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PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Performance appraisal is a systematic, periodic and so far as humanly possible, an
impartial rating of an employees excellence in matters pertaining to his present job and to
his potentialities for a better job - Edwin Flippo

A performance appraisal (PA) also referred to as a performance review, performance
evaluation or employee appraisal

is a method by which the job performance of an employee is
documented and evaluated. Performance appraisals are a part of career development and
consist of regular reviews of employee performance within organizations.
Performance appraisal is a program in which employees are told the employer's expectations
for their performance and rated on how well they have met those expectations. Performance
appraisals are used to support hr decisions, including promotions, terminations, training, and
merit pay increases
A performance appraisal is a systematic and periodic process that assesses an individual
employees job performance and productivity in relation to certain pre-established criteria
and organizational objectives. Other aspects of individual employees are considered as well,
such as organizational citizenship behaviour, accomplishments, potential for future
improvement, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
To collect PA data, there are three main methods: objective production, personnel, and
judgmental evaluation. Judgmental evaluations are the most commonly used with a large
variety of evaluation methods. Historically, PA has been conducted annually (long-cycle
appraisals); however, many companies are moving towards shorter cycles (every six months,
every quarter), and some have been moving into short-cycle (weekly, bi-weekly) PA.
The interview could function as providing feedback to employees, counselling and
developing employees, and conveying and discussing compensation, job status, or
disciplinary decisions. PA is often included in performance management systems. PA helps
the subordinate answer two key questions: first, "what are your expectations of me?" second,
"how am i doing to meet your expectations?"
Performance management systems are employed to manage and align" all of an
organization's resources in order to achieve highest possible performance. How performance
is managed in an organization determines to a large extent the success or failure of the
organization. Therefore, improving PA for everyone should be among the highest priorities of
contemporary organizations.
Some applications of PA are compensation, performance improvement, promotions,
termination, test validation, and more. While there are many potential benefits of PA, there
are also some potential drawbacks. For example, PA can help facilitate management-
employee communication; however, PA may result in legal issues if not executed
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appropriately, as many employees tend to be unsatisfied with the PA process. PAS created in
and determined as useful in the United States are not necessarily able to be transferable cross-
culturally.

Performance Appraisal Process
1. Identify performance criteria:
The number of appraisal criteria for each position is from 3 10 criteria.
The standards set should be clear, easily understandable and in measurable terms
The appraisal criteria can be changed but must be the authority for approval and must
be implemented for the relevant level before applying.
HR department and managers/ supervisor will set up weight of each criteria and must
be approved directors.

2. Communicating performance criteria:
HR department should inform this procedure to all level of management and
employees.
The employees should be informed and the standards should be clearly explained in
order to help them understanding their roles and to know what exactly is expected
from them.
Performance criteria should also be communicated to the appraisers or the evaluators
and if required.

3. Measuring performance

Prepare: HR dept should prepare all materials, notes agreed tasks and records of
performance, achievements, incidents, reports etc anything pertaining to
performance and achievement.
Inform the appraise: To ensure the appraise is informed of a suitable time and place
and clarify purpose and type of appraisal. Give the appraise the chance to assemble
data and relevant performance and achievement records and materials.
Review and measure: HR dept and managers / supervisors review the activities,
tasks, objectives and achievements one by one, keeping to distinct separate items one
by one.
Agree an action plan: An overall plan should be agreed with the appraise, which
should take account of the job responsibilities and review strengths and weaknesses.
The plan can be staged if necessary with short, medium and long term aspects, but
importantly it must be agreed and realistic.



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4. Comparing with desired criteria
The actual performance is compared with the desired or performance criteria.
The result can show the actual performance being more than the desired performance
or, the actual performance being less than the desired performance depicting a
negative deviation in the organizational performance.

5. Discussing results
The result of the appraisal should be communicated and discussed with the
employees.
The feedback should be given with a positive attitude as this can have an effect on
the employees future performance.
The purpose of the meeting should be to solve the problems faced and motivate the
employees to perform better.
The results, the problems and the possible solutions are discussed with the aim of
problem solving and reaching consensus.

Activities in Performance Appraisal





Activities in
Performance
Appraisal
Feedback &
Counselling
(Post)
Appraisal Interview
(Pre)
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Pre Appraisal activity
Appraisal interview

A performance appraisal is a review and discussion of an employee's performance of
assigned duties and responsibilities. The appraisal is based on results obtained by the
employee in his/her job, not on the employee's personality characteristics. The appraisal
measures skills and accomplishments with reasonable accuracy and uniformity.
Performance appraisal interview is an interview that is conducted between HR
dept/manager and employee per year/6 months, 3 months.
The employee gets useful feedback information about how effectively and efficiently he
is able to discharge the assigned duties.
It also gives the opportunity to employee to explain his views about the ratings, standards,
rating methods, internal and external causes for low level of performance

Objective of Performance Appraisal Interview
Periodic reviews help supervisors gain a better understanding of each employee's
abilities.
A careful review will stimulate employees interest and improve job performance.
The goal of the review process is to recognize achievement, to evaluate job progress, and
then to design training for the further development of skills and strengths.
To let employees know where they stand & plan opportunities for development and
growth.
Strengthen the superior-subordinate working relationship by developing a mutual
agreement of goals.






