Solutions

The following are some steps required to be followed when introducing a potential appraisal system:

1.    Role Descriptions: Organisational roles & functions must be defined apparently. To this end, job descriptions ought to be prepared for each of job.

2.     Qualities needed to perform the roles: Depend on job descriptions, the roles to be played by people ought to be prepared (for example: managerial jobs, technical and behavioural dimensions).

3.    Rating mechanisms: In addition of listing the qualities and functions, the potential appraisal system have to list mechanisms of judging the qualities of worker such as:

1. Rating by others: The potential of workers could be rated by the instant supervisor who is aware with the candidate's work in the past, especially his technical capabilities.
2. Tests: Managerial & behavioural dimensions may be measured through a battery of psychological tests.
3. Games: Simulation games & exercises (business games, assessment centre, in-basket, role play, etc.) could be utilized to uncover the potential of participant.
4. Records: Performance records & ratings of a candidate on his past jobs could be verified carefully on several dimensions like, creativity, initiative ,risk taking ability, etc., which may play a key role in discharging his duties in a new job.

Organising the system

 After covering the above described preliminaries, the HR manager has to set up a system that will let the introduction of the scheme smoothly incorporating answers to some complicated questions such as:

a)      How much weightage to accord to value in place of seniority in promotions?

b)      How much weightage to accord to each performance dimensions as technical, managerial, behavioural qualities?

c)      What is the method of assessing the individual on different indicators of his potential, and with what degree of reliability?

Feedback

The system has to provide chance for every employee to know the outcome of his assessment. "He need to be helped to understand the qualities in fact required for performing the role for which he thinks he contain the potential, the mechanisms utilized by the organisations to appraise his potential & the results of such an appraisal".