Gathering Performance

Information
Appraisal Forms
●
The performance management process includes several stages: prerequisites,
performance planning, performance execution, performance assessment,
performance review and performance renewal and recontracting.
●
An important component of the performance assessment stage is the use of
appraisal forms.
●
These forms are instruments used to document and evaluate performance.
Components
●
Basic employee information
– Job title, division, department and other work group information, employee
number, and pay grade or salary classification, an employee’s starting date with
the company and starting date in the current job, the reason for the appraisal,
current salary and position in range, and the date of the next scheduled
evaluation.
●
Accountabilities, objectives, and standards
– If the organization adopts a results approach, include the name and description
of each accountability, objectives agreed upon by manager and employee, and
the extent to which the objectives have been achieved. also include a subsection
describing conditions under which performance was achieved.
●
Competencies and indicators
– Organization adopts a behavior approach
– A definition of the various competencies to be assessed, together with their
behavioral indicators.
●
Major achievements and contributions
– Major accomplishments of the individual being rated during the review period.
– These could refer to results, behaviors, or both.
●
Developmental achievements
– Information about the extent to which the developmental goals set for the
review period have been achieved.
– Summary of activities, such as workshops attended and courses taken as well
as results, such as new skills learned. Evidence of having learned new skills
can be documented.
– Although some organizations include developmental achievements in the
appraisal form, others choose to include them in a separate form.
●
Developmental needs, plans, and goals
– Is future oriented and includes information about specific goals and timetables in
terms of employee development.
●
Stakeholder input
– Who have first-hand knowledge of and are affected by the employee’s
performance.
●
Employee comments
– Which improves the perceived fairness of the system
– Helps with legal issues because it documents that the employee has had an
opportunity to participate in the evaluation process
●
Signatures
– The employee being rated, the rater, and the rater’s supervisor provide their
signatures to show they have seen and discussed the content of the form.
Characteristics
●
Simplicity
– Easy to understand, easy to administer, quick to complete, clear, and concise.
●
Relevancy
– include information related directly to the tasks and responsibilities of the job.
●
Descriptiveness
– The form should be sufficiently descriptive that an outside party (e.g.,
supervisor’s supervisor or HR department) has a clear understanding of the
performance information conveyed
●
Adaptability
– Different functions and departments to adapt them to their particular needs and
situations.
– Encourages widespread use of the form.
●
Comprehensiveness
– Include all the major areas of performance for a particular position for the entire
review period.
●
Definitional clarity
– Desirable competencies and results are clearly defined for all raters so that everyone
evaluates the same attributes.
– Consistency of ratings across raters and levels of the organization
●
Communication
– The meaning of each of the components of the form must be successfully
communicated to all people participating in the evaluation process.
– This enhances acceptance of the system and motivation to participate in it both
as raters and as ratees.
●
Time orientation
– They address not only the past but also the future.
Determining Overall Rating
●
After the form has been completed, there is usually a need to compute an overall
performance score.
●
This is particularly necessary for making administrative decisions such as the
allocation of rewards.
●
Computing overall performance scores is also useful in determining whether
employees, and groups of employees, are improving their performance over time.
●
Two main strategies are used to obtain an overall performance score for each
employee:
– Judgmental
– Mechanical.
●
Judgemental Procedure
– Considering every aspect of performance and then arriving at a defensible
summary.
– This basically holistic procedure relies on the ability of the rater to arrive at a
fair and accurate overall score
●
Mechanical Procedure
– Considering the scores assigned to each section of the appraisal form and then
adding them up to obtain an overall score.
– When adding scores from each section, weights are typically used based on the
relative importance of each performance dimension measured.
Appraisal Period

●
Annual
●
Semi-annual
●
Quarterly
Best time to complete the reviews
●
Most organizations adopt one of two possibilities.
– Appraisal form could be completed on or around the annual anniversary date.
○
The biggest advantage of this choice is that the supervisor does not have to
fill out everyone’s forms at one time.
○
The disadvantage of this choice is that, because results are not tied to a
common cycle for all employees, resulting rewards cannot be tied to the
fiscal year.
– Second choice is to complete the appraisal forms toward the end of the fiscal
year.
○
Adopting this approach leads to the completion of the appraisal form for
all employees at about the same time, thereby facilitating cross-employee
comparisons as well as the distribution of rewards.
○
Individual goal setting can be more easily tied to corporate goal setting
because most companies align their goal cycle with their fiscal year.
