Performance Management

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Performance Management
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Lecture Outline

• Definitions
• Purposes
• Process
• Sources
• Types of Ratings and Measurement Methods
• Problems and Errors
• Giving Feedback

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Performance Management and Performance Appraisals

• Performance management definition
• Processes used to identify, encourage, measure,
  evaluate, improve, and reward employee
  performance.

• Performance appraisal definition
• The process of evaluating how well employees
  perform their jobs and then communicating that
  information to the employees.

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Discussion Question

• Have you received a performance appraisal at your
  job?
• Did you feel good about the process? Why or why
  not?

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Quick Quiz

• Rate as True or False
• Performance ratings should be job-related.
• Employees should not be given a written copy of
  their job standards in advance of appraisals.
• Managers who conduct the appraisal should be able
  to observe the behavior they are rating.
• Supervisors need not be trained to use the
  appraisal form correctly.
• Appraisals should be discussed openly with
  employees and counseling or corrective guidance
  offered.
• An appeals procedure should be established to
  enable employees to express disagreement with the
  appraisal.

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Discussion Question

• What is the ultimate goal of a performance
  appraisal?
• What percentage of performance appraisal are
  effective?

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Purposes of Performance Management

• Three purposes
• Developmental
• Administrative
• Strategic

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Developmental and Administrative
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Performance Management Process
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Quick Quiz

• Rate whether the HR Unit or Direct Supervisor
  generally handles the following tasks
• Designs and maintains appraisal system
• Trains raters
• Typically rates performance of employees
• Prepares formal appraisal documents
• Reviews appraisal with employees
• Tracks timely receipt of appraisals
• Reviews completed appraisals for consistency
• Identifies developmental areas

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Sources of Appraisal Faceless People
Supervisor
Team
Peers
Self
Customers
Subordinates
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Discussion Question

• What is it called when you get appraised by
  people at all different levels of the
  organization?
• Do you think this approach is effective? Why or
  why not?

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Measurement Methods

• Traits
• Behaviors
• Results
• Disclaimer Well go through this quickly!

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Trait Methods

• Forced-choice method
• Requires the rater to choose from statements
  designed to distinguish between successful and
  unsuccessful performance.
• Graphic-rating scale method
• A trait approach to performance appraisal whereby
  each employee is rated according to a scale of
  individual characteristics.
• Mixed-standard scale method
• An approach to performance appraisal similar to
  other scale methods but based on comparison with
  (better than, equal to, or worse than) a
  standard.
• Essay method
• Requires the rater to compose a statement
  describing employee behavior.

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Forced-Choice Distribution Scale
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Graphic Rating Scale
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Mixed-Standard Scale
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Behavioral Methods

• Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)
• A performance appraisal that consists of a series
  of vertical scales, one for each dimension of job
  performance.
• Behavior observation scale (BOS)
• A performance appraisal that measures the
  frequency of observed behavior.
• Critical incident
• An unusual event denoting superior or inferior
  employee performance in some part of the job.

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Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
FIREFIGHTING STRATEGY Knowledge of Fire
Characteristics.
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Behavior Observation Scale (BOS)
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Results Methods

• Productivity
• How much do you get done?
• Management by objectives (MBO)
• A philosophy of management that rates performance
  on the basis of employee achievement of goals set
  by mutual agreement of employee and manager.
• Key MBO ideas
• Employee involvement creates higher levels of
  commitment and performance.
• Encourages employees to work effectively toward
  achieving desired results.
• Performance measures should be measurable and
  should define results.

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Summary of Appraisal Methods
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Introduction to Appraisal Problems

• Rate the following movies on a scale of 1 (poor)
  to 5 (outstanding)
• Karate Kid I
• Back to the Future I
• Ferris Buellers Day Off
• Breakfast Club
• Pretty in Pink

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Common Appraisal Problems

• Inadequate preparation on the part of the
  manager.
• Employee is not given clear objectives at the
  beginning of performance period.
• Manager may not be able to observe performance or
  have all the information.

