Performance Appraisal Forms as a Method to Evaluate the Performance of Employees - Coursework Example

Name: Professor: Institution: Course: Date: This essay critically analyses and evaluates the use of performance appraisal forms as a method to evaluate the performance of employees, the purposes of performance appraisals and ways to improve performance appraisals. Further the essay will describe the advantages of performance appraisal and why the method is viewed not to be genuine or fair for application. Performance Appraisal is described in simple terms as a method of evaluation an individual ability which can be improved to develop the performance of job output. Armstrong (1994) defined performance appraisal as the process used in organizations to improve the performance of an individual while performance management is a process that involves both the employer and employee in setting of common goals relevant to the institution.( Rogers, 1995) Murphy, (1995) stated that to derive the best performance out of individuals ,organizations’ should set goals that highlight the strategic objectives of the Company. Performance Appraisal is conducted by analyzing the factors behind employees’ performance at work, measuring the targets of employees in relation with their pay and the supervisor or employers has a role to pay in guiding the employees to improve their performance. (Management, 2008) Majority of Corporate Organizations have adopted the method of performance appraisal to evaluate their employees and a recent survey carried out revealed that approximately 90% of the Organizations worldwide support the idea. Typically speaking the purpose of performance appraisal is to assist in Organizational control of activities, provide crucial information required by the Human Resource function to make decisions on difficult tasks such as transfers and promotions, to evaluate the actual and targeted performance, review how the employees have been performing in a given period, judge on the training needs assessment of employees, minimize the grievances raised by employees, ensure that employees know their roles and responsibilities, mobilize the activities of other organization functions and finally improve the communication between the management level employees and lower level cadre employees. (infobase, 2007) A recent survey carried out by info base in Organizations revealed that the number of employees who viewed the method as a requirement for development and training needs as 71%, transfers and promotions were 49%, compensation indicator was 80%, future goal decision making 42%, identification of skills gaps as 76% and other purposes as 6%. (infobase, 2007) There are different forms of performance appraisal methods that may be used and at times Organizations’ customize their appraisal to meet the Company objectives and goals. Locher and Teel (2007) conducted a landmark study that revealed the methods mostly used by organizations to carry out performance appraisal as Management by Objectives which was rated low being 13% essay method was rated 25%, and the most general method of rating scales was rated at 56%. Research has also revealed that when employees are in a position to communicate freely with their supervisors regarding their performance they are more likely to perform better than when work is assigned to them without any discussions. ( Nemeroff and Wexley, 2009) The discussion ensures that employees are given a chance to speak freely on their performance in regard to how they have evaluated themselves and the challenges that they have encountered. (Greenberg, 2006). The best factor of the appraisals is that when they turn out to be a negative feedback appraisal, the employees are not criticized and instead they get an opportunity to be assisted on how they can improve their performance in terms of skills and development. Therefore the intention is help employees overcome difficulties and guide them in getting solutions that assist them in future performance. Hence employees are not afraid to be criticized when it is revealed that they are performing poorly. ( Fedor et.al,2009). However in situations where by the employee is criticized it results to tension, resentment, anger, conflicts at the work places and poor performance. (Baron, 2008) Setting of performance goals is an important stage in the development of any employee’s skills because the process motivates the employee and builds high self esteem on how to work better by improving their set standards. ( Locke et.al,2001) The specific goals set by individual employees yield great performance than no goals or vague goals which have no direction. ( Harris et.al,2004). The appraisal should however be relevant with the employee’s job roles and performance in order to offer credibility in the evaluation. Employees are most likely to accept change, view the method as fair and accurate. ((Bannister, 2006) Performance appraisals should be described as a vehicle that helps in refining actions within the organization. The performance appraisal template provided has set a basis for areas of growth and development. However, employees may not pay good attention to this particular part because for them it’s just an opportunity to part in training just like in any other situation but the data collected is relevant for improving employee’s job efficiency. It is also fast and easier to evaluate and substantiate data where the numbers of employees involved are many because data from single employees may take years to be evaluated. For instance the data may be used to increase reward or pay rise, plan the required staff establishment, plan counseling workshops or training and set procedures for duty allocation. Data may also reveal that the supervisor was involved in conflicts with the lower cadre staff or upper management. The solution to such problems should be to ensure that the supervisors attend conflict management training, during selection the targeted group should possess the necessary interpersonal skills and face to face counseling should also be encouraged. ( Caroll, 2002) Employees need to know how they are doing in their job because this tends to motivate them and increase their ego and image of productivity. Positive comments are received well by employees and the desire to achieve more through increased effort should be the determining factor of success in any organization which applies performance appraisal. From the performance and conservation mapping derived there is no option or set provision for feedback or comments from the supervisor. On regular basis people need to be informed of the validation conducted and positive feedback is an encouraging affirmation. ( Kubo, 2000) The feedback collected helps the employee to become aware of his or her areas of improvement such as how they can perform better in future and avoid past problems which encourages a person to continue learning as well as personal growth and development. Feedback that is constructive is used in circumstances whereby the employer cares about the employee and listens to their opinion. (Scholtes, 2008) In the negotiated approach of performance appraisal the burden of analysis does not purely lie on one person but both the employee