Question

• Managers confront at least five challenges in appraising employee performance such as: 1) rater errors and bias; 2) the influence of liking; 3) organizational politics 4) whether to focus on the individual or the group; and 5) legal issues. How can managers ensure accurate measurement of worker performance?

• To meet the career development needs of today’s diverse workforce, companies need to break down the barriers to advancement that some employees may face. How can HR and management work together to ensure effective career development for a diverse workforce?

Answer 1

HR and management need to ensure that the skills development of the workforce is executed efficiently to develop a competent workforce. However, there are barriers when the workforce is diverse.

But the HR and management both need to treat a diverse workforce as a normal workforce. The people working in a diverse workforce are no different from any other workforce and hence have similar skills, qualities, attributes, needs and expectations from their jobs. Hence, the management needs to undertake a comprehensive career development program that stops looking at the employees in terms of their social, religion and national background and instead focuses on what skills they possess and what needs to be developed further int hem for their overall career development.

This focus on the skills of the employees will help the management in tailoring the skills development and performance appraisal based on each individual which will earn them their loyalty, trust and they will feel valued by the company.

Both earning their trust and developing their skills through appraisals and training will help the company in increasing productivity and attaining higher efficiency.