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Self appraisal
Self-appraisal gives employees an opportunity to evaluate their own performance. Self-
appraisal works especially well with highly motivated, self-directed, and career-focused
workers.
Employees usually like self-appraisal because they can articulate their interests and goals and
explain how they think they have performed, without being encumbered by their supervisor's
judgments or conclusions. Supervisors like self-appraisal because it:
Requires employees' participation, making evaluation a two-way process;
Fosters more direct interaction between supervisors and employees, which can aid
agreement on workable goals;
Provides common grounds for discussion; and
Can produce additional information that helps all parties view individual jobs more
objectively in the context of the entire organization.
A self-appraisal can be conducted formally or informally, orally or in writing. To prepare for
formal discussions, some employers ask employees and supervisors to complete identical
work sheets so that they can compare responses. Self-appraisal forms often include space in
which employees can:
Note any difficulties they might have had or are having performing their jobs,
Describe their career goals or skills and abilities they believe are not being used fully,
List projects they would like to work on, and
Suggest training they think they need.
Most employers treat self-appraisals as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, top-down
appraisals. Employees should understand that supervisors still have the responsibility to write
thoughtful, balanced reviews. Self-assessment simply offers a means to obtain additional
information that can result in a better evaluation and more responsible supervision and
direction.





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Post Appraisal Activities
Performance feedback

Feedback is the raw material of employee participation. Feedback is essential in gaining the
maximum benefits from goal setting. Without feedback, employees are not unable to make
adjustments in job performance nor do they receive positive reinforcement for effective job
behaviour. Effective performance feedback is timely, specific, behavioural in nature, and
presented by a credible source. It is effective in changing employee work behaviour and
enhances employee job satisfaction and performance. In the present employee performance
appraisal system, supervisors must formally provide employees with feedback during the
mid-point or interim progress review; however, feedback should also be given when
performance fails to meet expectations and, often overlooked, when performance exceeds
expectation
It is extremely important that the feedback is communicated in a manner that produces a
constructive response in the subordinate. Given below are some guidelines that could be
followed in giving feedback:

Feedback should be descriptive and non- evaluative. Rather than putting the employee
in a defensive position by telling him your coming in late convinces me that you are
not serious about your work, a manager may say, i notice that you have been
regularly coming late and i am deeply concerned about this.
It should be focused on the behaviour of the person rather than on the person himself.
It is necessary to distinguish between the individual and his behaviour in conveying
the negative feedback. It should be clear to the employee that what is being rejected or
criticized is some specific behaviour of his. The intent is not to condemn the
employee as an individual.
When conveying feedback, it is generally desirable to back it up with few examples of
actual events. Care must be exercised not to overdo this as the subordinate may
misinterpret it that the superior is systematically building up a well-documented case
against him.
Feedback should be given timely. It should be given at the first opportunity when the
employee is in the receptive mood.
Feedback should be continuous. It should become a regular practice so that the
subordinate develops an ability to accept and act upon the feedback.
Feedback should be checked and verified. This will ensure that the subordinate has
not misinterpreted the feedback received from his superior.
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Performance counselling

Performance counselling is very important for employees to know the level of their
performance and the area in which they need to improve. Performance counselling is a very
useful activity provided both the counsellor and the counselee take it in the right spirit. It
helps the employee as well as the organization to identify weaknesses and then to formulate
strategies to improve the performance. Performance improvement ultimately helps the
organization to meet its goals and objectives. It is always important to evaluate the
performance of the employees periodically to find out their level of efficiency. Some standard
methods have been devised to make employees understand how far they are from the
expected standards so that their performance can be improved. Those employees who lag
behind in certain key performance areas must be assisted to analyze and improve their
performance levels. Therefore the process of performance appraisal helps to evaluate and
improve the performance of the employees so that they can give their best to achieve the
goals of the organization as well as achieve better career satisfaction.
Performance counselling is a very important activity that helps employees to know
themselves better. Performance counselling refers to the help provided by a manager to his
subordinates in objectively analyzing their performance. It attempts to help the employee in:

1. Understanding himself - his strengths and weaknesses.
2. Improving his professional and interpersonal competence by giving him feedback about
his behaviour.
3. Setting goals and formulating action plans for further improvement

Features of performance counselling:
Conditions for effective counselling

A climate of trust, confidence and openness is essential for effective counselling.
Counselling cannot be effective if the subordinate does not trust his boss.
It is necessary that the subordinate should feel free to participate without fear or
inhibition as it is a dialogue between supervisor and subordinate and hence should be
a two way communication.
The main purpose of counselling is employee development.