○
Additional work imposed on the supervisors who need to evaluate all
employees at once during a short period of time
Six Types of Formal Meetings
●
System Inauguration
– How the system works and the identification of the requirements and
responsibilities resting primarily on the employee and on the supervisor
– The role of self appraisal and the dates when the employee and supervisor will
meet formally to discuss performance issues.
– Important for new employees
●
Self – Appraisal
– This meeting is informational in nature
– Provides an opportunity for the employee to describe how she sees her own
performance during the review period.
●
Classical Performance Review
– Employee performance is discussed, includes both the perspective of the
supervisor and that of the employee.
– This meeting is mainly past oriented and typically does not focus on what
performance should look like in the future.
●
Merit / Salary Review
– It is useful to separate the discussion of rewards from the discussion of
performance so that the employee can focus on performance first and then on
rewards.
 – Although these meetings are separate, supervisors should explain clearly the
link between the employee’s performance, discussed in detail in a previous
meeting, and the rewards given. Rewards are not likely to carry their true
weight if they are not linked directly to performance.
●
Development Plan
– The employee’s developmental needs and what steps will be taken so that
performance will be improved during the following period.
– Information about what types of resources will be provided to the employee to
facilitate the development of any required new skills.
–
●
Objective Setting
– Includes setting goals, both behavioral and result oriented, regarding the
following review period.
– At this point, the employee has received very clear feedback about her
performance during the past review period, knows what rewards will be
allocated (if any), understands developmental needs and goals, and knows
about resources available to help in the process of acquiring any required skills.
Who Should Provide Performance Information
●
Employees should be involved in selecting
– Which sources evaluate
– Which performance dimensions

●
When employees are actively involved
– Higher acceptance of results
– Perception that system is fair
●
Direct knowledge of employee performance
– Supervisors
– Peers
– Subordinates
– Self
– Customers
Supervisors
●
Supervisors are often the most important source of performance information
because they are knowledgeable about strategic issues, understand performance,
and are usually in charge of managing employee performance.
●
Make decisions about rewards
●
some cultural contexts, supervisors are seen as the exclusive source due to the
pervasiveness of hierarchical organizational structures.
●
Supervisor may not be able to directly observe performance.
●
Evaluations may be biased.
Peers
●
Assess Teamwork
●
Possible friendship bias
●
May be less discriminating
●
Context effects
Subordinate
●
Subordinates are a good source of information regarding the performance of their
managers
– Subordinates are in a good position to evaluate leadership competencies, including
delegation, organization, and communication.
●
Subordinates may be asked to rate their manager’s ability to
– Remove barriers that employees face,
– Shield employees from politics,
– Raise employees’ competence.
●
Is more accurate when the resulting ratings are to be used for developmental purposes
rather than administrative purposes.
Self
●
When employees are given the opportunity to participate in the performance
management process, their acceptance of the resulting decision is likely to increase,
and their defensiveness during the appraisal interview is likely to decrease.
●
Employee is in a good position to keep track of activities during the review period,
whereas a supervisor may have to keep track of the performance of several
employees
●
May be more lenient and biased
●
Suggestions to improve quality of self-appraisals
– Use comparative instead of absolute measurement systems
– Allow employees to practice their self-appraisals
– Ensure confidentiality
– Emphasize the future
Customers
●
Collecting information from customers can be a costly and time-consuming
process; however, performance information provided by customers is particularly
useful for jobs that require a high degree of interaction with the public or with
particular job-related individuals (e.g., purchasing managers, suppliers, sales
representatives) .
●
Customers may be of Internal and External also
Disagreement Across Sources
●
If performance information is collected from more than one source, each source is likely to
evaluate performance dimensions that are unique to each source ( subordinates may
evaluate “delegation,” but this competency may not be included on the form used by the
direct supervisor )
●
Once the competencies and results that need to be measured are identified for a particular
position, a decision needs to be made regarding which source of information will be used
to assess each dimension.
●
It is likely that there will be some overlap, and some dimensions will be rated by more than
one source. Regardless of the final decision, it is important that employees take an active
role in deciding which sources will rate which dimensions. Active participation in the
process is likely to enhance acceptance of results and perceptions that the system is fair.
●
Those rating the same employee may be drawn from different organizational levels, and
they probably observe different facets of the employee’s performance, even if they are
evaluating the same general competency ( the behavioral indicators for the same
competency may vary across sources )
●
For each source, the behaviors and results to be rated must be defined clearly so that
biases are minimized.