and supervisor have a role to play during evaluation. The sample performance appraisal provided is biased purely on the employee only and has not provided the supervisor room for critics and comments. The feedback can be described in other terms as either qualitative or quantitative. Quantitative feedback is normally described in numerical data figures and involves figures such as percentages or other scale rates while the qualitative comments describes only in words such as being timely and tentative to details. When the achievement is part of the objective researchers have argued that feedback is essential. ( Carroll, 2002) The performance Conservation and mapping plan provided has left a major gap of performance measurement both in qualitative and quantitative terms which is very essential for measurement of goals and objectives. Goal setting is encouraged by the employer and employees are aware that they will not be reprimanded for failing to achieve them and researchers have found out that participation of employees in goal setting is usually varied; competition is allowed in goal achievement because normally there are normally rewards set for best performance, goals set should be smart and achievable, competence of employees is a requirement and the employer should avail the necessary resources required by the employee to achieve the goals and offer any other support that may be requested by the employee. ( Latham, 2009) The performance sample provided has made the provision for goal setting and training is reflected as a goal but the type of training should be diverse as coaching, mentoring, e-learning, books, workshops, attending meetings, research, guides, manuals or any other form of learning given for personal development depending on the priority given for development of skills. The most dreaded activity by the management today is performance appraisal interviews because as far as the management is concerned they would not want to be subjective and judgmental in making a decision of the employees and as the saying goes human is to error. The supervisor is normally described as the expert of the individual’s performance and they are often hesitant to deliver bad news to the workers. (Steven, 2009) The worker should be given an opportunity to describe some of his or her strengths, weaknesses, areas where they require improvement, areas where they perform well and areas where they have shown improvement during the year. From the psychological point of view it is always easier to have a person mention their shortcomings than have another person mention them. The sample copy of performance planning map provided has only stated the strengths and disregarded the weaknesses which should be part and parcel of employee’s improvement measurement. This provides room for the expectations of the supervisor to be understood by the employee. Some of the most successful performance appraisals evaluate in detail the relationship that the employee has with the rest of the workers whom they are in contact with. A follow up meeting is recommended to allow and give room for negotiation on areas of improvement where weak areas have been recognized and special attention is needed. ( Harris, 2004) Performance appraisal systems that are designed well often strengthen the relationship between the supervisors and employees. Supervisors often find it cumbersome to handle and carry out performance appraisal because they take rather too long to finish and the design may be done poorly. In contrast appraisals that are also too short do not provide key information required to improve the performance of an employee thus they may end up being a waste of time and the Organization would eventually be the looser. The sample format provided is too limited and falls short of including some of the critical factors required to evaluate the performance of an employee. Managers may not have the opportunity to improve the performance of their employees nor impact on them but they do have the opportunity to review performance appraisal to be a positive and beneficial instrument that benefits both parties that is the employer and employee. (About.com, 2011) Some of the specific developmental plan objectives are to enrich work experience of the employees, sustenance of the employee in their current job and improving their performance. The standard of measurement used for an employee’s performance is based on the needs of the organisation. Some of the developmental activities on the job training include mentoring, job rotation and temporary assignments. Linda, (2011) argued that there is no such thing as a perfect feedback process although when planned well the 360 degree process is close to being perfect. The 360 degree feedback is a process by which Managers receive feedback from both the external and internal customers and reports directly from peers and supervisors. But because the 360 degree feedback is long Companies are today using the 180 degree feedback process which eliminates the internal and external customers. The sample format has not indicated any relevance to the feedback of employees. The method is advantageous is it provides a highway of feedback for those people who have had the opportunity to observe behavior and skills of the other person on a regular basis. Secondly the process is designed with such that the ultimate dependent factor is either the internal or external customer. If employees get an opportunity to receive feedback on their performance and how their activities affect others, they eventually become attentive to their actions and manage time appropriately. The process comprises of job descriptions on competency level which are also used in the recruitment process. The case against use of the “360” feedback is that employees tend to target their friends to receive feedback which alters the scale such that there are no negative statements made. The minimum number of people who should be sent this instrument is ten for the process to interact negative comments. Finally the managers using the process should be trained on how to use the method to impact on the employees. When time is devoted for the process it results to increased effectiveness and the process is viewed as a positive strategy towards the attainment of Company objectives. James, (2011) described the following seven guidelines regarding improvement of performance appraisal systems. The first guide is to develop a collaborative approach between a human resource professional, employees and supervisors who are not limited to more than 25. The first step for the group members involves the discussion of goals expectations and how to avoid problems in their newly constructed goals. The group leaders then come up with the desired concerns and benefits based on what they have stated as their key factors. The second step is to evaluate the performance of dimensions which they should evaluate. The members have to brainstorm to come up with different possibilities as many as they can think of. The tabled list should then eliminate the unachievable dimensions such as attitude, personality traits and maturity and leave only the dimensions that may be observed, those that are job related and observable. The