Chapter 12: PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

3 most popular sets of criteria for performance appraisals

outcomes, behaviors, traits

how to overcome hurdles

- continually document employee performance - use behaviorally based measures - combine absolute and relative standards - use multiple raters (# of evaluators) - rate selectively - participate in appraisal training - conduct performance appraisals of teams

steps to follow when counseling an employee

1- listen to what the employee has to say 2- identify the problem 3- clarify alternatives 4- come to a resolution 5- agree on an action plan

2 most important legal facts regarding performance appraisals

1- performance appraisal policies and procedures, set forth in organizational handbooks, are being increasingly construed by the courts as binding unilateral contracts 2- you must do everything possible to avoid the appearance of prejudice and descrimination

absolute standards measurements

Written essays critical incidents checklist adjective rating scale behaviorally anchored rating scales

performance appraisal

a review of past performance that emphasizes positive accomplishments as well as deficiencies; a means for helping employees improve future performance. it is a ket determinant in pay adjustments and promotion decisions. they should be held at least once a year, but two is better because it lessens the tensions employees associate with them.

behaviorally anchored rating scales (an absolute standards measurement)

a scale that helps supervisors rate employees based on items along a continuum; points are examples of actual behavior on a given job rather than general description of traits. identify definite, observable, and measurable job behaviors

Halo error

a tendency to rate an individual high or low on all factors as a result of the impression of a high or low rating on some specific factor. (example: bad habits such as laziness, lateness, can result in being seen as "lousy" across the board)

Written essays (an absolute standards measurement)

a written narrative describing an employee's strengths, weaknesses, past performance, potential, and suggestions for improvement. A drawback is that results tend to reflect the ability of the writer

employee counseling

an emphasis on encouraging training and development efforts in a situation in which an employee's unwillingness or inability to perform is his or her job satisfactory is either voluntary or involuntary

recency error

an error that occurs when appraisers recall and give grater importance to employee job behaviors that have occurred near the end of the performance-measuring period

central tendency error

appraisers' tendency to avoid the "excellent" category as well as the "unacceptable" category an assign all ratings around the "average" or midpoint range

appraisal approaches

employees can be appraised against: absolute standards relative standards objectives

objectives

essentially an application for goal setting.

extrinsic feedback

feedback provided to an employee by an outside source

relative standard measurments

group order ranking individual order ranking

Critical incidents (an absolute standards measurement)

incidents that focus attention on employee behaviors that are key in making the difference between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.

performance fedback

information that lets an employee know how well he or she is performing a job; may be intrinsic (provided by the work itself) or extrinsic (provided by a supervisor or some other source)

checklist (an absolute standards measurement)

list of behavioral descriptions that are checked off when they apply to an employee. drawback is cost, few data

360-degree appraisal

performance feedback provided by supervisors, employees, peers, and possibly others

group order ranking

placing employees into classifications, such as the "top one-fifth". this method prevents a supervisor from inflating or equalizing employee evaluations. shouldn't be used with small number.

leniency error

positive or negative leniency that overstates or understates performance, giving an individual a higher or lower appraisal than deserved

similarity error

rating others in a way that gives special consideration to qualities that appraisers perceive in themselves. (a supervisor who perceives himself as aggressive may evaluate others by looking for aggressiveness. those who demonstrate this characteristic tend to benefit)

individual ranking

requires supervisors to list all employees in order from the highest to lowest performer

intrinsic feedback

self-generated feedback

what you need in order to begin your performance appraisals

set performance standards communicate expectations define appraisal criteria gather performance data

adjective rating scale (an absolute standards measurement)

uses a scale or continuum that best describes the employee using factors such as quantity and quality of work, job knowledge, cooperation, loyalty, dependability, attendance, honesty, integrity, attitudes, and initiative. (ex: choosing from a scale of 1-5 )

appraisal process

the elements of a performance appraisal as defined by the organization; may involve self-evaluation and peer evaluation in addition to a supervisor's input.