Great article on Economist.com that we picked up from Jim Holincheck’s blog. The article discusses how the big four accounting firms (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers) are leading the way when it comes to employee performance and talent management. Some great observations in the article and well worth a read. Of particular note is how these firms are attracting top performers and the importance of employees [...]

In HR circles the common wisdom is that 360 degree feedback (particularly if it includes upward feedback) should only be used for development. This stems from a concern that as soon as you attach pay to the discussion, the pay issue becomes so heated that it drowns out the feedback people are supposed to be paying attention to.

The problem is only really avoided if performance appraisal is an ongoing process, not a once-a-year [...]

Professional services firms suffer from a unique challenge at employee performance appraisal time… Consultants, accountants, architects and lawyers typically work on many different accounts or projects, continually moving on to new teams with different leaders. For many firms, continually moving people on to new projects under different leaders is the only possible way to operate. But the implication is that the traditional boss is missing. When it is time to give formal feedback to [...]