group then finally prepares a copy with the final performance dimensions that they have narrowed in on. Step three, the members list down the guidelines for implementing the performance dimensions which should complement the company objectives with a time frame on when to complete the forms, the formal procedure to be followed and who in particular receives the copies. This approach is encouraged by both parties that is the employer and employees because it is collaborative in nature and was created by members of the same group clearly reflecting the peers objectives. The Company objectives are also taken into account by the policies and procedures. A leader should guide the group to avoid ensure that they do not misrepresent the wishes of the organization. Although the group represents particular departments within the organization there may be overlap in the definition of performance dimensions which results to having an appraisal that is wide that slightly varies in performance dimensions sections. ( James, 2011) The second guideline is to set objectives that clearly define the procedure to be followed for instance in providing feedback to employees and the second being the documentation of the employees performance and how to reward the performance in terms of promotion salary increase and transfers. The third guideline focuses on observable behavior of employees and the supervisors are mandated to ensure that they communicate clearly to the employees indicating areas of improvement. Failure to which the employees do not understand what has been communicated to them. Although supervisors are hardly trained on how to handle appraisal discussions the critical factor is to ensure that they provide a clear feedback to the employees. For instance sales quotas provide data that details whether an employee is either above or below the set quota while behavior can only be observed and the employers forms an opinion on how the employee performs specific job roles. Supervisors sometimes argue with the co-workers, supervise employees poorly but communicate well and clearly. Employees should be ready to discuss their behaviors’ with the supervisors and ensure they improve their performance. The fourth guideline is to avoid personal feedback. Majority of appraisal forms contain a section of strengths and weaknesses with a part where the supervisor makes their comments on the employee’s job performance and how the qualities as well as aptitudes affect them. The rating on employee’s personal traits should concentrate on their attitude, personality and maturity. The rating on personality traits is not observable and hence majority of employees become defensive and disagree with the evaluation. Such basis of evaluation is referred to as being vague and the worst that results is that supervisors find themselves in court being charged of discrimination of minorities and violations. ( James, 2011) The fifth guideline is to listen to the employee talk first about their performance and talk later. This is because when roles and responsibilities are set, the employees are aware of what they are required to do including their areas of improvement. The supervisor can also add on the areas which the employee fails to mention on their areas of improvement and communicate on feedback that is positive during the appraisal interview. The interview should always be scheduled ahead of time to allow the employees prepare in setting goals and development plans. The sixth guideline is to be positive at first and negative later because it avoids the employees to be defensive when points are raised on their performance. The last guideline as stated by James,(2011) is to probe first and prescribe later. The conclusive discussion is to set a plan on how to improve the overall results of the employee performance. Supervisors should ensure that they assist the employees in developing the plans although this can only be achieved through analyzing their working methods, knowledge, motivation, aptitudes, qualities, personal problems and work environment. This will help deal with causes that alter employee performance. The employees are the key to provision of quality information about themselves for instance they are bored with their duties, they lack skills in certain areas, have personal problems that are affecting their motivation and morale and other problems which certainly affect their performance. Asking the employees questions is the secret to learning the needs of employees. Thus given room to criticize themselves employees can develop plans that are constructive in nature. Sharon, (2011) also stated some of the methods for improving employee performance appraisal is to ensure that the process has been reviewed by the employees individually, second is to provide training for all managers and supervisors regarding employee appraisal, third is to ensure that the supervisors provide a work plan for their employees which is detailed and it specifies their roles and responsibilities. Fourth the management should keep proper updated records on employees appraisal files, give the employees a copy of the appraisal to fill out prior to the meeting which gives them room to think out of the box and finally a designated supervisor or somebody in authority whom the employees can refer to for clarification. Further Managers should seek ways from the employees on how they can support and help them achieve their objectives. Finally the date for the next meeting should be set to discuss areas of review. Researchers have discovered that performance appraisals provide employees with recognition for their efforts at work and they feel that the Organization is interested in their development and performance. Thus the recognition boosts the employee’s morale, sense of belonging and commitment to work. Motivation is regarded as a very important factor in the performance of an Organization in achievement of goals, attributions, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. (Mullins,2003) In conclusion, from the above discussions on performance appraisal it is evident that the employees are motivated by recognition for good performance which can either be through monetary or recognition. There is also no conclusive great performance appraisal but the negotiated approach and ‘360’ feedback process is close to just being perfect and therefore it’s a process that has been adopted by many Organizations and recommended as appropriate. Since the positive concepts outweigh the negative aspects of performance appraisal Organizations’ should venture into the modern methods of technology to innovate a method that can be used to electronically evaluated and appraise employees. The approach used by an Organization should ensure that the management is trained on how to evaluate and appraise employees thoroughly for the growth and development of both the employer and employees. References Allan H. Locher and Kenneth S. Teel (2007), "Performance Appraisal-A Survey of Current Practices," Personnel Journal, Vol. 56 (pp. 245-247, 254 About.com(2011): How to improve performance appraisal. Retrieved on 8th September, 2011 from Armstrong, M. 2004. Performance Management. 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