Performance Appraisal - Essay Example

INTRODUCTION Performance appraisal is an integral part of the evaluation process for employees in an organization. It gives an opportunity for managers and their team members to come face to face with each other and discuss the performance of the appraise in the performance period under evaluation. In the current context, this process of performance appraisal has become critical as the rating of the employee determines several things starting from salary hikes and bonus payout to the career progression of the employee through the organization. This paper discusses the process of performance appraisal and recommends the best practices for conducting such an interview. We first take a look at the performance management cycle as it specifically relates to the appraisal process and then recommend best practices for conducting the same. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL -THE PROCESS In this section, we look at the performance appraisal interview and how an ideal one can be held. The interview needs to be held after both the manager and the team member have had a chance to record their understanding of the performance of the appraise during the evaluation period. According to the Department of Interior (2007) handbook, the appraisal process needs to be conducted for a minimum period of 90 days. This means that the cycle for evaluation needs to be around 3 months at the minimum to conduct a performance appraisal. A point to be noted is that the performance appraisal is a process that involves both the manager and the employee in conjunction with the HR department. Thus, all the stakeholders should ensure that the process is smooth and orderly. The appraisal discussion must be held in an atmosphere of mutual trust and sense of ownership between the manager and the employee. The interview must be used as an occasion not only to highlight the achievements of the employee and point out the failures but also to provide feedback for further performance and close out the “loop” in terms of wrapping up the performance cycle gone by. While this is being done, it must also be ensured that the foundations for future improvements in performance should be laid while conducting the interview. As Terri Gillen (1994) points out, the performance interview must not be seen as an “administrative chore” by the manager and also not as something that must be “done with”. A healthy approach towards eliciting the opinions of the employee regarding his or her performance and explaining the rationale behind the rating must be kept in mind. She also states that the supervisor and the employee have certain rights and obligations towards the interview process. These include the duty of the manager to give honest and accurate feedback and have an active listening attribute. From the employee’s view point, he or she is entitled to put any objections to the rating. Further, it is also incumbent on the appraisee to own up to failures and mistakes and not adopt a combative and hostile approach. Thus, both the manager and the appraisee have to ensure that the overall tone of the appraisal remains friendly and constructive. In recent times, it has become the practice to involve the Human Resources manager whenever there is a significant point of contention between the manager and the appraisee and there needs to be an objective observer to resolve the deadlock. However, this happens in cases where the manager and the appraisee do not agree on the results of the discussion and cannot come to an understanding of the process. BEST PRACTICES In this section, we describe some of the best practices involved with conducting a performance interview. There are some common pitfalls associated with the performance appraisal interview and the rating process that need to be avoided for a fair rating to the employee. Some of them are: Halo Effect: A person outstanding in one area tends to receive outstanding or better than average ratings in other areas as well, even when such a rating is undeserved. Negative Effect: A low rating in one area yields lower than deserved ratings for other accomplishments Central Tendency: Assigning an average rating for all qualities Confrontation Avoidance: Discomfort with giving negative feedback Initial Performance: Rating an employee based solely on initial impressions of performance Recency: Rating an employee based solely on most recent performance which overshadows the entire year’s performance Recent research into the performance appraisal process indicates that employees feel satisfied with the appraisal process when it is clearly linked to rewards. Bannister & Balkin (1990) have demonstrated that rewards and ratings be correlated to achieve the organizational goals of employee satisfaction and morale. Thus, in recent times it has become the norm to link the appraisal process to the salary and the bonus cycles. The appraisal interview itself should not be reduced to a mere formality because the supervisor or the manager has already made up his or her mind regarding the rating to be given to the employees. The appraisal interview needs preparation from the manager and the appraisee. It should not be conducted in a hurry and ideally, both parties must set time for it in advance and schedule a meeting accordingly. The run up to the discussion must include preparation of the appraisal form by the manager and the appraisee. It has become a practice to electronically exchange the appraisal forms in advance and then discuss it during the interview. However, this is not the norm in many organizations where the manager’s part of the appraisal form is shared with the appraisee during the discussion. The last point that needs to be mentioned is that as discussed in the previous sections, any disagreements over the rating or the feedback may involve setting up of another meeting to close the issues. In those cases where there is no agreement, the HR manager is usually called in to play a mediating role. CONCLUSION The appraisal interview is an important part of the rating mechanism that is important for the appraisee in terms of the role it plays in their career progression. For the managers, it is a valuable opportunity to exchange feedback with the appraisee and guide them for future success. Thus, the appraisal interview can be a meeting to be anticipated as well as dreaded depending on the kind of performance that the appraisee has put in and the nature of relations between the parties involved. It is my opinion that the manager plays a critical role in making the interview process pleasant for the appraisee. Sources Gillen, Terri. The Appraisal Discussion. New York: Penguin, 1994. “The Performance Appraisal process”. ExploreHr.org. 25 Sep 2008. 17 Jan 2009. http://explorehr.org Performance Appraisal Handbook. US Department of the Interior. Washington: DOI, 2004. Read More