My friend has been complaining these past few days about a new manager in the department who is a "big data fanatic." He evaluates employee performance and achievements using only numbers and reports. While this approach certainly helps with revenue and quantifiable metrics, applying it to people is simply ridiculous.
"What is the logic behind your own growth rate calculation?" — this is the discussion question the new manager asked them to prepare. And they were asked to prepare the materials just before dawn the day before the meeting. Not only was there insufficient time to prepare, the wording itself was incomprehensible at first glance.
This manager actually expects his subordinates to list out their own growth rate calculation formulas, treating them like machines and attempting to quantify everything with numbers. The idea of evaluating how an employee is growing and by how much struck me as absolutely absurd when I heard about it — and this is happening at a fairly well-known large corporation.
Frankly, I can't imagine how to calculate my own growth rate. Growth is relatively intangible, without proportionality or a formula that can objectively assess my own development. More importantly, I want to say this: "Employees are people, not machines."
As the saying goes, managing people requires managing their hearts. Employee effort, dedication, values, and initiative stem not only from personal perseverance and nature, but are greatly influenced by the leadership style of their manager.
Many companies have performance metrics and KPIs to quantify results, which is completely different from asking employees to come up with their own formulas. When managers demand that employees calculate their own effort like robots, they're essentially dismissing the sincerity and heart employees put into their work. With inconsistent standards, all you end up with is a chaotic team.
