Performance appraisal system in Indian public sector banks

Performance Appraisal System (PAS) is a very vital component of the overall HRD system in any organization. There is a need to have utmost faith in this HRD sub-system within the organization & its people at all levels, a perfect planning & system design, flawless implementation and a constant periodic review. Indian Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are mammoth public sector organizations spread all over India providing banking & financial services to a vast majority of customers. These organizations are highly people -dependent to ensure quality and delivery of multiple financial services.

The author (Prof. IK Kilam) has worked in one of the largest public sector banks (PNB) in India for over 34 years & has had the opportunity to experience the Performance Appraisal System as in use in PNB, in multiple capacities as an appraisee, as an appraiser & a reviewer for a number of years. He also had good opportunities to interact with fellow bankers from different Public Sector Banks during various training sessions, conferences and informal & formal meetings. During his banking career, he also had an opportunity to conduct a few special research based studies on HRD and Career Planning Systems in Public Sector Banks, which also covered areas related to PAS. This paper is an attempt to bring out the need for a review of the PAS in PSBs.