Employees And Performance Appraisal Systems

Performance appraisal is an important issue in human resource management and has a significant effect in the performance of an organisation. It is the system of evaluating the performance of employees regarding the accomplishment of their responsibilities and determining their potential to grow and develop. Bias in the evaluation process can affect the accuracy and appropriateness of the performance appraisal. Bias is a serious issue because it affects the ability to make appropriate decisions about the promotion of employees. A performance appraisal system that works to the disadvantage of members of a group can also pose legal issues.

An appraisal is one of the most commonly used methods of formal assessment and is used to evaluate and assess the performance of an employee against agreed targets and objectives, with the aim of improving employee performance. Where an employee has been able to achieve their targets, the appraisal can be used to recognise successes. This often helps to increase an employee’s confidence and motivation and can lead to better organisational performance. Many organisations will use the outcomes of an appraisal to identify potential candidates for promotions or even an increase in pay. At the same time, an appraisal meeting may include discussions on underperformance, identifying why this has occurred and how this can be avoided in the future.

Development of a performance appraisal system that is effective in a human service organization is of benefit for the organization and the employees. For a performance appraisal system to be effective, the system has to be strategic, designed to fit the specific needs of the organization, non-discriminatory, non-bias, with correct implementation and administration. Many different components, must to be incorporated to make this type of system beneficial for all who use it, and all who are evaluated by the system.

The measurement of employee’s performance is only internal. A good performance appraisal should have multiple raters, both internal and external.

Performance ratings are a significant part of Performance Management in companies that utilize rating scales. Ratings often translate to merit increases, qualify employees for additional training and development, serve as a launch pad for promotion, identify high performers and other rewards or punishment a company wants to tie to performance ratings. Some performance reviews and ratings are skewed by the rater or supervisor. This paper intends to review types of bias and propose a method to eliminate bias in performance reviews.

In today’s business world, performance appraisals are still widely used, yet at the same time very criticized. One of the reasons appraisals are criticized is some feel that they are a waste of time and are not value added. Samuel Culbert, author of the book,“Get Rid of Performance Reviews” states, “This corporate sham is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities” (Culbert). He goes on to say that, “Everybody does it, and almost everyone who’s evaluated hates it” (Culbert). He feels that appraisals are worthless and should never be a method used for giving employees feedback. After doing more

On the other hand, poor performance, or mediocre performance may lead to negative appraisals and consequences, including job termination or withholding of bonuses, awards, and promotions. Performance appraisals are a systemic means of ensuring quality of work performance, and thus achieving the strategic objectives and advancing the goals of the organization. These performance appraisals, in order to be effective, must be applied in a uniform, objective, fair and consistent manner over time. In addition, the expectations of the performance appraisal must be clearly understood and agreed upon by the supervisor and the employee. Objectivity and fairness in the appraisal system build trust in the organization as well as high morale among employees.

Performance is evaluated, and information is provided to employees that enables them to reflect on their performance and develop plans. The 360-degree approach allows a wider range of people to evaluate and give feedback on an employee’s performance. A manager might conduct a self-appraisal, as well as receive feedback from peers, subordinates, superiors, and even customers and clients. Some advantages of 360-degree appraisal are that employees can get more than one perspective, and that people who work closely with the employee on a day-to-day basis can give feedback on overall performance, not just once a month or once a year. It is also a useful technique for meeting customer needs. It is sometimes easy for members within an organization to lose sight of the customers' perspectives, and 360-degree appraisal brings the customers' viewpoints into the larger picture. Some disadvantages include the possibility of spiteful evaluations from disgruntled subordinates, especially if evaluations are anonymous, coerced positive evaluations from intimidated employees, or misguided evaluations from employees who are not knowledgeable enough about the job they are evaluating.

