A performance appraisal, employee appraisal, performance review, or development discussion is a method by which the job performance of an employee is evaluated typically by the corresponding manager or supervisor. A performance appraisal is a part of guiding and managing career development. It is the process of obtaining, analyzing, and recording information about the relative worth of an employee to the organization..
As working adults we must deal with employee performance reviews, also referred to as employee appraisals or performance evaluations. Whatever you call them; employee reviews evaluate our performance on the job. They often determine raises, promotions, and sometimes whether we get to keep our jobs. Appraisal can be either self appraisal, peer reviews, upward assessment, 360 Degree Feedback (360 Degree Review). Employee performance and appraisal are common terms today. Things that were thought of to be a complicated process is now a everyday phenomenon. You should understand why some employers use performance reviews as a way to evaluate their employees. If there are any points that were correct, acknowledge those. Use clear examples that counteract the criticisms made. Performance appraisals are essential for the effective management and evaluation of staff. Appraisals help develop individuals, improve organizational performance, and feed into business planning. Job performance appraisals - in whatever form they take - are therefore vital for managing the performance of people and organizations. Developing the whole-person is also an important aspect of modern corporate responsibility, and separately (if you needed a purely business-driven incentive for adopting these principles), whole-person development is a crucial advantage in the employment market; in which all employers compete to attract the best recruits, and to retain the best staff. It is likely that the critics of the appraisal process are the people who can't conduct them very well. It's a common human response to want to jettison something that one finds difficult. Confidential employee performance appraisals also contain other job requirements such as focusing on specific needs of business or needs for individual improvement, public contact, ability to stay within cost guidelines, etc Performance appraisal is an analysis of an employee's recent successes and failures, personal strengths and weaknesses, and suitability for promotion or further training. It is also the judgment of an employee's performance in a job based on considerations other than productivity alone
Kind of appraisals
Formal annual performance appraisals
Probationary reviews
Informal one-to-one review discussions
Counselling meetings
Observation on the job
Skill- or job-related tests
Assignment or task followed by review, including secondments (temporary job cover or transfer)
Assessment centres, including observed group exercises, tests presentations, etc.
Survey of opinion of others who have dealings with the individual
Psychometric tests and other behavioural assessments
Graphology (handwriting analysis)
Performance appraisals also have an employee feedback section. This section contains the employee's most important accomplishments on the job, weakest job performance areas, areas in need of improvement, and other work concerns they would like to discuss. They also give a performance summary, which shows the employee's outstanding and strongest points, employee's shortcomings and weaknesses, and specific accomplishments and changes since last performance review. They also help in deciding goals for improvement, that is how the employee can be more effective and what additional training can be helpful. Though there are some valid reasons for conducting staff performance evaluation, there are people who argue that the annual exercise simply waste valuable time.
Employees thrive on feedback, and regular performance reviews provide a consistent framework for providing positive reinforcement.
Under-performing employees can also benefit. Regular reviews can identify weak performance areas, and allow you to set clear goals and expectations, and to coach and mentor the employee to improve their performance.
Objectivity is vital. You need to concentrate on measuring performance, and not on quirks of personality. Unfortunately, performance appraisals are all too often not done or are conducted without specific references to extraordinary achievements or are held in a setting where constructive results are unattainable. They are rushed and fail to set a positive tone of supervisory interest and concern for subordinate needs. If an evaluation is held it is because it is required by someone higher up the organization. As a result, all parties get it over with as quickly as possible to relieve the pressure of being involved in an unpleasant event. Evaluation policies can be disseminated through memos and announcements. Real knowledge is gained when managers have an opportunity to participate in training that gives them confidence and solid tools and techniques. Developing your employees means helping them build skills that they may not need right this very moment but will want to have later such as knowing how to conduct a performance appraisal.