How and When Performance Appraisal Is Conducted - Essay Example

Student Name: Instructor’s Name: Title: Performance Appraisal Course: Institution: Introduction Performance appraisal is an important aspect in any form of management. It is mainly done to establish the abilities and the potential of the employees in their respective jobs. This is usually carried out annually in most organizations by the human resource department. It is always very essential in terms of determining the performance and the productivity of the employee in relation to the set objectives of the company (Muchinsky, 2012). The performance appraisal is an important process and it acts as a feedback for both the employers and the employees. It may be used to determine whether an employee should be promoted, demoted or even sacked. This is mainly dependant on the outcome of the performance appraisal. It is also considered to be one of the most important communication tools within an organization (Manasa, 2009). This is because it gives a reflection of the performance of the employees in relation to the goals of the company. However, handling of performance appraisal can be a very difficult course as it may lead to legal battles. This is because some of the employees may not view the outcome as fair to them. It thus requires a lot of understanding and transparency. The paper, therefore, discusses the aspects of performance appraisals and how it is used to improve the performance of an organization and the employees. When the process is conducted Most organizations always perform performance appraisals once a year. However this is slowly changing as some of the organizations are performing it more than once in a year. This is because of the negative outcome that the annual performance may have on the employees. Some employees may feel that their efforts have been wasted once the feedback does not suite them. This becomes worse if the employees have to wait for a year before they know the results and thus leading to negative impacts on their performance (Broady-Preston, 2002). Other companies always perform the performance appraisals depending on the nature of the jobs. It is evident that some of the jobs require frequent improvements and thus the performance of the employees have to be checked. To some extent, the performance of the employees may hurt the operations of he company. This therefore makes it mandatory for the companies to perform the performance appraisal on a frequent basis. It is also evident that the performance appraisal that is conducted on a frequent basis has a positive result as compared to the one conducted annually. This is due to the effects that it may have on the employees regardless of the outcome. The company may also benefit from the performance appraisal that is done on a frequent basis (Pritchard, 2006). How performance appraisal is conducted The human resource department plays an important role in the performance appraisal process. This department comes up with the mechanisms of determining whether the performance is up to the expected standards or not (Sudarsan, 2009). The human resource department always conducts the performance appraisal at the organization and the individual level. The organizational level is mainly for the purpose of determining whether the objectives of the company are being achieved. On the other hand, the individual level is for the purpose of determining the productivity of the employees. This is mainly based on how well they perform their duties in line with the goals of the organization. It is always important to measure the performance of the employees for the purpose of determining the steps to be taken in regard to promotions or demotions. The management of the organization also plays an important role during the performance appraisal. This is because the management team is always o the fore front in terms of setting the goals and objectives of the company. The performance of the employees is also an important consideration for the management before taking any action. It is thus evident that the performance appraisal is an important tool for any organization in terms of measuring the performance (Gavin, 2005). Methods of carrying out performance appraisals Several methods are used for carrying out performance appraisals. The accuracy of the methods varies due to the indicators of the performance that are always used. Direct objective method is the easiest way of evaluating the performance of the employees. This method is mainly based on the facts such as the sales figures. The sales figures show directly how well the employee performed. High sales figures mean that the employee is performing well while the low sales figures are an indication of poor performance by the employees. This method is very applicable in terms of measuring the duties of the employees. However, this method is not accurate enough as it has some weaknesses. The sales figures might go down to various reasons which could be external (Twomey, 2000). This is clearly beyond the control of the employee and it does not mean that their performance is poor. On the other hand, the external factors may lead to high sales figures while the performance of the employee is generally poor. The performance objective method is however relevant to the duties of the employees. This is de to its direct links t the core duties of the employees. If this method is used well, it is relevant in terms of measuring the potential of the employees and the organization. The personnel; method is the easiest in terms of collecting the data used for performance appraisals of the employees. This method is mainly based on the behavior of the employee in relation to the regulations set by the company (Douma, 2004). It measures the rate of compliance of the employees with the set rules and regulations. One of the most commonly used criteria in this method is the punctuality and absenteeism