Another Special Project

Another Special Project

Learning Goal: I’m working on a management discussion question and need an explanation to help me learn.
Another Special Project
“Dana, we have another special project,” Kimberly announced.
“Does corporate ever get tired of giving us special stuff to do?”
“It is the nature of modern HR,” Kimberly said, shrugging. “Change and transitions are all around us. To remain viable and relevant as a part of the company and as a field, we have to be ready to adapt.” Dana nodded in understanding.
“We have to do the research and then prepare talking points for the HR VP on which of the two areas we need to focus on for the next quarter and the quarter after that. She wants us to talk about contemporary performance appraisal approaches and the employee experience.”
The way that performance management and the employee experience are viewed today is very different from how it has been viewed the past. The performance appraisal in particular is being scrutinized, and in some cases, even rejected. However, we still need the content of the appraisal for many different reasons.
The concept of the employee experience is also being debated. It can mean different things to different people, so determining the right balance of options to create a positive experience is a challenge.
Today, performance management and the employee experience are being framed in very different ways from the past. The performance appraisal is being criticized and even rejected for good reasons. The challenge is that we still need the content of the appraisal for many different reasons. At the same time, many organizations and professional environments may have gotten to a point in the evolution of work that the use of traditional performance appraisals may have come to their natural end. However, there are still many organizational contexts and commercial settings where the old approach or something like it will be necessary.
The HR concept of the employee experience comes from the field of marketing and seeks to provide HR professionals and their clients a very different perspective of work and the workplace. This means many different things to different people. From well-conceived and executed onboarding processes, to access to good cuisine, an accommodating place to work, opportunities for advancement, work rotations, and personal growth. The challenge is to create the best possible experience for the employees in the organization, which will attract employees with high potential to make valuable contributions. Determining what makes work a positive experience by a significant majority is similar to benefits programs but from the view of demographic influences. There will be generational differences and lifestyle-oriented preferences.
Resources
The discussion this week requires that you research the following two topics and provide your views on each: For this discussion, help Dana and Kimberly create talking points for the HR VP on the following:
Contemporary performance appraisal approaches.
No more performance appraisals?
The employee experience.
Is there value in either or both and if so, why? The following resources will help you with this week’s discussion.
Performance Appraisal
Heneman, H. G., III, Judge, T. A.,