●
It is important that the employee receive information on how her performance was rated
by each of the sources used.
●
When feedback is broken down by source, the employee can place particular attention and
effort on the interactions involving the source that has detected performance deficiencies.
●
If disagreements are found, a decision must be made regarding the relative
importance of the rating provided by each source.
●
Assigning differential weights to the scores provided by the different sources in
computing the overall performance score used for administrative purposes.
Types of Rating Errors
●
Performance ratings may be intentionally or unintentionally distorted or inaccurate.
When this happens, incorrect decisions may be made, employees are likely to feel
they are treated unfairly, and the organization is more prone to litigation.
●
Rating behaviors are influenced by
– the motivation to provide accurate ratings and
– the motivation to distort ratings
●
The motivation to provide accurate ratings is determined by whether the rater
expects positive and negative consequences of accurate ratings and by whether the
probability of receiving these rewards and punishments will be high if accurate
ratings are provided.
●
The motivation to distort ratings is determined by whether the rater expects any
positive and negative consequences of rating distortion and by the probability of
experiencing such consequences if ratings are indeed distorted.
●
Raters may be motivated to distort performance information and provide inflated or
deflated ratings ( may not even be trying to measure performance accurately and
may attempt to use performance ratings for other goals )
●
A supervisor may be motivated to provide inflated ratings to
– Maximize the merit raise / rewards
– Encourage employees
– Avoid confrontation with employees
– Promote undesired employees out of unit
– Make the manager look good to his / her supervisor
●
A supervisor may be motivated to provide deflated ratings to
– Shock an employee
– Teach a rebellious employee a lesson
– Send a message to the employee that he should consider leaving
– Build a strongly documented written record of poor performance
●
What can be done to prevent conscious distortion of ratings
– Need to provide incentives so that raters will be convinced that they have more
to gain by providing accurate ratings than they do by providing inaccurate
ratings
– Accountability in the system
○
Have raters justify their ratings
○
Have the raters justify their ratings in a face-to-face meeting
●
The performance management system needs to be designed in such a way that the
benefits of providing accurate ratings outweigh the benefits of providing inaccurate
ratings.
Rater Training Programs
●
Rater training programs have the overall objective of providing raters with tools
that will allow them to implement the performance management system effectively
and efficiently.
●
These training programs also help prevent rating distortion.
●
It should include
– Information
– Motivation
– Identifying, observing, recording and evaluating performance
– How to interact with employees when they receive performance information
Topics to be covered
●
Reasons for implementing the performance management system
●
Information on the appraisal form and system mechanics
●
Benefits of providing accurate ratings
●
Tools for providing accurate ratings
●
How to identify and rank job activities
●
How to observe, record, and measure performance
●
How to minimize rating errors
●
How to conduct an appraisal interview
●
How to train, counsel and coach
Implementing a Performance
Management System
●
The successful implementation of the system requires a clear understanding of how
the system works and a clear understanding of its benefits from the different
perspectives of all involved.
●
Initially, it may be that each organizational layer and unit will include only one or
just a handful of individuals who are knowledgeable and supportive of the system
Preparation
●
Before the system is launched,
– A successful communication plan must be implemented that will gain system
acceptance.
– Raters are trained to observe and evaluate performance as well as to give
feedback.
– The system should then be tested ( pilot test - the results should be used to fix
any glitches )
●
After the system has been tested and launched, there is a need to monitor and
evaluate the system on an ongoing basis to determine whether it is working
properly and what adjustments may be needed to make it work.
Communication Plan
●
Organizations often design a communication plan to ensure that information
regarding the performance management system is widely disseminated in the
organization. A good communication plan answers the following questions:

– What is performance management

○
General information about performance management, how performance
management systems are implemented in other organizations, and the
general goals of performance management systems
– How does performance management fit into our Strategy
○
Provide information on the relationship between performance management and
strategic planning. Specifically, information is provided on how the performance
management system will help accomplish strategic goals.
– What’s in it for me
○
Describes the benefits of implementing performance management for all those
involved.
– How does it work
○
Detailed description of the performance management process and time line (when
meetings will take place, what the purposes of each meeting are, and when
decisions about rewards will be made)
 – What are our roles and responsibilities
○
Each person involved at each stage of the process
– How does PM relate to other initiatives
○
Information on the relationship between performance management and other
initiatives and systems such as training, promotion, and succession planning.