rate of the employee. It is considered that the poor performance of the employee could be linked to absetiseem. This is because the performance would be affected by the physical presence of the employee. If the employee always report late, then it is an indication that the employee is not satisfied in his or her job and thus the withdrawal behavior. It is for this reason that most organizations ask their employees to sign in whenever they report to work. However, this method also has some weaknesses. Absenteeism and lateness of the employees could be caused by various factors which are understood. This does not make the employee a poor performer. However this method is the most commonly used in terms of measuring the job satisfaction rate of the employee. Most organizations also prefer it due to its easy nature of measuring the performance of the employees. The judgment performance appraisal method on the other hand utilizes the use of rating in order to determine the performance of the employees. A rating scale is usually used to determine the performance of the employee. The traits that the employees possess are very important when using this method as it is required for the purpose of making the graphical representation (DeNisi, 2000). This method is however prone to human errors which may affect the whole process. To eliminate the errors, most of the organizations prefer comparing the performance of the employees with one another. This is because they are all working under similar conditions and as such, their results depend on their abilities and skills. The behavior of the employees can also be used for the purpose of judging them. This is mainly done using the report on the employee behavior written by the supervisors. The behavior is then compared with their performance. This method is however not accurate it is prone to errors. During this method of collecting data on performance appraisal the evaluation can be done through self assessment or through the peers. The indicators used during this method are the ones that have been defined by the organization. Benefits of Performance Appraisal The performance appraisals play an important role in any organization that adopts it. This is because it leads to improvements and efficiency within the organization. Performance appraisal is an important tool that improves the communication within the organization (Malos, 1998). This is mainly done through feedback that is provided to the employees. In any organization, feedback is very important and so is the communication process. It enables the employees to make improvements in their areas of weakness and hence increasing the efficiency of the organization. The feedback is also important in terms of reducing any speculations from the employees which may affect their performance. The process is important for the employees in terms of building trust with each other and the organization as a whole. This is very important within the organization as it improves the cooperation between the employees. This is usually achieved when the process is transparent and it gives a true reflection f the performance of the employees. Any issue that distracts the employees and leads to poor performance is usually addressed by the performance appraisal. It is thus beneficial to carry out performance appraisals for ensuring the needs of the employees are addressed and the company achieves its goals and objectives. Most of the organizations always set their goals and objectives that they must achieve during a certain period. The goals and objectives play an important role in determining the direction that the company takes. The performance appraisal is thus an important tool during the implementation of the goals and objectives. It helps in determining whether the goals are achieved or not. This is because it gives a reflection of the company in terms of its goals and objectives. This is very important and beneficial to the company as it gives the direction by determining the action that needs to be taken within the organization (Balkin, 1998). It also highlights the areas of weaknesses of the employees that may hinder the organization from achieving its goals and objectives. This is important in determining the potential solution and hence improvements. The training needs of the employees can also be determined using the performance appraisal. This is through focusing on the areas of weaknesses that affects the performance of the employees. It thus prepares the organization to train the employees on a particular area. This is also beneficial to the organization in terms of saving the costs as random training may not benefit the employees and may be costly for the organization. An organization will benefit greatly from performance appraisals since it gets the reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of the employees. This may lead to the discovery of the hidden potential that the employees may have. The hidden potential could be beneficial to the company in terms of improving the performance (Molleman, 2003). The performance appraisal plays an important role in determining the career succession plan both at the organizational and the individual level. This is because the process enables the company to identify the potential of the employees and members of the management team. It also plays an important role in terms of team building as it analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the teams. This is very crucial in creating harmony within the team and cohesion among he team members. Proper delegation of duties and additional responsibilities c can also be achieved through performance appraisal. This gives the organization a chance of delegating relevant duties to the potential employees. The employees are able o know their potential if the process is carried out in a transparent manner. This promotes a culture of striving towards improvements by