Managers have always had to make tough decisions in the workplace, but one of the most challenging aspects of their job is the employee performance appraisals. Evaluating an employees’ performance, if done right, will be an objective as possible process. However, the naturally subjective aspects of the evaluation process are what pose many ethical dilemmas. This process customarily comprises of giving constructive feedback to an employee so that they are better able to improve their job performance, but many appraisals are based on lies. This theoretically disqualifies it from being an effective resource from which employers can accurately determine compensation increases, identify those deserving of promotions, cuing the need for progressive discipline and identifying termination candidates (Gilbert,2012,117). Yet, these erroneous official forms are signed and filed away, year after year.

“There is a basic human tendency to make judgement about those one is working with, as well as about oneself” states Dulewicz (1989). Thus, the implication that the tendency to judge others is innate in regards to the question set, suggests that’s organizations that carefully structure there performance appraisal techniques will establish a reliable reference base for personnel decisions assisting towards increasing organizational productivity; if bias is omitted. Hence, many theorists argue that performance appraisal is the most crucial aspect of organizational life (North, 2014).

Leventhal and Greenberg discussed three broad principles that influence perceived fairness in performance appraisal systems. First, employees should possess the ability to correct or rebut inaccurate information. Second, that specific procedures should be introduced to increase the accuracy of performance information (such as performance diaries, comprehensive rater training, objective performance standards). Third, that procedural safeguards are present to discourage biased ratings (appeal processes, evaluating the rater on how well they administer the process). To fully operationalize these principles, a much greater voice and role for the employee is necessary. What are the preferred means for accomplishing these goals?

Research Methodology Used to Evaluate Employee Performance Appraisal Systems (n.d.) this is not a good source… try to find a published, peer review source that can provide you with authors and publication dates reports that work performance appraisal systems assess the employee 's effectiveness, work habits and also the quality of the work produced. The research methodology used to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of the appraisal instrument takes different forms and depends on the type of career professional under the microscope for evaluation, but the foundation for all evaluations rests on several basic research techniques. The evaluation methodology corroborates the original employee evaluations and performance appraisals through supporting multiple research reporting measures.

Those who may use the different methods to evaluate the employee’s performance include the immediate supervisor, peers, committees, anonymous subordinates, and a 360-degree feedback, which is all or some of the personnel listed and others outside the organization the employee has direct contact. The simplest method is the graphic rating scale. It lists several job dimensions or traits, competencies, or specific goals, and a range of performance values like below expectations, above average, and role model. The supervisor is the evaluator who then totals the rating for the overall evaluation. For companies who have a number of employees to rate may elect to use the alternation ranking method. During the process, the employees rated are in a list. The staff unknown is crossed out. The dimensions are listed and the best performing employee is mentioned at the top and worst at the bottom, then alternates to the last employee. Similar to the alternation method, is the paired comparison method. Listing all the traits and employees, the rater puts a plus or negative next to the employee who pairs with the trait. The employee with the most plus signs is the highest ranking. The force distribution method may work for some larger companies that can afford to terminate lower ranking employees while others would rather work to build those on the bottom percent up to a higher rate on the

Performance appraisal is defined as a systematic and structured system for measuring and evaluating job related behaviours to discover reasons for performance and identify potential for the improvement of an individual, and eventually the performance of the organisation. (Singh, 2015) In this day and age of globalisation, managers tend to extensively use performance appraisals, as a measure of the productivity and effectiveness of the employees. In the case of a positive performance, the manager rewards the employee and on the contrary, the managers can seek to correct the lack of performance. Such exercises, allows the organisation to form a perception about the measures that need to be taken to bolster productivity in the future. Performance appraisals act as a control process for the managers, through which they can monitor the activities of the employees, to ensure they are accomplishing goals, and to correct any significant deviations (Hunsaker and Alessandra, 2008).

Performance appraisals are an aid to creating and maintaining a satisfactory level of performance by employees on their jobs. Chatterjee, B (2002: 216) has argued that “the mere knowledge that their performance is being assessed and that such an assessment will have an important bearing on their future within the organisation is a powerful incentive for them to sustain and if possible better their present level of performance”. Therefore performance appraisals help management in motivating and maximising the potential of its employees.