Term Paper on "Performance Appraisal" to the Average Employee"

Term Paper 5 pages (2392 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

performance appraisal" to the average employee, and a look of dread may appear on his/her face. Too often, an evaluation is more for the employer than it is for the employee. The manager has not been trained to offer both positive and constructive feedback and to elicit input from the individual being appraised. Also, sometimes the evaluations are all open ended -- what was an example of how this employee proved him/herself (answer -- positive attitude with customers) -- so that there is no way to see how someone improved with each evaluation.

Performance appraisals are defined as formal, structured systems that compare compares employee performance to established standards. Assessment of job performance is shared with the employees being appraised through one of several primary methods. The elements in a performance appraisal method are tailored to the organization's employees, jobs, and structure. They include objective criteria for measuring employee performance and ratings that summarize how well the employee is doing as well as more open-ended and informal appraisals.

Where I work, the appraisal system is fairly positive, since supervisors receive some training in how to give performance reviews. Of course, some individuals are better at this task than others, because of their personality and skills. Also, there is a consistent system for the entire company. Each new employee has a review after a three-month probationary period in order to start getting benefits. Then, he/she has another evaluation after a year on staff and each year after that. As can be seen in the example of the review below, there is a rating system, not just open-ended. The employee also has the opportunity rate her/himself as well.

A like the fact that I have the opportunity to rate myself, too. In my last job, it really was a one-way appraisal. I was not given any notice of when the meeting was going to be. I was called in to my manager's office once a year and he went over his comments. Although I was told I could write something in return, it did not seem like it was desired. Also, not much was done with the evaluation. It seemed like my manager had to do it -- it was on his evaluation sheet! -- and that was that. If you did not like it, too bad.

A also appreciate that my appraisal has both specific responsibilities/objectives for the evaluation period. This gives me priorities and also the chance to do something different than the standard job. I also have input into this process. The evaluation also gives me the opportunity to make comments here, which I have done in the past when I think an objective should be changed. One time, for example, I was being based on the number of calls made rather than the actual outcome. The calls took longer than planned so I didn't make goal, even though the results of the calls I made were good.

Of course, every evaluation is subjective and even when there is a ranking like on this appraisal, it is sometimes difficult to know where someone falls. For instance, there is a wide area between exceed and meet expectations in the area "knowledge of work" when a person has a lot of different skills as part of the job. It is possible to exceed in some areas and be on par in others -- or even need improvement. It would be helpful if each of these areas could be broken down some more, or there was a 0 to 10 rather than the four ratings.

The career development section is a great idea, because the company works with the employees to help them grow into new jobs. If a person does a good job in his/her work, there is a good chance that there will be another job to be promoted into after a while. The review session is a good time to talk about other jobs in the company that may be open in the future or that should be considered.

I would like to have a review more than once a year, because of the opportunity for promotions and also because it would be an effective way to continue to work on skill building. In fact, because I get along well with my supervisor, we do meet informally to review where I am at on certain projects. Also, a friend said that his evaluation is linked to company goals, not just those in his specific department. This may be a good idea, since everyone should be working together to help their company succeed.

Some experts in human resources or management say that performance reviews are a waste of time, since they only create confusion and ill will. They believe that nstead of annually, evaluations should be part of the everyday routine -- reviewing what is being done, has been accomplished and still needs to be acted on. That would be great if everyone had the opportunity to meet for a few minutes each day. However, with the amount of work and everyone's busy schedules, this is impossible. As I noted above, it would be nice to meet formally more often, but every day or even once a week is unrealistic.

Overall, I believe that the performance reviews help both the company and the employee if used correctly. The company has the opportunity to lead the personnel in the direction that will provide the best support. The performance review can also be a tool to motivate employees to work harder and continue to improve their abilities. Naturally, as said earlier, there are two sides to every issue. Reviews can also be a way to discourage employees and lead to discontent and even law suits. That is why they should be taken very seriously by everyone involved. Consistency is also crucial, and having the same reviews companywide are beneficial. That way, when employees talk with one another they feel they are being treated equally. Also, when someone goes from one department to another, there is no relearning.

I have been reading about 360-degree reviews and they seem an interesting approach, although more open-ended and complex. In the article, "How to evaluate your 360 feedback efforts," Kenneth M. Nowack, Jeanne Hartley and William Bradley (1999) explain that "There are four steps involved in the evaluation of 360-feedback efforts: Definition of what to evaluate and measure, design of the survey, collection of data, and analysis of the data and summarization of results. Designing the survey involves determining a target audience, selecting the proper evaluation level, developing survey questions, establishing reliable response scales, testing the survey, and revising and finalizing the survey.

360-degree feedback offers every person the chance to receive performance feedback from a supervisor, several peers, reporting staff members, co-workers and customers. Most 360-degree feedback tools also give the employee the opportunity to respond to in a self-assessment. This feedback allows personnel to understand how their effectiveness is viewed by a team of other individuals. It offers constructive input about the skills and behaviors the organization needs to accomplish its mission, vision, goals and objectives.

According to the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), 360 degree feedback has many positive aspects and appreciated by a wide number of companies nationwide (Nowack). An ASTD survey that reviewed the training practices of over 750 firms found that 55 of those interviewed saw 360-degree feedback as leading edge in their training approaches and rely heavily on it for individual development plans and annual performance reviews. These companies like 360 because it supports team efforts, provides feedback from more than one source, is linked to the company's goals, and is less discriminatory. However, some companies believe that it should only be part of the appraisal system. In order to be most effective, 360-degree feedback requires considerable training of those who are doing the rating. It also has to have the complete backing of the organization, not hit or miss.

For this present assignment on appraisals, I read the article, "Your job-performance review: make your boss your partner in getting ahead. Advance preparation can help," which took an interesting point-of-view: The job evaluation is another critical responsibility for both the supervisor and employee. The worker should look at the job appraisal as something he/she should not dread, but on which to spend valuable time. The article states, "Look at the performance goals set in your previous review. Ask yourself, How many of these goals did I accomplish this year? Write a self-evaluation, being as honest and as specific as possible. Be prepared to give concrete examples. Ask yourself what new challenges you're ready to take on and which on-the-job accomplishments demonstrate that readiness." In addition, it is necessary to be proactive and review areas that need improvement and how the manager can support future job development.

This is good advice. In order to succeed, it is necessary to continually be better at what one does in education, personal life and at work. The job review… READ MORE

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