Ways to make Performance Evaluations More Effective
Organizations can use the following ways to make performance evaluations more effective. It must be mentioned earlier in advance that each of these ways are important in their own right and hence effectiveness can only be achieved if and only they applied simultaneously. First, organizations must realize that goal-setting is a key aspect of performance. As such, everyone in the organization must be included in the goal-setting process. This ensures that the organization reflects the complexities of the business environment, the individual roles and capabilities in the goals and objectives. In addition to this, the company should also focus on few key goals rather having too many which are not only unrealistic but also spread the available resources. The goals selected must always been in line with big picture; that is both short and long term objective. These selected key goals must always be smart; specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
In addition to this, it is imperative for an organization to focus on behavioural change in order to have successful performance appraisals. In any business setting, the most important aspect of production is people; be it employees or the market. Since the market is an external factor, an organization cannot change how it behaves and this is the reason why behavioural change strategies should be limited to the workforce. It is common practise for the management to stress behavioural change among employees during meetings however they do not replicate the same during performance appraisals. This implies that despite employees knowing what is expected of them, they do need incentives to do it. As such, it is necessary that an organization assesses not only sett targets but also behavioural change framework within which these objectives should be achieved. In other words, performance appraisals should justify both the end and the means and not just the results.
Finally, the structuring of the performance appraisals is also significant in ascertaining whether they are effective or not. As a result, performance appraisals should always be simple. Both employees and managers need to understand what exactly is being evaluated because if they don’t then the appraisals would be null and void. The frequency of performance appraisals should also be realistic. However, it must be mentioned that the frequency of evaluating employee performance is based on the organizational goals and objectives; are they long term or short term. As such, all the relevant departments of the organization must be engaged before the frequency of performance appraisal is finally reached upon. In addition, the performance evaluation system should be flexible; this reflects the dynamic nature of the business environment.
References
Acebes, N. (2009, November 30). Four Attributes of an Effective Performance Management System in the Workplace. Retrieved November 17, 2012, from http://leadfrdheart.com/2009/11/four-attributes-of-an-effective-performance-management-system-in-the-workplace/
Pulakos, E. D. (2004). Performance Management: A roadmap for developing, implementing and evaluating performance management systems. Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation.
Suri, N. (2011). Career Journal: Making Performance Appraisals More Effective. The Wall Street Journal, Online Edition India, April 29, 2011 , available online at http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/04/29/career-journal-making-performance-appraisals-more-effective/.
