Appraisals amidst layoffs: How to tread the crucial path of justifying expectations

According to the 28th Annual Salary Increase Survey in India by the firm, merit salary increases – based on individual performances – are projected to be steady at 7.8 percent.

Amidst the mass layoffs, hiring freeze and economic slowdown, employees across India Inc are awaiting the crucial appraisal season. Usually, March would allow employees to present their achievements so far and set new goals for the year ahead.

However, it's easier said than done. Apart from filling out a few forms, the most critical is the discussion with the reporting manager, who, eventually, justifies or rejects your prospective appraisal.

This round becomes significant in light of the global headwinds, which career experts think will be highly leveraged by employers to offer less or in some cases delay appraisals.

Moneycontrol interacted with a few experts to understand if it would be wise to demand an appraisal, the expectation a candidate should have from the managers, and how to justify self-assessments.

Will appraisals happen? 

Experts say organisations are in the middle of increasing productivity and optimising costs. Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD and CEO of CIEL HR Services, believes management will look at overall business sentiments, inflation in wage bills and performance levels of employees.

CIEL anticipates the management to use a lot of differentiation in assessing employees' performance levels. “Firstly, there will be some percentage of staff who may be passed over due to various reasons like wage parity or no requirement of the project,” Mishra said.

ALSO READ | IIT Placements: The dismal reality behind the dazzling, multi-crore-salary headlines

Secondly, in some industries, talent mobility is a lot higher, and, hence, companies could be liberal with their purse strings to attract and retain staff, he said.

RP Yadav, CMD of Genius Consultants, an HR consultancy firm, feels a layoff scenario has not affected all industries, except IT, ITeS and Retail & e-Commerce. Looking at the last two quarters, of the remaining sectors, he thinks the results of 80 percent companies are good, with positive outcomes from a recruitment perspective.

“If I take, for example, the auto, chemicals & manufacturing industries, the results of the last three quarters have been very positive and reasonable,” he said. “Even in the IT sector, the first quarter has been relatively good,” he said.

Therefore, in Yadav’s opinion, the sentiment of the employer towards appraisals will vary as per the industry sector this time: if employees are in the IT industry, obviously the output will be different but if they are in manufacturing, the sentiment will be different, being more positive.

What percent appraisals can be expected?

The projected increase in salaries, which is slightly lower than that of last year, continues to be in double digits despite concerns about economic volatility, and it could be in response to attrition rates, Aon, a global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, said in a report.

ALSO READ | Salaries in India expected to rise 10.3% in 2023: Aon

According to the 28th Annual Salary Increase Survey in India by the firm, merit salary increases – based on individual performances – are projected to be steady at 7.8 percent.

For non-merit salary increases, additional factors, such as market corrections, special adjustments and promotions, are expected to moderate to 2.8 percent, which is higher than the historical average. At junior levels, the non-merit increases are expected to be as high as 3.3 percent, it noted.

For both junior and mid-senior levels, an analysis of their last year’s performance is the first thing that needs to be kept in mind, said Genius Consultants’ Yadav. “If they are sure of their performance being excellent, they can always ask for a more than 10 percent hike for their appraisals.”

But again, he said employees need to keep in mind the industry they are working in and based on the history of their organisation’s performance in the last three months, they should settle for a reasonable call.

However, if candidates are working on projects that require niche skills such as AI, ML, Data Science and Cloud Architecture, they can ask for a premium in salary hikes that will exceed 10 percent, CIEL’s Mishra said.

How to justify your performance 

Prateek Patidar, an architect with an Indore-based real estate firm, has received three appraisals in the last two years. According to him, the most important part is the discussion with the manager, which should be based more on highlighting your achievements and less on future promises.

“Besides, one should remember not to give the idea that past achievements are your performance bar. The discussion should also focus on how you plan to carry forward your present achievements in the year ahead,” he said.

Additionally, career coach Senthil Kumar Venugopal suggested candidates talk about the contributions which generated additional revenue from customers.

ALSO READ | Firing employees for behaviour outside the office: What do HR policies and the law say?

“Highlight your savings or cost benefits to the organisation concerning new vendor identification, automation, job enrichment and other research and development activities performed by you,” he said.

Career coach Sawan Kapoor shared one strategy to excel in the appraisal process: masquerading as a leader. According to him, this is an indirect strategy, where candidates take on areas that represent a problem or an opportunity at their level and scope in the organisation, that no one else is paying attention to and bring a solution to the matter.

“Even if that solution is only theoretical, you take the ownership and the initiative to conduct the needed research on the issue and propose a well thought-out way forward in how the organisation should deal with it,” he said.

When these add up over the year, Kapoor said they provide an effective means of merchandising the contributions that show how the candidate went above and beyond just the job role in catering to the best interests of the company.

“When you couple the mindset of taking the initiative instead of being given the responsibility, with being sensitive to people and situations around you, it can represent a potent mix that helps you grow your career while remaining in the good books of people,” he added.