Appraising Performance of

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Chapter 11
Appraising Performance of Office Employees
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Current Uses of Performance Appraisal (1 of 2)
Helps identify subordinates strengths and
weaknesses.
Provides input for making decisions about
salary increases, promotions, and transfers.
Provides input in workforce planning.
Helps strengthen communication between
supervisors and subordinates.
Improves quality of communication between
supervisors and subordinates.
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Current Uses of Performance Appraisal (2 of 2)
Improves quality of supervision.
Has a positive impact on career growth and
development of employees.
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Characteristics of Performance Appraisal
Programs (1 of 2)
1. Must elicit a change in employee behavior.
2. Must provide a basis for making compensation
decisions.
3. Must provide information for making
decisions about promotion, transfer, or
termination.
4. Must enhance employee motivation.
5. Must provide feedback for use in validating
various phases of the personnel program.
6. Must facilitate supervisor-subordinate
communication.
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Characteristics of Performance Appraisal
Programs (2 of 2)
7. Must use appropriate evaluation base in
relation to intended use of appraisal results.
8. Must use clearly stated, objective, and
well- understood performance standards.
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Performance Standards
Are critical to the success of the program.
Standards must be shared with employees at the
time of hire.
Appraisal criteria involving standards
are determined by intended use of results.
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Methods of Performance Appraisal (1 of 2)
Graphic Rating Scale Paired Comparison
Appraisal Checklist Simple Ranking Forced
Choice Critical Incidents Peer Rating Group
Rating Self-Appraisal Narrative Appraisal
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Methods of Performance Appraisal (2 of 2)
Field Staff Review Results-oriented
Appraisal Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
Appraisal Mixed Standards Scale Computerized
Appraisal
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Graphic Rating Scale
Is most widely used technique.
Rater indicates degree to which ratee
possesses each specific characteristic or trait
found on the rating form.
Forms Use Three Methods
Descriptive Phrases
Descriptive Words
Numerical Scales
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Traits Must Be Measurable
Shortcomings
1. All traits are of equal importance unless
they are weighted.
2. Subject to certain errors.
3. Rates past performance after it is too late
to change.
4. May not give employees incentive to overcome
their weaknesses.
5. Some forms contain too many traits others,
too few.
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Paired Comparison Appraisal
Technique involves comparing one individual with
with each of the other individuals in a work
group.
Evaluation can be based on specific traits or
overall performance.
Uses a grid in the evaluation process.
Shortcoming
Is limited as to number of employees who can
be effectively rated.

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Checklist
Uses a form that contains a series of
statements about various traits.

Rater appraises ratee by responding to each
statement.
It rates specific items, not overall performance.
Shortcoming

It tends to treat all items of equal weight.
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Simple ranking

Ranks individuals from the best to worst.
Is simple and accommodates a fairly large number
of employees.
It tends to rate overall performance.
Shortcoming
Although all employees may be performing well,
someone has to be rated the worst.

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Forced Choice
Consists of 25-40 sets of statements.

From a list of 5 statements, rater chooses
statement most descriptive and least
descriptive about person being rated other 3
statements are neutral.
Is an objective process because rater doesnt
know which statements affect the ratees
performance.
Shortcomings
Is costly to develop and install.
Doesnt lend itself to employee counseling.
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Critical Incidents
Involves formulating a list of critical job
requirements for each position.

Supervisor then observes subordinates for
favorable or unfavorable displays of these
requirements.
Requirements are recorded on a record sheet.
Shortcoming
Employee may have impression that supervisor
keeps a little black book.
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Peer Rating
Uses co-workers to evaluate the performance of
an individual.

Peers often see different things than does the
super- visor.
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Group Rating
Uses a group to appraise the performance of an
individual.

Tends to be fairly objective because of multiple
individuals used.
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Self-Appraisal
Using a rating form, the employee rates
himself/herself.

Supervisor also rates the employee.
During appraisal interview, results are
compared, trait by trait.
Employees feel they are more involved in the
process because they rate themselves.
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Narrative Appraisal
Supervisor prepares a written report about the
employees performance.

Typically includes an improvement plan
identifying how employee will improve his/her
performance in deficient areas.
Shortcoming
Makes it impossible to compare performance of
individuals.
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Field Staff Review
Uses an objective outsider in the evaluation
process.

Employee being evaluated and his/her supervisor
are questioned orally by the appraiser.
Shortcoming
Makes it difficult to provide appraisals as often
as may be necessary.
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Results-Oriented Appraisal
Is closely aligned with management by objectives.
Is often used in conjunction with another
appraisal technique.

Is advantageous because it takes into
consideration future, not past, performance.
Shortcoming
Some work cannot be quantified to make the
process work well.
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Well-Defined Steps
1. Measurable performance goals are set jointly
by the supervisor and the subordinate.

2. Specific courses of action are agreed upon to
accomplish these goals.
3. At interim intervals, supervisor and
subordinate discuss progress made toward
achieving goals.
4. At end of rating period, supervisor and
subordinate officially evaluate the extent to
which goals are achieved.
5. Goals for next evaluation period are set.
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Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
Technique uses a series of 5-10 scales.
Each important job dimension is reflected in a
separate scale.
Within each scale, varying degrees of job
performance are reflected.
Produces objective results.
Shortcoming
Developing scales is a time-consuming process.
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Mixed Standard Scales
Is tailored to specific positions.
Regarding each standard, the rater indicates
whether the employees performance is better
than, compara- ble, or worse than the
performance level expressed in the statement.
Shortcoming
Cannot determine how an employees performance
compares to that of other employees.
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Computerized Appraisal
Uses software programs to facilitate the
appraisal process.
Supervisor identifies important traits for each
subordinate.
Supervisors evaluate subordinate on the basis of
these traits.
Program contains a vast number of traits.
Shortcoming
Many of the traits listed are likely to be
irrelevant for a given position.
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Rating Errors (1 of 2)
Results when the rating on one trait influences
an employees rating on all other traits.
Halo-Horns Effect
Supervisors objectivity is clouded by
employees recent favorable or unfavorable
performance.
Influence of Recent Performance
Involves allowing unconscious bias or prejudice
to enter appraisal process.
Bias
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Rating Errors (2 of 2)
Tendency of some supervisors to rate
their subordinates at the extremes (high or low).
Extreme Ratings
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Analysis of Appraisal Results
Involves determining the reliability and validity
of appraisal results.
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Appraisers of Employee Performance
Immediate Supervisor
Self-rating
Rating Committees
Peer Ratings
360-degree Feedback
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Appraisal Interviews
Process involves discussing appraisal results
with ratees.
Helps ratees learn where they need to improve
their performance.
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Employee Promotion
Is an effective technique for helping employees
achieve their needs, especially esteem and
self-actualization.
Two Types of Promotion
Employee receives a new job title.
Major
Employee moves from one level to another within
the same job title.
Minor
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Practices that Help Assure Nondiscriminatory Promo
tion Practices
1. Allow employees to bid on job openings.
2. Base written performance appraisal on
written job-related performance standards.
3. Discuss written performance appraisal
results with subordinates.
4. Track promotions of employees categorized as
members of a protected group.
5. Have supervisors keep a log of subordinates
work performance.