False “Solutions” Part IV: Real Solutions are Often Hiding in Plain Sight

To drive the point completely home, let’s look at the beauty and simplicity of what XYZ Corporation had in place prior to this “improvement” – this “solution”: 

They had a very effective word processing template for the employee appraisals.  It contained all of the major areas for evaluation of employees.  There was a very effective instruction set that had been constructed and improved upon over time.  Also, most managers had a ready history for position objectives and employee performance.  It was already “online” as a reference – readily available in past year’s appraisals. 

Reusing and repurposing this information should be a routine part of XYZ Corporation’s effective leverage of business content.  Consider: Even for new employees (without a performance history), there still exists the position description and objectives from the former incumbent’s appraisals, as an assist to new employees appraisals.  For brand new positions, neither system offered much assist – new positions require, and deserve, a fresh document set all around. 

During XYZ’s “appraisal season,” expectations for completion of drafts, and submission dates for completed appraisals, were well articulated and communicated via existing tools – namely, the e-mail system, all-staff meetings, and bulletin boards – things which were still employed, by the way, with the implementation of the “automated” system.