Will a 'Singapore' work In India?

What happens when most of the employees receive outstanding ranking (9 or 10 out of 10) from their supervisors?

What happens when these ranking are given without even a face-to-face meeting between the appraise and the appraiser?

What happens when most employees feel that Performance Appraisal (PAR) system is neither fair nor objective?

What happens when despite high performance ratings received by the employees, their department’s performance shows decline?

It’s enough indication that something is fundamentally flawed in the system or the system itself is flawed. That’s what the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has come to a conclusion regarding the PAR of the Civil Service officers under various ministries. All the above symptoms discussed above were visible.

The Solution

DoPT suggest embracing a Singaporean model that is stated to be far more fair and rigorous.  The proposed system will hold the supervisors more accountable for the ratings that they give to the rates and necessitates them to support their ratings with evidences. The proposed system also recognizes the fact that promotions are not only a outcome of past performance but also dependent on the Current Estimated Potential (CEP) or simply the officers’ expected performance in the higher role. The CEP will allow accelerated promotions to deserving officers and links the pace of promotions to an estimation of the highest level of work an offence can competently handle before his retirement and considers the official's intellectual qualities, result orientation and leadership qualities for appraisal.

The Hitch

The diagnosis of a faulty PAR by DoPT is correct. The solution suggested based on Singapore model is also a noble thought. The suggestion however fails to recognize that the success of any initiative, such as these, require ‘design’ interventions. The highly politicized environment, bureaucratic set-up and a deep-set culture of entitlement could come as a major roadblock to the new PAR.

Research has proven more than once that such one-of measures do not work. Copying ‘best-practices’ from successful organizations and imposing them on another organization, assuming that it will be solution to all the ills that plague it, is nothing more than wishful thinking. They are cosmetic reliefs that do not last long. The true face will come out sooner or later as the problems will persist.