A performance appraisal is an organization’s process of evaluating employees. It forms part of an organization’s performance management used to review employees’ performance over the duration of a specified time. A performance appraisal forms a crucial part of an organization’s structure and management practice. Organizations usually have different performance appraisal processes for their employees. The employers incorporate myriad performance appraisals depending on the organization’s goals and objectives to be achieved. The process of reviewing employees helps a company identify some of the weak areas that need improvement for efficiency. There are various qualities that a performance appraisal must have in order to accomplish predetermined goals and objectives. Employees’ performance should be evaluated to enable employees acknowledge their weaknesses and how to improve their performance. The following characteristics are essential for an effective performance appraisal (Deb, 2009, p. 45).
Performance appraisal, like any other management practice, should be valid and reliable to the organization and interested parties. In many cases, the management is expected to provide effective management practices and processes for evaluation of workers in the workplace. There are various measures that an organization can consider in ensuring performance appraisal is valid and reliable. For instance, in a performance and appraisal process, the OUCH test should be carried out to ensure fairness and equity in the entire process. The term OUCH stands for Objective, Uniform in application, Consistent in effect and Has job relatedness. These are some of the procedures that an employer should follow to the letter to ensure employees are effectively evaluated. By contrast, the method of evaluating can lead to wrong evaluation results and inconsistencies in the results. An effective performance appraisal should be reliable and valid in order to sense out of the information. A reliable and valid method is thus required in obtaining an effective job performance appraisal (Caruth & Handlogten, 2001, p. 78).
Despite its reliability and validity, a performance appraisal is expected to be widely accepted process within an organization. The acceptability of a performance appraisal means that the method used is supposed to be satisfactory and appropriate for persons using it. In a performance appraisal, the method used is also expected to be feasible. An evaluation tool should be addressed appropriately, and all organization’s stakeholders must have appreciated method to be used in the evaluation of the employee. Acceptability and feasibility and quality characteristics should ensure that employees fill out evaluation forms without any cause of alarm or blank spaces. The management should come up with appropriate evaluation forms to ensure all employees fill the required sections of the performance appraisal (Attorney, 2002, p. 28).
A job evaluation or review needs to be specific in order to provide accurate and effective evaluation procedures. Evaluation specificity ensures that employees are answerable and evaluated for their performance in accordance with the organization’s goals and objectives. Every participant should read and understand all the information provided in the review forms. The result of the performance should also be clearly identified to provide adequate information to an organization for rectifying. An organization should create specific measures to improve production capacity of employees and their performance with time. Understanding of a performance review is of crucial importance to an organization since employees are aware of the evaluation process. A performance appraisal method should ensure the accuracy of employees’ correspondence. The management expects to prevent generalizing performance reviews in order to obtain clear and precise information from employees (Caruth & Handlogten, 2001, p. 56).
The management is obligated to provide performance appraisals in with an organization’s goals, missions, and objectives. The performance review subjected to employees is anticipated to evaluate employees on the basis of the organization’s goals and objectives. An organization will train and improve its employees’ efficiency in the aim of achieving its goals and objectives. A performance appraisal will thus be designed in a way that organization’s goals and objectives are achieved in the long-run. Increasing employees’ performance through performance review should be carried out in accordance with expected goals and objectives. A job performance assessment should outline specific objectives, which all employees are anticipated to cover within a given time period (Deb, 2009, p, 19).
An organization should ensure that a performance appraisal is standardized through its procedures, rules, and appraisal forms. The organization’s management is obligated to standardize every bit of performance appraisal in order to ensure its efficiency. Employees are thus allowed to get acquainted with the organization’s standards and their effects. Standardization of performance appraisal is usually an important process in an organization's management practices (Attorney, 2002, p. 35).
Evaluators should be given an opportunity to get training and development procedures. It is important for evaluators to undergo some training procures in order to equip employees with the necessary skills and knowledge. Designing performance appraisals should be designed using the right skills and knowledge in order to cut the cost correcting the appraisal forms. Evaluation of performance within an organization is important in helping to improve production and efficiency of employees. Training of evaluators will assist the organization to improve its performance appraisal skills among employees (Caruth & Handlogten, 2001, p. 92).
A performance appraisal needs to have a feedback and employee participation in order to provide sufficient information on how to improve on employees’ performance and confidence. Performance review should be communicated to all employees and employers to ensure smooth running of activities in an organization. The method of job appraisal should be open and advocate for participation among employees. It is clear that feedback and participation from the organization’s employees. Though participation and feedback basis, performance, an employee is guaranteed of efficiency and improved performance in an organization (Deb, 2009, p. 42 ).
The aforementioned characteristics facilitate improvement of performance appraisal method and processes used in an organization. The management team is obligated to come up with the best and suitable way of carrying performance appraisal in order to embark on measures of improving and correcting employees’ weak points in the workplace. Employees are expected to answer appraisal forms as directed in the guidelines. This ensures that all necessary information from employees is transferred to the interested party for assessment. Employees evaluated on their job performance in order to identify any loopholes in performance. As a result, measures to improve performance are put in place. A performance appraisal will facilitate an organization improve on strategies of achieving goals and objectives (Attorney, 2002, p. 37).
An organization can adopt gain sharing practice in order to promote awareness, teamwork, involvement, communication and alignment. This practice is commonly applied to a single facility or a firm to enhance worker’s production and increase their motivation to work. Organizational management is thus expected to have a proper performance appraisal aimed at rectifying loopholes. A performance appraisal has a lot of advantages to an organization and workers' in general. It is important for a management team to design a performance appraisal which suits organizational goals and objectives to be achieved.
References
Attorney, A. D. (2002). Performance Appraisal Handbook. California: Nolo.
Deb, T. (2009). Performance Appraisal And Management. New Delhi: Excel Books India.
Donald L. Caruth, a. G. (2001). Managing Compensation (and Understanding it Too): A Handbook for the Perplexed. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
