Performance appraisals examples
Performance appraisal is the measurement of employee performance. Before we look attechniques for performance appraisal, let's consider, why performance should beappraised in the first place.Why Appraise Performance?There are many reasons for measuring how well employees are performing. First, manyadministrative decisions, such as those dealing with promotions, salary increases, andlayoffs, depend on performance appraisals. Second, if employees are to do their jobs better in the future, they need to know how well they have done them in the past so thatthey can make adjustments in their work patterns as necessary. Finally, performanceappraisal is necessary as a check on new policies and programs. For example, if a new pay system has been implemented, it would be useful to see whether it has had a positiveeffect on employee performance.Pitfalls in Performance AppraisalPerformance appraisal is a difficult process. Problems may occur because of the nature of the job, the rater, or the situation. For instance, accurate appraisal is particularly difficultwhen work is non routine, when the rate and raters have differing perspectives, and whenthe appraisal system is incompatible with organization structure or technology. Further,many of the perceptual problems plague the performance-appraisal process. Clearly, greatcare needs to be exercised in selection, use, and refinement of performance-appraisalsystems.Types of Performance MeasuresThere are three major ways by which performance may be appraised. Appraisal can focuson traits, behaviors, or accomplishments.TRAIT APPROACHESUnder trait approaches, a manager or performance appraiser rates an employee on suchtraits as friendliness, efficiency, and reliability. Presumably, these traits are related to performance. One such approach asks the appraiser to check the word or phrase (such as"outstanding," "average," or "poor") that best describes how an employee rates on eachtrait. These trait approaches are very popular, but they suffer from a number of problems.For instance, words such as "superior" and "average" may mean different things todifferent people. The people appraising performance may feel uncomfortable givingsomeone a low score on such traits as efficiency, decisiveness, or supervisory ability,especially if their ratings will be shown to the person being rated. Appraisers may also be prone to various biases and rating errors.