Chapter 5: Performance Appraisal

Rater error training

Focuses on describing errors and showing raters how to avoid them Reduces errors, but accuracy is not necessarily improved

Frame of reference training

Focuses on enhancing raters' observational and categorization skills; establishes a common frame of reference Improves appraisal accuracy, especially when combined with behavioral observation training (BOT)

Rating formats

Graphic rating scales Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) Checklists Employee comparison procedures

Review of court decisions (1980-1995) by Werner and Bolino

Judgment was more likely made for the defendant when: Job analysis was used Written instructions for performance appraisal process were provided Employees had opportunity to review their appraisals Multiple raters agreed on performance ratings Rater training was used Factors most closely associated with judgments made for or against plaintiffs when:(employees bringing suit) Recommendations provided in literature were consistent with the courts' judgments

Distributional errors

Leniency, central tendency, and severit. Mismatch between actual and expected rating distributions Chief problem from these errors: Ratings do not discriminate, range restriction Employees are lumped together in the bottom, middle, or top of the distribution Difficult to make personnel decisions Ultimately affects employee morale; good employees feel slighted, injustice

Kluger and Denisi

Moderate effect of feedback on performance; Feedback is most effective when directed at the task

First impression (primary effect)

Opposite of recency, raters pay too much attention to initial experiences with ratee

Performance appraisal

The systematic review and evaluation of job performance and the provision of performance feedback. Plays an important role in organizational life

Cawley

This person finds Meta-analysis demonstrated strong positive relationship between employee participation in the performance appraisal process and employee reactions to the appraisal:

Leader Member Exchange Theory (LMX)

Supervisors have different types of relationships with subordinates Performance appraisal research has ignored the role of LMX Important because relationship between employee and supervisor plays a role in the performance appraisal process Frequency of supervisor-subordinate communication interacts with LMX to affect performance ratings

Organizational politics

Supervisors have different types of relationships with subordinates Performance appraisal research has ignored the role of LMX Important because relationship between employee and supervisor plays a role in the performance appraisal process Frequency of supervisor-subordinate communication interacts with LMX to affect performance ratings

Continuous Employee Development

"Cyclical process in which employees are motivated to plan for and engage in actions or behaviors that benefit their future employability on a repetitive or ongoing basis" (Garofano & Salas, 2005, p. 282)

telework

(employees working from home or some other location)

8 legal recommendations for performance appraisal

1. Start with job analysis to develop criteria 2. Communicate performance standards in writing 3. Recognize separate dimensions of performance rather than just one "overall" rating 4. Use both objective and subjective criteria 5. Give employees access to appeal 6. Use multiple raters rather than one rater 7. Document everything pertinent to personnel decisions 8. Train the raters, if possible. If not, give them written instructions for conducting the performance appraisal

Justice

: If raters or ratees see the appraisal process as unfair/biased, its psychometric quality will be irrelevant Implicit Person Theory (IPT) - Extent to which an individual believes that people can change impacts performance appraisal Supervisors who tend to believe that people can change are perceived by subordinates as more just in their appraisals

Performance management

A motivational system of individual performance improvement (DeNisi & Pritchard, 2006) Objective goal setting Continuous coaching and feedback Performance appraisal Developmental planning Components are linked to company goals Implemented on a continuous cycle, not just annually

Multisource feedback

Also called 360-degree feedback Involves multiple raters at various organizational levels who evaluate and provide feedback to a target employee Subordinates, peers, supervisors, clients, or customers, self-ratings Used for purposes consistent with greater employee expectations and 21st-century organizations

Graphic rating scales

Among the oldest formats used Consist of a number of traits or behaviors Raters judge how much of each particular trait the ratees possess, or where on the dimension the ratees fall with respect to organizational expectations.

Steps of performance management cycle

Attend to the feedback Processing the feedback Using the feedback

Recommendations for implementing multisource feedback

Be honest about how ratings will be used Help employees interpret and deal with the ratings Avoid presenting too much information

Participation

Can be in the form of a self-assessment or just expressing ideas during the appraisal session/interview

eHR systems

Electronic tools used to access HR data, record HR data, and carry out HR functions

Employee comparison procedures

Evaluation of ratees with respect to how they measure up to, or compare with, other employees. Rank ordering - Can be useful for promotion decisions Paired comparisons - Becomes more complex as number of ratees increases Forced distribution - Often done because ratings are tied to raises; public lawsuits have involved these systems

Trust

Extent to which raters believe that fair and accurate appraisal has been/will be made in their organization Trust in the Appraisal Process Survey (TAPS) - lowscoring raters were more lenient than high-scoring raters Performance Appraisal Discomfort Scale (PADS) - raters with greater discomfort in evaluating others and providing them with feedback are among the most lenient raters Raters can be trained to be more comfortable doing performance appraisal

Feedback Environment

Organization's climate and attitude toward feedback Includes source credibility, feedback quality, and feedback delivery Favorable FE linked to satisfaction with and motivation to use feedback, interest in seeking feedback, high levels of organizational commitment, and OCBs

Purpose of Performance Appraisal

Personnel decisions: Used in deciding who gets promoted, fired, demoted, or laid off; also used in decisions about raises. Developmental purposes: Informs employees of their performance strengths/weaknesses. Facilitates employee advancement, which is good for the organization Documentation of organizational decisions: Important to keep track of employees' performance patterns over time. Provides detailed account of inadequate performance.

Ratee's Feedback Orientation

Ratee's overall attitude toward feedback or receptivity to feedback Includes perceptions of feedback utility, accountability to use feedback, social awareness through feedback, self-efficacy in dealing with feedback Related to other individual differences such as learning goal orientation Employees high on FO tend to seek feedback more often than those low on FO

Forced choice checklist

Raters choose two items from a group of four that best describe the employee; purpose is to reduce rater bias/distortion because raters doesn't know which items matter; raters do not like it, feel like they lose control over the rating process

Recency errors

Raters heavily weight their most recent interactions/observations of ratee

Similar-to-me error

Raters tend to give more favorable ratings to ratees who are like themselves

Weighted Checklist

Series of items previously weighted on importance or effectiveness; items indicate desirable and undesirable behavior

BARS (Behaviorally anchored rating scales)

Similar to graphic rating scales except for behavioral descriptions as "anchors"

Process to developing BARS

Step 1: SMEs identify and define several dimensions that are important for the job Step 2: Another group generates a series of behavioral examples - critical incident technique Step 3: Retranslation stage - Sort critical incidents into appropriate dimensions Step 4: Rating behavioral examples on effectiveness Step 5: Choose items that represent performance levels Drawback is that its painstaking; costs a lot of time and money

Good performance appraisal

Well-received by ratees Based on carefully documented behaviors Focused on important performance criteria Inclusive of many perspectives Forward-looking; focus on improvement

Three basic assumptions about multisource feedback

When multiple raters are used, participants are happier because they are involved in the process When multiple raters are used, the idiosyncrasies or biases of any single rater are overcome Multiple raters bring multiple perspectives for a broader/more accurate view of performance

Perceived System Knowledge

Williams and Levy, 1992 Employees' understanding of the performance appraisal system is an important contextual variable The leniency commonly found in self-ratings is significantly reduced when employees understand the appraisal system Managers report greater PSK than nonmanagers PSK is positively related to job attitudes and appraisal reactions