
someone’s results-focus most clearly. To get a complete image of performance, then, data
is gathered from others with various relationships to the employee. Many 360-degree
appraisal programs also have the employee rate how they think everyone else will rate
them. While someone’s self evaluation may not be the best data on which to base pay
raises, it often provides an eye-opening comparison that can serve as a good starting point
for development. Gathering input from all of these points-of-view provides a fuller
picture of someone’s performance. In simple terms, 360-degree appraisals give a “3-
dimensional” performance report, whereas traditional performance appraisals only give a
“1- dimensional” report.

Traditional performance appraisals often focus on goal attainment: how close did
someone come to their sales goal, or did someone meet the minimum customer service
rating. Most likely, there are only a couple of people in the organization who have the
data to answer these types of questions. Because of this, goal-based appraisals limit the
amount of input that is available for a performance appraisal. 360-degree appraisals
broaden the amount of usable input to target perceptions of an employee’s effectiveness.
This approach takes advantage of the various relationships represented in the group of
raters. So, while typically only an employee’s boss knows whether her/his cost-cutting
goals were met for the most recent quarter, many more people will have perceptions of
that employee’s financial skills, diligence, fiscal responsibility, etc–all the things
necessary to reach those goals. Also, by concentrating on competencies rather than goals,
the data readily lends itself to personal development.

These features of 360-degree appraisals offer several advantages that help prevent it from
just becoming ‘more to ignore’:

 Gathering input from multiple sources ensures that individual ratings can be
anonymous. Each rater, then, can be encouraged to be open and honest since their
feedback cannot be singled out from the group’s.
 Multiple sources of data also mean that ratings reflect multiple perspectives
instead of the single top-down view afforded by traditional appraisals. Combined
with the added anonymity, these ratings should give a fuller, more accurate picture
of an employee’s performance.
 Since the data describes perceptions of effectiveness, using feedback for personal
development is very easy. Instead of showing someone that they made their goals
or not, or providing feedback in personality terms (which, more often than not,
feels like a personal attack), an employee is shown how others perceive his/her
behavior. Behaviors and perceptions are much easier to change than personality.
And, unlike met or unmet goals, behaviors are specific and directly actionable.
  Managers only have to complete one form per employee, usually taking about 15
minutes each. There are no figures to research, no goals to look up from last year,
no distribution of overall performance to worry about, no endless comparisons
between employees. Compared with other performance appraisal approaches,
managers are saving time and employees are getting more useful performance
feedback

The Balanced Scorecard

Utilizing the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard as a framework for examining
organizational readiness, the team would involve themselves in creating a plan which
addresses the following:

Internal Business Process Perspective

Is 360 degree feedback needed to support the implementation of a corporate strategy or
the accomplishment of a corporate goal?
What is HR’s and top management’s role in the process?
How will employee development plans be created utilizing the feedback?
How will these development plans be utilized to align behaviors/expectations needed to
successfully implement the corporate strategy or goal identified?

Financial Perspective

Are sufficient resources available to insure a high integrity 360 degree feedback process?
Have funds been budgeted for follow-up activities, such as staff training?
How does the corporate strategy or goal driving the process affect the bottom line?

Learning Perspective
How will individual development needs identified in the process be addressed?
Will supervisors require training in order to address the identified needs of subordinates?
 Will HR utilize aggregate data on employee needs to create an organization-wide
development plan?

Why Pantaloon retail India Ltd Consider 360

Degree Feedback for Your Organization

"To decide whether 360 degree feedback could be useful in your organization, ask
yourself the following questions:
Can your company meet the challenges represented by developments like consolidation,
increased competition, global expansion...using the same skills and behaviors as in the
past?
If people need to change their behaviors to ensure the organization’s’ future success, are
they clear about exactly what they need to do differently, and do they feel equipped to
make those changes?
Is the behavior of people in the organization sufficiently consistent with the vision,
mission, and espoused values of the company?
Is there a formal system in place through which people receive information on how others
perceive their behavior and their performance?...
Do selection and development systems accurately reflect the current and future
requirements of the jobs being done?"

