How performance appraisal has changed with Industry 4.0 revolution: the Leroy Merlin case

The last thirty years have experienced drastic changes in the business environment. We are in the so called V.U.C.A. world and Industry 4.0. The described socio-economic context impacts on how the different organizational functions operate. HR departments need to revise practices, instruments, tools to answer the new challenges (Gupta and Sharma, 2016). The main aim of the study will be that to analyse, as performance appraisal is changed in order to fit with this new world. Performance appraisal can be defined as an ongoing process, which identifies performance expectations for each member of the organization, evaluating the results periodically (Gruman & Saks, 2011; Locke & Latham, 1990). Performance appraisal refers to a formal and structural system used to measure and assess individual work, behaviour and results (DeNisi and Smith, 2014). Performance appraisal has always been considered as a way to improve organizational performance and productivity (Boxall and Purcell, 2003; Buchner, 2007). Many HR scholars and practitioners have analyzed the impact of Industry 4.0 on performance appraisal practices (Pulakos, 2009; Gruman and Saks, 2011; Pulakos and O’Leary, 2011; Gupta and Sharma, 2016; DeNisi and Murphy, 2017; Whittington et al., 2017). We try to contribute to this research debate, providing guidance for the definition of a new way to conduct performance appraisal effectively in the current dynamic context. Our proposal is based on the analysis of Leroy Merlin case. This organization has been awarded for its new performance appraisal system.