What a surprise! The Wall Street Journal reports that "youthful" entrants to the workplace don't like year-end performance evaluations! Of course that's not a surprise — no one, young or old, likes them.
What is surprising is the introduction of alternative feedback systems specifically calculated to make the social media generation happier. It's certainly not surprising to find instant performance evaluation software looks and feels alot like Facebook.
Just like Facebook, instant feedback software allows authorized coworkers and managers similar to "friends" to write on your page. Employees can get and give performance feedback to one another at any time. Comments can be made by selecting among familiar Facebook icons and badges such as "Thumbs up" or "Like" or "Unhappy Face." Words, though permitted, aren't required.
The program gives managers an annual report for each subordinate detailing all of the happy and unhappy icons clicked by co-workers. Software allows the comments to be transferred to a performance evaluation form typically used in salary and stock recommendations.
Perhaps I exaggerate the dearth of business value I find in assigning instant badges and symbols to complex hi-tech employment. Yet I still wonder:
Can we give one another feedback at work on matters more complex than "Angry Birds?" What do you think?
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