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Employees are the main focus of the organization because they are the ones who drive the organization towards success with their performance. Companies need to come up with effective and innovative techniques to retain their employees better.

The Bell Curve Appraisal Method

One of the ways to know about the performance of the employees is the Bell curve Appraisal method. This method is also known as “Forced ranking system,” due to the fact that it is imposed on the employees by the organization. Bell Curve in HR is used for mapping the performance appraisal of the employees by HR. This method maps the employees based on their performance as non-performers, average performers and top performers.

Application of the Bell curve method in performance management helps organizations reward employees who perform well in the specific period of time decided upon earlier. These top performers are rewarded in terms of appraisals or pay benefits. If some employees are mediocre, they can be encouraged to perform better and to give their best in work. If employees are underperformers, they can be guided to reach a high level of performance.

Pros of the Bell Curve Appraisal Method

Some of the advantages of using the Bell Curve method is that the top performers can be identified easily and rewarded. Which in turn results in employees being motivated to work harder and get rewarded by their manager. Also, the leniency or strictness of managers in terms of the ranking of employees can be spotted and reverted easily.

The Cons of Bell Curve Method

But not always is the Bell curve method advantageous for an organization. If the organization is relatively small, the categorization would not be done efficiently. Also with performance mapping, employees can sometimes encounter a loss of moral situation, leading to a downfall in the performance even more.

Thus, with the Bell Curve method, the employees can be assessed of which position in the organization can they best suit into. If the employee’s performance rating in a certain aspect is poor and top in the other, the organization can recognize that with the Bell curve method and place them there to improve their capabilities.

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