Employee development plans be created utilizing

the feedback
The 360 degree feedback team will need to address the issue of how the employee
development plans will be created. Will the employee be the sole recipient of the
feedback and responsible for developing his own plan, or will he be required to share
 some or all of his feedback with his superior and work on the plan together? These
questions will need to be addressed prior to implementation of the process, because any
changes in confidentiality agreements (who sees the feedback) during the process would
severely undermine its integrity.
"This evaluation technique enables companies to align employee performance with the
organization’s needs and overall strategy and leads to the development of a more
involved, less hierarchical workforce...When 360 degree feedback is used, contrasting the
results of self-evaluation against organizational norms illuminates areas of the business
plan that need more attention from the employee

Customer Perspective
For employees who interact with customers, the 360 degree feedback process may
include customer feedback, depending upon the overall strategy or goal of the process.
"Incorporating customer feedback in the evaluation process emphasizes the importance of
client expectations in determining company focus"
360 degree feedback can be used to support a corporate strategy of shifting the focus of
the company from meeting the internal needs of the department or functional unit to
meeting the needs of the customer. In this way, customer involvement can be used to
enhance strategic alignment and facilitate to-to-bottom focus (i.e., aligning goals from the
organizational to the individual level

HR and top management’s role in the process

top management be the first participants in the 360 degree feedback process. "We chose
that route because we wanted to show people at other levels that they were part of senior
management’s development and also to provide them with a model for being open. When
they saw that top-level executives were willing to open up to what people were saying
 about them, and to the fact that they needed to develop their skills, it created more
willingness on the part of less senior people to undergo the process later on”

HR role
HR’s vision for the process can lead the way to achieving needed organizational change.
"HR is shaped by the business goals, the corporate culture, the competitive position, and
the workforce demographics of each organization it serves...In the 90’s, HR has grappled
with many key business challenges: aligning HR practices with business goals, using HR
practices to better connect with a customer base, establishing effective partnerships while
maintaining a distinct corporate culture"
HR should strive to create and communicate a shared vision of the goals of the 360
degree feedback process, and should support the process with its technical expertise and
resources. In addition, HR will play a key role in developing organization-wide
development plans based on the training and other identified needs of employees. The
plan may well include HR’s playing a role in monitoring and tracking a number of
follow-up activities, as well as measuring and reporting progress or improvements in
achieving the company’s overall goal or strategy.

CONCLUSION
"360 degree feedback can promote individual development and improve individual
performance if the feedback is linked to developmental planning, goal setting, and
organizational support The four conditions that will maximize the value of the 360
degree feedback process:
the intervention is business-driven the organization clearly needs the measured behaviors
to support a corporate strategy or goal
the survey instrument and administration process are reliable and valid conditions for
learning new skills exist .Recommendations from practitioners of 360 degree feedback:
Link the effort to a strategic initiative or a business need. "For 360 degree feedback to be
effective as a stimulus for change, people need to understand its broader purpose"
Get senior management to participate in and drive the effort. "If the feedback is seen as
something the top tells the middle to do to the bottom, it is less likely to have the
intended effect"
Emphasize clear and frequent communication about the initiative’s purpose and
implications for each member of the organization. "The more people understand about
why 360 degree feedback is being introduced in the organization and how the information
will be used, the more likely they are to support the effort"
Ensure that people see the behaviors that will be measured as important and relevant to
their jobs. "It is much easier to gain people’s commitment...if they believe the behaviors
that will be measured are directly related to the effective performance of their jobs"
Provide ongoing support and follow-up. "People need clarification about what is
expected of them after they receive the feedback, as well as ongoing support, if what they
have learned is going to lead to action or change"
"Including employees from multiple layers in the feedback process is concrete evidence
that their opinions, observations and evaluations are valued by the organization. Creating
an atmosphere that accents involvement can foster voluntary collaboration, an element
sometimes sacrificed in traditional, striated cultures"
Successful implementation of a 360 degree feedback process depends on whether it truly
addresses, and is perceived to address, an important performance strategy or goal in the
company. In addition to the benefits of exchanging feedback, it’s also a way to get people
accustomed to living in a feedback-rich environment. When done well, 360 degree
feedback systems can lead to positive change and enhanced effectiveness at the
individual, team, and organizational levels
 Do’s & Don’ts for a productive 360-degree
appraisal process