• Inconsistency in ratings among supervisors or
  other raters.
• Performance standards may not be clear.
• Rating personality rather than performance.

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Common Appraisal Problems (Ctd.)

• Inappropriate time span (either too short or too
  long).
• Overemphasis on uncharacteristic performance.
• Subjective or vague language in written
  appraisals.

• Organizational politics or personal relationships
  cloud judgments.
• No thorough discussion of causes of performance
  problems.
• Manager may not be trained at evaluation or
  giving feedback.
• No follow-up and coaching after the evaluation.

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Discussion Question

• Why are performance appraisals often high even
  when performance is not up to par?

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Common Rating Errors

• Halo/horn
• Overly focusing on specific performance ratings
  or stereotyping employee by a single personal
  characteristic.
• Leniency
• Rating all employees higher than they should be.
• Strictness
• Rating all employees lower that they should be.
• Central tendency
• Rating all employees as average when individual
  employee performance actually varies.

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Common Rating Errors (Ctd.)

• Primacy
• Using initial information that supports the
  rating decision while ignoring later information
  that does not.
• Recency
• Basing the rating decision primarily on the most
  recent performance information while placing much
  less emphasis on past performance.
• Contrast effects
• Comparing one employee to another rather than
  applying a common standard to all employees.

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Quick Quiz

• Bill rates all of his employees very low except
  for Jan. Jan gets above average ratings because
  she consistently comes to work on time. The
  rating errors Bill makes are _______ and _______,
  respectively.
• Leniency Horn
• Strictness Halo
• Similar-to-me Central Tendency
• Horn Strictness

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Quick Comic
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K.C.
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Dawson
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K.C. and Dawson
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Quick Comic
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Providing Feedback

• Issues to consider when providing feedback
• Differing perspectives
• Timing
• Preparation
• Content of the discussion
• Follow-up

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Discussion Question

• Why is it so difficult to provide feedback?
• How can you provide negative feedback that leads
  to motivation rather than withdrawal?

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Providing Feedback (Ctd.)

• Differing perspectives
• Combining evaluative and developmental goals
• Need to be candid and protect employees
  self-esteem
• Self-serving employee attributions that interfere
  with performance improvement
• Discounting role of external forces in good
  performance
• Over-emphasizing external effects in poor
  performance

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Providing Feedback (Ctd.)

• Timing
• Providing immediate feedback is most useful
• Giving only as much information as the receiver
  can use
• Preparation
• Scheduling feedback sessions in advance
• Clarifying purpose and content of meeting
• Giving both participants time to prepare

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Providing Feedback (Ctd.)

• Content of the discussion The problem-solving
  approach
• Diagnosis Seek to understand the factors that
  affect performance.
• Roadblocks Seek agreement with the employee on
  an action plan to address issues such as
• Lack of resources
• Need for additional information and training
• Improving ongoing communications and feedback
• Mutual goal setting Employee participation
  increases employee acceptance of goals.

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Providing Feedback (Ctd.)

• Diagnosing the causes of performance deficiencies
• Does the employee have the competencies and the
  interest to perform as desired?
• Have specific, difficult but attainable goals
  been communicated?
• Is the employee certain about desired
  performance, the consequences of performance,
  his/her power (level of authority)?

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Sample Checklist for Diagnosing the Causes of
Performance
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Follow-Up to the Feedback Session

• Positive reinforcement
• Use of positive rewards to increase occurrence of
  desired performance
• People perform in ways that they find most
  rewarding
• By providing proper rewards, it is possible to
  improve performance
• Punishment
• Decreases frequency of undesired behavior
• Gets immediate results and has vicarious power
• Can have undesirable side effectsemployee anger
  and contingent bad behavior

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Take-Home Points

• Understand purpose of performance management
• Aware of the various methods for assessing
  performance
• Knowledge of difficulties of performance
  management and ways to improve it
• Knowledge of best way to provide feedback when
  you are managing someone