The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is considering tweaking its employee appraisal system by severing the link between key result areas (KRAs) and annual performance evaluations..

According to sources, Pandey has been engaging with employees at all levels to understand their challenges. One of the key changes under consideration is recalibrating the existing appraisal model to move towards a more qualitative approach than quantitative.

“The employees seem pleased with the new leadership and its efforts to recalibrate targets and improve work culture,” said a person familiar with the discussions.

The existing process ties employee assessments to department-level success metrics. This performance data is then required to be recorded in SEBI’s management information system (MIS), which then feeds into their annual appraisals.

employees’ criticism

However, this system has faced criticism from employees for being overly quantitative, which fails to account for quality work and other contributions. The employees’ MIS system has now been updated by removing the linkage of KRAs to appraisals, sources said.

The move to reassess performance metrics follows internal tensions that surfaced last October when SEBI employees raised concerns about KRA processes. Their grievances, outlined in a letter, led to a SEBI press release dismissing the concerns as misguided by external elements — a statement that was later retracted after internal pushback.

Since then, the regulator has been working behind the scenes to resolve these issues, with top officials conducting direct dialogues with employees. With the change in leadership, a new regime towards employee management is expected to take shape in the organisation.