DO:
Provide usable feedback by focusing on competencies rather than personality.
Review each employee’s raters to make sure the group can provide a full and
accurate evaluation.
Follow through with each employee to see that action plans are made and
implemented.
Get support for the program from top management, as that can go a long way in
encouraging employees to buy into the program.
Repeat the process regularly so employees can gauge their development.
 DON’T:
Use personality-based items that often cause employees to become defensive.
Make the rating instrument too long or complex. That will just discourage honest
and complete ratings.
Just grab a 360-degree instrument “off-the-shelf.” Make sure it is tailored to
reflect the work that is actually done in your organization.
Compromise confidentiality and anonymity by letting people know who is rating
whom.
Promote or reassign anyone without knowing they have the skills to be
successful–do a 360-degree appraisal first!
 Analysis
&
Conclusion

Total number of respondents = 100 employees (78

workers, 16 officers, 6 managers)
1. The employees defined the performance appraisal system of Pantaloon retail India Ltd
as follows:

The majority of employees i.e. about 65% feel that the current performance appraisal
system needs significant changes and the majority of remaining employees also feels that
the system is satisfactory but not the best. Only 3% employees feel that the performance
appraisal system is good and none of the employees felt that the performance appraisal
system is excellent. An employee should be assessed at the following time interval
according to the employees of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd.

2.Appropriate rater to appraise the employee

is:
A major chunk of the employees i.e. 40% feel that appraisal should be conducted by all
the people with whom the employee deals, for instance peers, subordinates, clients,
immediate superior, self-appraisal etc. In short the employees support the concept of 360-
degree feedback. The next favourite appraiser in the eyes of the employees is their
immediate supervisor.
Interval at which an employee should be
assessed is as follows:

Majority of the employees i.e., about 57% feel that the appraisal should be done half
yearly i.e. after six months as it leads to a fair picture of the employee. 25% of the
employees feel that the appraisal should be done on quarterly basis and only 18% feel
that appraisal should be done annually.
 3.Method of appraisal to be followed as
follows:

Majority of the employees that is about 56% feel that the appraisal should be done
on the basis of both past and future orientation. They feel that this is the best basis of
assessing an employee as the work done by an employee in the past is important and at
the same time it is necessary to know the potential of an employee to handle new job in
the future. But there are still some employees i.e. about 30% who still feel that the
appraisal should be only on the basis of the past performance of an employee. There is
another segment of employees who want their appraisals to be done on the basis of future
orientation.
 1.Degree of transparency/openness in the present
system of performance appraisal:

It is evident that there is no transparency/openness in the current system of

performance appraisal in the Pantaloon Retail India LTD as 78% of employees feel so.
One of the reasons for it can be the wrong and stringent attitude of the appraisers. Non-
transparency leads to a lot of problems in the organization.
 CONCLUSIONS -

The conclusion is based on the results of the survey, observation and discussion with
the employees in the organization.

 The employees in the organization are not satisfied with the current performance
appraisal system and feel that the current system of performance appraisal needs
significant changes.

 The employees are not comfortable with their performance being evaluated over a
period of a year as they feel that this reduces objectivity and increases
subjectivity. The appraisers usually do not remember the employees performance
of the past one-year and the appraisal is done on the basis of employees
achievements or shortcoming of the near past.

 The appraisers while evaluating the employees performance ignore the future
perspective. Employees expect their appraisers to take past as well as future
perspective while evaluating their performance.

