In a performance appraisal an interactive between a subordinates and supervisor should be examined and discussed with the subordinate with view to identify their weakness and strengths as well as opportunities for improvement and skill development. This type of appraisal should be a periodic interview process that takes place annual or semi-annual.
Benefits of Appraisal
It is a simple fact that most of us dislike performance appraisals and reviews. Managers and employees often feel awkward and uncomfortable. Employees in particular do not like the process of being judged and usually disagree with the outcomes. Yet, many organizations use performance appraisal because of the many benefits that it offers. It offers valuable benefits for the employee, the employer as well as the organization.
For both supervisors and subordinates performance appraisal has reported to be helpful and positive. It provides the occasion for performance-related discussions, hence encouraging communication between mangers and employees.
The employee will feel a sense of recognition of their work efforts, which indicates to them that the organization is genuinely interested in their performance and development. They will feel motivated and satisfies their needs to know how they are doing. It allows them to participate in the process. Also encourages them to take responsibility for their performance. It can also be a stepping-stone for career development
Some questions employees may ask themselves are:
- What are the best things I have accomplished over the last year?
- Are there any particular areas I need to work on?
- What parts of my job do I like or dislike, for what reason?
When done properly, managers can be effective planning tools and provide important feedback to employees. They can better clarify and define to employees their job functions and responsibilities. They also gain new insight on their staff by improving the level of understanding between manager and employee.
Benefits of performance appraisals for managers include:
- Develop and improve rapport with employees
- Identify high or poor performers
- Improve individual productivity
- Improve teamwork
- Identify areas of training
- Be used as basic management tool
- Help rate themselves
- Provide a basis for raises or promotions
Depending on the organization, if performance levels are satisfactory it can be a basis for distributing annual increases. This will create a sound connection between the compensation system and accomplishment of the organizational goals and objectives. On the other hand, if employee performances are poor they will be aware of areas that need improvement. The organization can provide employees with development of skills and abilities. For example some organizations offer training programs that help employees enhance their skills that are unsatisfactory. The employee is much more likely to accept and participate in a system in which he/she has will gain from. The greatest benefit in the discussion may be between the employee and supervisor of performance expectations and how those expectations relate to the accomplishment of organizational objectives.
For the organization Performance Appraisals is a critical element towards attaining strategic purposes, which help achieve corporate and business goals. Performance appraisals help the organization identify its strongest and weakest performers. It helps retain high performance staff. It helps assess individual skills and competencies. It also identifies development needs that will help individuals to perform successfully. A potential benefit of performance appraisal is the opportunity to identify areas for improvement, and in particular to identify practices which negatively impact corporate performance. Early detection can prevent disastrous long-term consequences of inadequate behavior. Both manager and employee should agree on what needs to be done during the next year and how the employee is expected to contribute to the overall welfare of the organization. Lastly, the performance management system can be the primary driver to assure that these competencies are fully understood and institutionalized. It offers a valuable opportunity to focus on work activities and goals, to identify and correct existing problems, and to encourage future performance. Thus, the performance of the whole organization is enhanced.
A well-designed performance appraisal system will have other benefits in addition to ensuring employees are performing in a manner that supports organizational goals and needs. These benefits may include:
- Improved productivity because employees learn how their work behaviors directly affect the productivity of the organization;
- Improved employee relations when employees see the consistency in the evaluation process and can identify that performance problems are dealt with early rather than being allowed to continue;
- Motivated employees who correct their own performance problems because they are made aware, in a positive manner, where improvements can occur and what needs to be done to improve;
- Development of employees for future needs of the organization;
- Exposure of any weaknesses in the recruitment and selection process;
- Increased involvement of supervisors in personnel management issues such as training, promotions, and transfers for their employees;
- Encourage increased self-understanding among staff as well as insight into the kind of development activities that are of value;
- Clarify organizational goals so they can be more readily accepted
Feedback
Feedback is very important in performance appraisal; it prepares employee’s performance in a positive or negative way. When managers give an employee feedback about their performance. Managers must follow certain steps when giving an employee feedback. Managers must follow common practice, praise effective performance, focusing on problem solving, and talking to the employee about behavior and how to resolve them. For the reason, managers should create an open dialogue between the manager and the employee and ask the employee questions and concern about the feedback, and managers and employees can work together to solve performance problems in an atmosphere of respect and encouragement. Manager should keep their criticism about an employee to minimum, for the reason that it can damage an employee appraisal. Also manager should set specific goals for their employees and give them follow-up meeting every six month until a year. This is an important policy that organization should follow. If organizations don’t provide annual feedback on the basis of a employees performance it can prevents employee advancement in other department in the organization, notifying an employee improvement in areas that needs satisfactory, and the finally reason it gives an employee initiative of what the manager want to expect when conducting their next performance appraisal.
