One of the best methods of performance appraisal that is non-discriminatory to women is the use of metric based methods of evaluation. The metric approach is actually quite simple, the company sets a series of performance metrics in relation to performance goals and the quality of the work expected by the company performed by a particular individual.
For example, in the call centre industry metrics are often used to examine the length of a call (customer service representatives need to address an issue within a certain span of time), to find out whether the issue was resolved and to evaluate the overall quality of communication.
These factors are in turn compared to a chart detailing performance levels and where a certain individual falls on them. Within the context of methods of non-discriminatory evaluation, a metric based system works best since it is not gender biased. It focuses primarily on performance and how well an individual measures up to the needed performance output set forth by the company.
Another way of looking at metric based methods of evaluation and how they would be appropriate means of employee appraisal is to examine it from a promotion based perspective. Going back to the example of the call centre industry, it can be seen that in call centres such as Convergys, promotion is based primarily on how well an individual conforms to the set metrics of the company.
There is no discrimination or favouritism, rather, strict guidelines and contractually based promises that are given wherein if a particular individual were to adhere to a set performance level over a predetermined period of time, they would be automatically promoted towards the next tier of operations based on availability. Such a practice would be ideal for women since it eliminates possible issues related to gender bias or politicking within a company.
Organizational Investment in Employees
One of the major problems that companies have to deal with on a daily basis comes in the form of their natural employee churn rates. Churn rates refer to the amount of employees that leave the company versus the amount that comes in. It is normally the case that companies finding themselves in a relatively high churn rate industry (such as in the call centre or manufacturing industry), often develop a certain reluctance towards investing in the training and development of an employee.
While it may be true that training should make an employee more capable and thus a far more valuable asset to the company in the long term, the fact remains that if a company was to invest so much in training particular employees only for them to resign and utilize the skills they learned to work for a rival company, this would be considered as not only a waste of time and effort but actually detrimental towards a company’s industrial competitiveness.
Taking this into consideration, it is deemed appropriate to implement methods of employee retention so as not to waste the amount of time and effort invested in employee training regimens.
One possible means of addressing such an issue comes in the form of developing internal policies that allow a certain degree of flexibility when it comes to scheduling, time off and the implementation of worker based strategies for improving the performance of the company (Samson 1). Implementing such a strategy will ensure that current and future workers that apply to a company will be encouraged to stay longer since they will get the flexibility that they crave from their jobs.
Works Cited
Samson, Sarita M. “Attrition Issues and Retention Challenges of Employees.” Asia Pacific Journal of Research In Business Management . 4.7 (2013): 1