Why I Hate Forced Distribution

January is a month that many supervisors hate. Coming off one or two weeks wonderfully relaxing holiday vacation immediately into the dreaded task of rating employees, is enough to increase the anti-depressant sales of any CVS. The reason for this stomach-churning month isn’t the basic task of rating employees—most experienced managers know how to do this very well—it’s the forced distribution

This is not right. And this has nothing to do with pay treatment. Everyone understands there are limited funds for bonus pay, especially these days, and only the best of the best typically get these few dollars. In many conversations with employees (and studies bear this out) most don’t care as much about the bonus as they do about the performance rating. When an employee establishes goals at the beginning of the year, works hard all year, and exceeds the goals, they should be rated on their annual appraisal accordingly. Regardless of whether 10, 20, 30 or 50% of their peers did likewise. To do anything else is demoralizing (and studies prove this as well) and, to my mind, unethical.many must deal with, causing the annual fight for placing more employees in the ‘exceeds’ category than are ‘allotted.’

A number of Human Resources Web sites cite these additional disadvantages to forced distribution programs:

• They increase unhealthy cut-throat competitiveness;
• They discourage collaboration and teamwork;
• They harm morale;
• They are legally suspect giving rise to age discrimination cases.

Ann Bares in her blog on Workforce Management posted on this topic back in 2008. She quoted from Ed Lawler‘s book Treat People Right:

I believe that the forced distribution approach is a bureaucratic solution to a serious leadership failure.  It ignores the reality that in some work groups there are no poor performers and in others there are no good performers.  It causes managers to disown the appraisal event and to essentially say, “I was just following the rules.”  Finally, it leads to a kind of unfair and unreasonable treatment of employees that moves the organization signficantly away from a virtuous spiral environment toward one that fosters survival of the most political or luckiest.  It also can lead to lawsuits because it can be considered unfair to whomever ends up in the lowest-rated group.  After lawsuits were brought against Ford and Goodyear on this charge, both companies abandoned their forced distribution systems.

Given these problems, why do companies use the forced distribution approach?  The answer is simple but not particularly flattering to many managers.  It represents an easy answer to solving a classic problem:  rating inflation.  Just as in universities where professors tend to give high grades to everyone, many managers find it easier to be generous with high ratings, and as a result, many organizations suffer from top-heavy performance appraisal scores.

Because it is a leadership problem, the best solution rests in creating effective leadership rather than the top-down bureaucratic mandate of a forced distribution system.  Mandating a certain distribution is a second leadership failure that just compounds the problem.

There are many more resources that stress the disadvantages of this practice far outweigh the advantages–and the debate is not new.  Yet the folly of forced rankings continues in many corporations. It’s time they emerge from the Jack Welch’s curse and implement a more appropriate strategy.

I am happy to say here that I love my company. I love the people I work for, with, and who work for me. I love that fact that we truly do care about our employees in many wonderful ways. I am also glad that, for the first year in my career, our performance policy clearly states that we do not use forced distribution with regard to performance ratings. This is a very good thing and I am looking forward to seeing the good fruit from this change.

I’ve Been Liebstered

I think blog awards are fun, odd, motivating, and curious. Also obscure. I was recently passed the Liebster Blog Award from a blogger buddy and I can’t really pin down any solid information on the “award” on the internet, other than this, posted on other blogger sites who also “won” the “award”:

What is the “Liebster Blog Award?”
It’s an award that was reputedly started in Germany in order to give smaller bloggers recognition for their hard work. You receive this award from a fellow blogger that feels your blog is both worthy & important to them. If you receive this award, there are two rules.

1. You must award 3-5 other bloggers with the award.
2. The bloggers awarded must have less than 300 followers.

Participation is completely voluntary and is not limited to any genre or writing for that matter. Basically, the blog can be about anything and simply has to be one that you feel is worthy and that you would like to give recognition to by passing it on.

SO:

1. I am thankful I have a friend who enjoys my sporadic posts on my An American Christian blog and passed on this award.
2. I am not below recognizing my favorite small blogs that I follow regularly and I hope you check them out as well:
• Grace and Coffee – a delightful blog by Julie Moore with original fictional short stories, encouraging devotionals, and insightful considerations on scripture.
• Asante Africa – see what one woman with a vision and a few friends can do to change the lives of hundreds of children.
• Chick of All Trades – a very colorful blog where you can find wonderful nuggets of humor and encouragement.
• Lisa Reiff – OK, not really a blog, but it’s my sister’s website and it’s cool You should check it out.

Families of the Fallen

I am sitting at the DFW airport (gate A33) watching a huge welcoming committee made of USO volunteers and others, clapping and cheering those coming off the flight at gate 34. There is someone dressed up as Rudolph and those welcoming the travelers are all wearing festive red and white shirts and hats.

