The second choice: upward feedback May 22nd, 2007

David

Traditionally a boss judges employees, not vice versa. The problem with upward feedback is the realistic fear that bosses will take revenge on employees they think are giving them bad feedback.

Often, this is handled by making feedback anonymous. However, in many environments employees don’t feel safe giving upward feedback even when it is anonymous.

There’s no question that feedback from employees can be very helpful for a manager’s development. There is also good reason for feedback from employees, whether obtained formally or informally, to affect a manager’s performance appraisal. If employees think someone is a lousy manager they are almost certainly right and it will hurt the firm if that person is given more managerial responsibilities.

Again, the answer is to do what the culture of the organization will sustain. Upward feedback is desirable, but it may not be practical. If the culture is hostile to upward feedback then the managing director, with HR’s help, should try to change the culture, but not introduce upward feedback before the firm is ready.

Tags: employee performance appraisal, HR, multi-rater feedback