Performance Appraisals

The most important purpose or goal of the appraisal is to improve performance and hence productivity in the future. Performance appraisals allow employees to see where they are at and managers can get valuable information from employees to help them make employee's jobs more productive. Performance appraisals sound great in theory but the odd thing is that they often don't get done, and many managers, supervisors and employees hate them. Legal implications, concerns about fairness and accuracy, costs and time are some of the issues which perhaps incline some managers to avoid performance appraisals but the reality is companies which have adopted this system find the benefits to be more than rewarding.

As a result of appraisals, managers’ control over work and results may increase, problems can be identified early, employees are motivated by being allowed to input into and own their objectives, enhances communication, objective feedback given back to employees, facilitates decision making in regard to pay scale and promotion, centralized record of performances. (http://www.work911.com/performance/particles/pmch1.htm)

Typically, the performance appraisal is due one year from the end of the probationary period or before the merit cycle. The preparation process involves 3 main steps which are to review data, hold a preliminary meeting with the employee, and finally a self-appraisal from the employee.

To begin, the employee’s job description and work record should be reviewed and if possible obtain performance feedback from people with whom the employee has worked. The employee should be given advance notice of the performance appraisal so that he or she has the chance to review and prepare. After the notice has been given, hold a preliminary meeting with the employee in private, in this meeting discusses the process of performance appraisals and review his or her job description and company goals. Once you have clarified the requirements request that the employee prepare a self-appraisal for purposes of comparison once the manager has completed his or hers. http://www-hr.ucsd.edu/~staffeducation/guide/eval.html “During the first meeting that precedes drafting the appraisal, the supervisor and employee should strive for mutual understanding of the performance appraisal process. The employee should be encouraged to complete the Employee Self-

Appraisal form an...

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Some of the factors which may be appraised in deciding whether to authorize an employee's participation in a particular activity are:

• the employee's need for training

• the employee's career plan

• the needs and strategic goals of the organization

• the affirmative action objectives of the organization

• the resources of the department

• the advantages of one type of training over another

• the training needs of other department employees

• the effect of the determination on workload and other employees. http://www.work911.com/ Let the employee know assistance is available if he or she requires help in creating new annual goals or seeking further training or education in specific areas.

Once the appraisal is agreed on the employee and supervisor must sign it and the original, signed performance appraisal is kept in the department's personnel records for three to five years following an employee's separation.