Quality Performance Appraisal for Library Staff

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Quality Performance Appraisalfor Library Staff

• Teresa To
• Run Run Shaw Library
• City University of Hong Kong
• 11 April 2007

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Definition

• The process of evaluating the performance and
  assessing the development and training needs of
  an employee
• Judgmental
• Staffs performance is evaluated by measuring
  against certain pre-set standards
• Developmental
• To identify staffs training needs
• To find out what can be done for the staff to
  improve

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Purposes

• Furnishes recognition for the meritorious aspects
  of the staff members performance
• Alerts the staff member to the degrees of
  improvement needed in any weaker aspect of
  his/her performance
• Prioritizes the aspects of performance in which
  improvement is needed

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Benefits

• Helps identify systematically the roles, tasks,
  targets and training plans for individuals
• Reinforce staff learning and development
• Encourage two-way communication
• Improve mutual understanding

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Benefits

• From an organizational point of view
• Goal setting and future plans are involved
• Convey and support departmental and institutional
  goals
• Appraisal can be a tool to identify individual
  staff needs and how they can be linked to the
  organizational management and future planning for
  training and development
• Specific actions and plans can be suggested as to
  how individuals could improve

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Benefits

• From the individuals point of view
• Learning needs can be identified
• Appraisal can also be an opportunity to reflect
  on their accomplishments and achievements.
• Hearing encouragement instead of judgment
• The motivation to improve can be enhanced and job
  satisfaction can be increased

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Common Problems

• What was said what was written
• Avoid argument
• Keep good relationship
• Embarrassing
• to evaluate colleagues
• to be evaluated
• Appraisal form
• Lack of integration with actual job duties
• One-for-all, too general
• Rating scale
• Nothing happen whatever is recorded in the
  appraisal

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Rating Errors

• Leniency
• give appraisees higher ratings than they deserve
• Severity
• give appraisees lower ratings than what they
  should get
• Central tendency
• choose the middle point in any range of rating
  scale to play safe
• Halo effect
• judge the appraisees performance by only one
  particular aspect
• Similarity or contrast error
• give people who are more similar to the appraiser
  a higher ranking or vice versa
• Stereotyping
• pre-judge a persons performance on the basis of
  general beliefs about characteristics such as
  gender, age and race

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Example

• Performance Planning, Appraisal Development
  (PPAD)
• of the
• City University of Hong Kong

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Objective Assessment
Job rotation Assessed by different appraisers Consistent standards Encourage staff to participate in projects Assessed by multiple supervisors Training of appraisers Review standards and revise guidelines Genuine care and concern about staff development and improvement Knowledge of coaching and mentoring Integrate with specific job duties Assess tasks performed, not person
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Planning and Implementation

• Objectives set together long before the interview
  and reviewed when necessary
• Interview session arranged in advance
• Allow substantial length of time for interview
• Full concentration required
• Convey institutional goals and how they are
  related to the staffs job duties
• Communicate expectations
• In-depth discussion on the tasks performed
• Encourage participation, interaction, sharing

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Impact

• Important reference for reinforcement and
  disciplinary activities
• An on-going and continuous exercise
• Action recommended should be followed up
• Should be compared with the previous year

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Developmental Staff Performance Appraisal
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
Communicate Expectations Recommend Training
Development
Follow up Training and Development Needs
Evaluate Progress Identify Objectives For
the Next Exercise
STAFF PARTICIPATION INTERACTION FEEDBACK
Revise and Adjust Training and Development Plan
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Staff Development

• Not just focus on learning practical knowledge
  and skills
• Stimulate staff to strive for better performance
• Encourage a change in working attitude
• Understand limitations and barriers
• Identify motivation and facilitators
• Find out how staff can learn more effectively

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Effective Staff Appraisal

• From evaluative approach human relations
  approach
• Strengthen communication and interaction between
  appraiser and appraisee
• Focus on training and development
• Assessment for learning
• NOT assessment of learning