 The organization focuses and stresses on paperwork and forms. But the focus
needs to be on the employees performance. When HR departments focus on
getting the forms done, that’s exactly what they get. Forms done. If that’s what all
this is about, anyone can tick off boxes on a form and send it on and this is exactly
what happens at Pantaloon retail India Ltd.

 The employees are not trained about performance appraisal. If a manager and
employee hold the same understanding about why they are doing appraisal, how it
will be done, and what is expected, the possibility of an accurate appraisal is more
probable. An appraisal is done WITH an employee, not TO an employee.
 The employees are appraised by their HODs and not by their immediate
supervisors. As a result a true appraisal is not possible. The HODs due to their
busy nature of jobs are not able to spare time for the appraisals and when they get
time they do it hurriedly and do injustice to most of the employees The HODs do
not encourage a healthy discussion and as a result employees are too scared to
speak to their HODs about their performance and just agree to what the HOD
says. The employees just sign the appraisal form without knowing what is in it.
Lack of transparency leads to dissatisfaction among the employees and hampers
their desire to do work and instead of getting motivated, they get de motivated.

 The appraisal of most of the employees falls due in the month of June but it is
often delayed till July or August. The delay in appraisal results in a further delay
in the employees getting their increments which is a matter of great concern..

 The discussions revealed that the training needs, which are identified during the
appraisal process, are not of any value as the employees are never given training
to improve their shortcomings and it is just a formality in the appraisal form.

 Biasness and favoritism are prevalent in the appraisal process as only a single
person is appraising an employee. The employees who have a good impression on
the HOD and get along well with their HODs have a better appraisal as compare
to others and in turn also get higher increments.

All the above reasons lead to the employees dissatisfaction and loss of morale. As a
result the organization is facing a very high labor turnover rate. There are minor flaws
which can be easily rectified but ignorance on the part of management is leading to
employees quitting their jobs and going elsewhere.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY: -

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Presented at Pacific North West Orchard Business Shortcourse. Washington State
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 ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

PERSONAL INFORMATION:
NAME (optional): _____________________________________
DESIGNATION: _____________________________________
GRADE: ____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT: _____________________________________
WORKING IN THE ORGANISATION SINCE: ____________
RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM:
How would you describe the present system of performance appraisal at pantaloon Retail
India Ltd.
Excellent
Average
Good
Satisfactory
Needs Significant Changes

Who do you think is the appropriate rater to appraise the employees?

Immediate Supervisor
Departmental Heads
Subordinates
Peers
Clients
Rating Committee
Self Appraisal
All of the Above
How often should an employee be assessed?
Annually
Half Yearly
Quarterly
What method of appraisal should be followed?
Past Oriented
Future Oriented
Or Both

Do you feel there is a right degree of transparency/openness in the present system of

performance appraisal?
YES NO

If No, then give reasons.

Are your shortcomings correctly identified during the appraisal process?

YES NO

Do you feel the training needs identified by your appraiser are correct?

YES NO

If No, then, what can be done according to you?

Of the following parameters given below in the table, mark the parameters as relevant
and irrelevant.

S.No. PARAMETRS RELEVANT IRRELEVANT

1. Technical Skills
2. Trust
3. Leadership
4. Communication Ability
5. Analytical Ability
6. Initiative
 7. Innovative
8. Ability to Plan
9. Open Mindedness
10. Ability to Organize
11. Ability to delegate
12. Self Confidence
13. Integrity
14. Punctuality
15. Discipline
16. Grooming & Etiquettes
17. Interpersonal Skills
18. Attitude
19. Physical fitness
20. Creativity

List down the factors, which you feel, should be added to the form.
Does your performance appraisal help you to improve your performance and overcome
your shortcomings?

YES NO

If No, then what can be done according to you?

If you feel that the current system needs a change, what change would you recommend so
that you can have a suitable appraisal system.