the employees. Performance appraisal is thus an important tool for any organization and it enhances the performance of the organization. How to Improve Performance Appraisal The management team plays an important role in the performance appraisal process. Due to the benefits of the process, it is always important to ensure that improvements are made from time to time. In order to achieve this, it is important for the managers to meet with the team members from time to time. This brings about a relaxed atmosphere which is important for performance appraisal. It makes the team members have a relaxed feeling and thus opening up to any problem. It is through this that the managers are able to know their team members better. This makes the process easier and effective to carry out and hence accurate outcomes. It is also important to ensure that the managers are free with the employees ad interact form time to time (Schraeder, 2007). This plays an important role in assuring the employees that the process is beneficial to them as well as the organization. Communication is also an important tool during the performance appraisal and it plays an important part. The communication within the organization should thus be enhanced for the purpose of obtaining proper feedback from the employees. An efficient performance appraisal is important in terms of building the confidence of the employees in the process. Problems during performance appraisals Although the performance appraisal is important and beneficial to the company, it has potentials weaknesses that may be very costly to the organization (Armstrong, 2006). If the performance appraisal is not used well, it has the potential of hindering the improvements within an organization. If the company has a quality management policies and structures in place, the performance appraisal can affect the improvements in the quality standards. This is due to the difference in approach used by quality management systems and the performance appraisals. The process also has the potential of harming the relationship between the employees and their supervisors. This is very common where the employees feel that the process was not conducted in a transparent way. It definitely leads to a poor relationship which affects the performance of the organization. The employee’s expectations may not be met by the process and it may lead to negative perception of the whole process which is not healthy for the company. Unnecessary competition may also occur among the employees in a bid to become the best during the report. This may also strain the relationship among the employees and hence affecting the operations of the company due to lack of cooperation within the workforce. Errors during the process can affect the credibility of the entire exercise. Some errors may be intentional while others may not and it may affect the whole process. In some instances, the supervisors may rate the employees wrongly leading to the errors. The affected employees may end up being affected by the rating in a negative way (Pettijohn, 2001). This may lead to conflict and distrust with the supervisors. On the other hand, some supervisors may be biased and favor some employees over the others. This affects the credibility of the process as the wrong employees may end up being rewarded and the genuine ones being demoted or even sacked. Legal issues may arise when the process i8is not carried out in a proper manner. The employees may end up suing the organization for such cases and hence leading to court battles. This is quite problematic to the organization as it puts its reputation at risk. It may deter potential candidates from joining the company due to its poor image. The court cases may also lead to compensations and the company may end up losing a lot of money if the employees win the case against it. This makes the process quite risky and problematic if it is not conducted in the right manner. Employee appraisal form Details Name of Employee Position Department Appraised by Starting date Closing date Job related performance and rating Capabilities and behavior 1 2 3 4 5 Ethics and integrity Attitude towards the work outcome Communication skills Social skills Performance in relation to the company objectives Work performance Ability to meet the targets Goals and targets met Goals developed Goals not developed Date started Date completed Comments Future goals and expectations Overall comments Manager Employee Declaration and sign off Manger This is my evaluation of the employee during the review period Date Employee I have read and received this report Date Conclusion In conclusion, it is worth noting that performance appraisal is an important process for any organization. It is evident that the process may play an important role in improving the prospects of the company. The frequency of carrying out the process is also important in determining its outcome. However most of the organizations carry out the process annually as many of the processes of the organization are being concluded. The human resource department is very important during the process. This is because it is involved in the all the procedures of carrying out the process. Various methods can be used for carrying out the process in order to come up with the real outcome. However, it is evident that some of the methods are prone to errors which may affect the credibility of the process. The performance appraisal is also very beneficial to the organization and the employees. It plays an important role in the achievement of the aims and objectives of the organization. The process can also be improved further by enhancing the communication within the organization. Proper measures need to be put in place to ensure that the course of action is beneficial to the entire organization and that the process result into the organization’s set objectives. 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