Legal Issues
Legal issues of a performance appraisal vary from one state or another. In the jurisdiction of United States performance appraisal cannot use in a merely punitive or retaliatory fashion. Meaning, manager or supervisor cannot use an appraisal on employee to get even with because there are upset or displease with them. Appraisal should not be use to discriminate against employees on the basis of their race, religion, age, gender, disability, martial status, pregnancy, or sexual preference. An employee have the right to comment on their appraisal, express their agreement or disagreement their appraisal, and also a employee have a right to appeal and review an unfair appraisal from an supervisor or manager. Appraisal must be recorded every time appraisals are conducted and place in the employees’ record. Appraisal should not be basis on an employees’ promotion, pay raise, or termination decisions, appraisal should be sole base on the employees’ significant performance of the time the employee active position. If an appraisal in up in result of a poor appraisal it can likely subject to be controversial or provocative, it is fair to have a third party for their views of the appraisal in result to be fair and reasonable. It’s the law that employees’ privacy is protected. Organizations must keep performance measurement in employee records. An employer and employee have right not to discuss any performance appraisal (good or bad) with any other employee’s, subordinate and supervisor. Meaning what ever it is say at the one on one performance appraisal stay in the room between the two.
Common Mistakes
It is very important that top management believe in the value of appraisal. It has been established that appraisal fails to work as well as it should because of the lack of support from the top-level officials. Top managers are powerful role models for other manages and employees.
Fear of Failure
Many appraisers think that poor appraisal results tend to reflect badly upon them since they are the employee’s supervisor. Appraisers may fear the possibility of repercussions – both for themselves and the appraisee. It is being argued that the accuracy in performance appraisal is impossible to achieve, since people plays social and political games and they protect their own interest. Surveys have shown that many managers have admitted dodging of the real issues; they have actually defended it as a tactic necessary for effective management.
- The fudging motives of appraisers have, at times, certain plausibility, For example a supervisor who has given an overly generous appraisal to a marginal performer might claim that the ‘legitimate’ motive was the hope of encouraging a better performance.
- There is also the appraiser who wants to avoid the possibility of an unpleasant confrontation
- The appraiser who wants to hide employee difficulties from senior managers
- The appraiser who wants to punish an employs
Judgment Aversion
Some supervisors create permanent record, which may affect an employee’s future career. Training in the technique of constructive evaluation may help.
Appraisers need to recognize that problems left unchecked could ultimately cause more harm to an employee’s career than early detection and correction.
Employee Participation
Employees should participate with their supervisors in the creation of their own performance goals and development plans. Mutual agreement is a key to success.
A plan wherein the employee feels some degree of ownership is more likely to be accepted than one that is imposed.
Performance Management
One of the most common mistakes in the practice of the performance appraisal is to perceive appraisal as an isolated event rather than an ongoing process.
Employees generally require more feedback, and more frequently, than can be provided in an annual appraisal. It may not be necessary to conduct a full appraisal session more than once or twice a year performance management should be viewed as an ongoing process.
Frequent mini appraisals and feedbacks sessions will help ensure that employee receive the ongoing guidance, support and encouragement they need. Some supervisors complain that they do not have enough time to provide this sort of feedback. In this case, organization may need to review the priorities and values that it has instilled in its supervisory ranks. After all, supervisors who haven’t got time to monitor and facilitate the performance of their subordinates are like chefs who haven’t time to cook.
If appraisals are viewed as an isolated event, it is only natural that supervisors will come to view their responsibilities in the same way. In the same way, employees may come to see their own effort and commitment levels as something that needs a bit of a polish up in a month or two preceding appraisals.
Conflict and Confrontation
Sometimes, during a performance appraisal, the need arises to provide an employee with less than flattering feedback. Skill and sensitivity must be used to handle these difficult sessions. If the apraisee accepts the negative feedback and resolve to improve, all is well. But if the result is an angry or hurt employee, then the process has failed. The performance of an employee in such a case is unlikely to improve and may deteriorate even further.
Appraisers should not confront employees directly with critism. They should aim to let the evidence of poor performance emerge’ naturally’ during the course of the interview.
This is done by way of open-ended questioning techniques that encourage the employee to identify their own performance problems. If an appraiser can get an employee to voluntary admit their faults, half of the battle is won. The technique is useful because it is more likely to promote discussion and agreement on the need for change. Confrontation technique tends to lead to denial and resentment.
The most powerful aspect of self-auditing process is that employees are more willing generally to accept personal ‘ownership’ of problems that have been self-identified. This sense of ownership provides an effective basis for stimulating change and development. There are individuals who will not admit to anything that appears to reflect poorly on them. In such cases appraiser has no choice but to confront the poor performer directly and firmly with the evidence they have.
In providing any feed-back especially negative feedback-appraisers should willing and able to support their opinions with specific and clear examples. Vague generalization should be avoided. The focus should be job-related behaviors and attitudes. If a specific observation cannot be deported by clear evidence, or touches on issues that are not job-related, it is best to exclude all mention of it.
Appraisers must carefully scrutinize their own perceptions, motives and prejudices.