I asked the gate agents here if they were greeting our military folks returning from overseas, and they said no, they were welcoming the families of fallen soldiers. They are shuttling them to a banquet celebration. I thought that was awfully cool. I wondered if that was the first time some of those little children had smiled and laughed in awhile. And it caused me to pray again for those families who are grieving for a lost spouse, parent, son or daughter, and those who still serve.

Just thought I’d share.

P.S. Moments after posting this, they announced more families coming into our gate so I joined in with the welcoming committee. While waiting I learned from an American Airlines employee next to me that American partners with other companies to provide more than just a banquet — this time they are going to Six Flags, Gilley’s and a couple of other places over the next few days. American pays for the airfare for 1700 people and coordinates the events!

I cheered with the rest as the Captain of the flight lead the procession of families off the jetway. Their expressions were priceless. Kudos to American Airlines! I hope all goes well with your restructure!

A Little Like Penn State?

I just read an article today in an industry rag to which I subscribe. It was a little piece about an effort one major hotel chain has undertaken to train their staff to detect and report child sex-trafficking. The article bothered me on a couple of levels. (Of course the fact that an article on child sex-trafficking has to be written in the first place is disturbing in itself) but I caught two other things I think are way off:

First, the fact that the hotel chain apparently knew this had been going on, yet it took a court order to to something about it. Similarly, the article calls other hotel chains to act as well. Do we have to ASK companies to act against the trafficking of children for sex? Shame on us!

Second, apparently the training that will be provided to employees is less about detecting whether illegal sex trafficking is going on, but to encourage them to report it: “The staff at hotels and motels often has firsthand knowledge of such activities but may be reluctant or unsure of what to do about it.”  So let’s break this down—employees at a hotel KNOW there are children in their rooms, held against their will, for the sole purpose of illegal sex purchased by the sick and twisted. Yet they are unsure what to do about it?!?

Well I just don’t get that. If you see a crime, report the crime. If you are aware of active abuse under your nose DO SOMETHING! My goodness — Penn State, children repeatedly abused in hotel rooms, “it’s not my business”??? For decades we have killed thousands of babies before they make the six inches through the birth canal to make them “illegal” to kill — perhaps that’s the precursor and the hardening of the American heart to turning a blind eye to the abuse of children in locker rooms and hotel rooms (and the disregard of our aging citizens—another rant for another day)…

My heart aches and I wouldn’t blame God if He treated America like Sodom and Gomorrah. And if we don’t DO something that may be our fate.

If you feel so inclined to learn more about the horrors of the hundreds of thousands of children stolen for sex-trade and many other men and women caught in the evil of slavery, do some homework here:  International Justice Mission.

Naked

I think fall is happy-sad. Happy because I get to drag the comfy sweaters and blankets out of the cedar chest, make yummy soups and stews, and decorate for autumn. Sad, because the chairs are stripped bare. The rains have started so the cushions have gone away into the garage for the winter: Poor, naked, things. Such a sad sight for five months…

Mayonnaise & Jesus

One of my best friends and I have little more in common than a love of mayonnaise and Jesus. Well, we also think alike and have a similar sense of humor. But we rarely get to see each other, have different jobs, different schedules, different churches. We both have daughters, but hers is three and mine is 26. But when our schedules finally align and we catch up on the phone or take a nice long walk, it’s like we were just together yesterday.

We met a few years ago and clicked immediately. We met at a women’s brunch and quickly learned we shared a childhood love of mayonnaise and white bread sandwiches. Something little brought us together and something big keeps us friends through all kinds of seasons.

In today’s society where people drive down their street, into their garage and never emerge until their next trip to work, not knowing their next door neighbor or the one over the backyard fence, it’s something to say when friends are formed and held in spite of much greater obstacles. A shared faith is one of the few glues that provides that bond.

I hope you have some of those special friendships. If you don’t, go introduce yourself to your neighbor. Better, yet, find a good church and make some lasting (eternal!) friendships. It’s so worth it!

The Gift that Keeps On Giving

I would just like to thank the last three people who got me a Starbucks gift card.

I just bought a super-tall travel mug with two and a half of them. It fits the RIGHT amount of coffee for the morning so I don’t have to leave leftovers in the pot or go wanting for more when the little mug is drained dry.

It’s the little things in life… Little gestures, little gift cards, and a little more coffee for the road.

P.S. Since I wrote this… I noticed that this PHENOMENAL piece of hardware has also kept my vente black iced tea literally on ice for, like, 7 hours, uncapped. I am amazed at today’s technology. However, since it’s been on ice, and it’s still so wonderfully tasting, I will probably regret polishing off that free iced tea I got with the purchase of the travel mug, at 10:00 PM Sunday night………..