In tough economic situation many companies question the effectiveness of traditional processes, including the processes in HR area, as they tend to evaluate costs versus outcome more precisely. One of the processes which is commonly considered old-fashioned and requiring significant changes, is Performance Appraisal.
Let’s try to define performance appraisal first. “An employee performance appraisal is a process—often combining both written and oral elements—whereby management evaluates and provides feedback on employee job performance, including steps to improve or redirect activities as needed” (Gale, 2012). As usual it is a regular formal process, however there is a tendency to make it informal. What are the main differences between formal and informal ways of performance evaluation and what are their advantages and drawbacks?
Informal performance evaluation takes place whenever it is considered appropriate by the manager. It does not imply any documentation and discussion takes place in an informal manner. The main advantage of this approach is that it allows to provide feedback immediately after the employee’s inappropriate behavior occurs, not waiting for months until a scheduled meeting occurs. Naturally it increases the chances that feedback will be understood correctly and performance will be improved quickly.
So what can be the best solution to make the system work efficiently without bureaucracy features? Combining of two approaches may help.
In the conclusion, it is important to mention that any process’ effectiveness is built on manager’s communication skills. Therefore it is vitally important for any approach to train managers to provide proper positive and constructive feedback. Only on this condition any kind of performance appraisal will be perceived by employees appropriately and will lead to results improving.
References
Gale S.F. (2012, June 29). How to build a Performance Management Program. Workforce. Retrieved on May 25th, 2016 from http://www.workforce.com/articles/how-to-build-a-performance-management-program
Ryan L. (2016, February 29). Ten good reasons to kill performance reviews. The Forbes. Retrieved on May 25th, 2016 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/02/29/ten-good-reasons-to-kill-performance-reviews/2/#35b5cfa24c81