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Performance counselling phases

a) Rapport building: in the rapport building phase, a good counsellor attempts to
establish a climate of acceptance, warmth, support, openness and mutuality. This
phase involves generating confidence in the employee to open up frankly, share his
perceptions, problems, concerns, feelings etc. The subordinate must be made to feel
wanted and that his superior is genuinely interested in his development.

b) Exploration: in this phase, the counsellor should attempt to help the employee
understand and appreciate his strengths and weaknesses. He should also understand
his own situation, problems and needs. Questions should be asked which help the
employee focus on his problem. For example, if an employee feels that his problem is
that others do not co-operate with him, the counsellor may ask questions to narrow
down the problem to the employees relationship with a few individuals. Then the
superior may ask questions to help the employee understand what he does (or says) to
his colleagues that is making it difficult for him to win their co-operations. Problem
identification is a critical step in planning for improvement. To help the employee
make a correct diagnosis of the problem, open-ended questions may be asked.

c) Action planning: counselling interviews should end with specific plans of action for
development of the employee. The main contribution of the superior in this phase is
in helping the employee think of alternative ways of dealing with a problem. For
example, in case of an employee whose relationships with colleagues are poor, the
superior may suggest what three things can you do in the coming week to improve
your relationship with x? After helping the employee brainstorm, the superior may
also add more alternatives to the solutions already generated.

Finally the superior may render some assistance in helping the employee implement
the agreed upon action plan. Often good counselling sessions fail to produce effective
results due to lack of follow.

Disadvantages

1. Time Consuming
It is recommended that a manager spend about an hour per employee writing
performance appraisals and depending on the number of people being evaluated, it
can take hours to write the departments PA but also hours meeting with staff to
review the PA. Ive know managers who had 100 plus people to write PAs on and
spending weeks doing it.



2. Discouragement
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If the process is not a pleasant experience, it has the potential to discourage staff.
The process needs to be one of encouragement, positive reinforcement and a
celebration of a years worth of accomplishments. It is critical that managers
document not only issues that need to be corrected, but also the positive things an
employee does throughout the course of a year, and both should be discussed during
a PA.
3. Inconsistent Message
If a manager does not keep notes and accurate records of employee behavior, they
may not be successful in sending a consistent message to the employee. We all
struggle with memory with as busy as we all are so it is critical to document issues
(both positive and negative) when it is fresh in our minds so we have it to review
with the employee at performance appraisal time.
4. Biases
It is difficult to keep biases out of the PA process and it takes a very structured,
objective process and a mature manager to remain unbiased through the process.
Performance appraisal rater errors are common for managers who assess performance
so understanding natural biases is important to fair evaluations.

Advantages

1. Performance Based Conversations
Managers get busy with day-to-day responsibilities and often neglect the necessary
interactions with staff that provide the opportunity to coach and offer performance
feedback. A performance management process forces managers to discuss
performance issues with employees. It is this consistent coaching that affects
changed behaviors and employee development.
2. Targeted Staff Development
If done well, a good performance management system can be a positive way to
identify developmental opportunities and can be an important part of a succession
planning process. All employees are on a development journey and it is the
organizations responsibility to be preparing them for increased responsibility.
3. Encouragement To Staff
Performance appraisals should be a celebration of all the wonderful things an
employee does over the course of a year and should be an encouragement to staff.
There should be no surprises if issues are addressed as they arise and not held until
the annual review.
4. Rewards Staff For A Job Well Done
If pay increases and/or bonuses are tied to the performance appraisal process, staff
can see a direct correlation between performance and financial rewards. This
motivates and encourages employees to perform at higher levels.
5. Under-Performers Identified And Eliminated
As hard as we try, it is inevitable that some employees just wont cut the mustard as
they say. An effective performance appraisal process can help identify and document
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underperformers, allowing for a smooth transition if the relationship needs to be
terminated.
6. Documented History of Employee Performance
It is very important that all organizations keep a performance record on all
employees. This is a document that should be kept in the employees HR file.
7. Allows For Employee Growth
Motivated employees value structure, development and a plan for growth. An
effective performance management system can help an employee reach their full
potential and this is positive for both the employee and manager. A good manager
takes pride in watching an employee grow and develop professionally.





















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SELF-APPRAISAL FORM
Employee Name:____________________________
Date: _________________________________
Company: _____________________________
Position Title: __________________________
Review Period: _________________________
Office: ________________________________
Department: ___________________________
From/To: ______________________________

I. Job descriptions and responsibilities:
__________________________________
________________________________________________________________
II. Specify ways that you feel you met or exceeded job requirements and any reasons
why.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
III. Specify the ways that you feel you did not meet job requirements and any reasons
why.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
IV. In what specific areas would you like to improve your job performance?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
V. List the steps you would like to take to improve your preparation for future
opportunities.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
VI. What job-related goals would you like to accomplish in the next 6 (12) months?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
VII. List additional items you would like to discuss.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

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Employees Signature: ____________________Date: ______________________
Reviewers Signature: ____________________Date: ______________________
Reviewers Managers Signature: ____________Date: ______________________