●
The fact that the information has been made available does not necessarily mean the
communication plan will be successful in gaining acceptance.
●
This is because people have cognitive biases that affect what information is taken in
and how it is processed.
Cognitive biases
●
There are three types of cognitive biases that affect the effectiveness of a communication plan
– Selective exposure
○
Is a tendency to expose our minds only to ideas with which we already agree.
– Selective perception
○
Is a tendency to perceive a piece of information as meaning what we would like it to
mean even though the information, as intended by the communicator, may mean the
exact opposite.
– Selective retention
○
Is a tendency to remember only those pieces of information with which we already
agree.
●
There are several ways to minimize the negative impact of these biases. They are;
– Involving employees
○
People support what they help create. The higher the level of participation
is in designing the system, the greater the support for the system will be.
– Understanding employee needs
○
Understand the needs of the employees, and identify ways in which these
needs can be met through performance management.
○
Basically, provide a personal, clear, and convincing answer to the “What’s
in it for me?” question.
– Strike first
○
Create a positive attitude toward the new performance system before any
negative attitudes and rumors are created.
○
Make communications realistic, and do not set up expectations you cannot
deliver.
○
Discuss some of the arguments that might be used against the system, and
provide evidence to counter them
– Provide facts and consequences
○
Don’t let users draw their own conclusions and biases
– Put it in writing
○
More powerful and credible than spoken communications
○
Create documentation, which can be made available online, describing the
system.
– Use multiple channels of communication
○
Make sure the channels all convey consistent information
– Use credible communicators
○
Communication should be delivered by people who are trusted and
admired within the organization.
– Say it, and then say it again
○
Since people can absorb only a small amount of information at a time, the
information must be repeated frequently.
Appeals
●
The inclusion of an appeals process
– Helps in resolving disagreements in an amicable and non retaliatory way
– Increases perceptions of the system as fair
●
When an appeals process is in place, employees have the ability to question two
types of issues:
– Judgmental
– Administrative
●
Judgmental
– Center on the validity of the performance evaluation. ( An employee may
believe that a manager’s performance ratings for that employee do not reflect
his actual performance )
●
Administrative
– Issues involve whether the policies and procedures were followed. ( An
employee may argue that her supervisor did not meet with her as frequently as
he had with her coworkers and that the feedback she is receiving about her
performance is not as thorough as that received by her coworkers )
Level 1 or Level A
●
When an appeal is first filed, the HR department serves as a mediator between the
employee and the supervisor.
●
An appeal sent to the HR department is usually called a Level 1 or Level A appeal.
●
The HR department is in a good position to judge whether policies and procedures
have been implemented correctly and has good information about the various jobs,
levels of performance expected, and levels of performance of other employees
within the unit and organization.
●
HR department either suggests corrective action to the supervisor or informs the
employee that the decision or procedures were correct.
Level 2 or Level B
●
If the supervisor does not believe corrective action should be taken, or if the
employee does not accept the HR decision, and the appeal continues, then an outside
and unbiased arbitrator makes a final and binding resolution.
●
This is usually called a Level 2 or Level B appeal.
●
This arbitrator can consist of a panel of peers and managers.
●
The panel reviews the case, asks questions, interviews witnesses, researches
precedents, and reviews policy. Then, they simply take a vote to make the decision.
●
In some cases, the vote represents the final decision. In other cases, the vote is
forwarded to a high-level manager (vice president or higher level) who takes the
panel’s vote into consideration in making the final decision.
Choices of Training Programs
●
Rater Error Training (RET)
●
Frame of Reference Training (FOR)
●
Behavioral Observation Training (BO)
●
Self-Leadership Training (SL)
Rater Error Training (RET)
●
The goal is to increase rating accuracy by making raters aware of the unintentional
errors they are likely to make and to help them develop strategies to minimize those
errors.
●
This can be done by showing videotaped vignettes designed to elicit rating errors
and asking trainees to fill out appraisal forms regarding the situations that they
observed on the videotapes. Finally, a comparison is made between the ratings
provided by the trainees and the correct ratings. The trainer then explains why the
errors took place, which specific errors were made, and ways to overcome the
errors in the future
●
RET does not guarantee increased accuracy ( Raters do become aware of the
possible errors they can make but, because many of the errors are unintentional,
simple awareness of the errors does not mean that errors will not be made )
●
It may be useful to expose raters to the range of possible errors.
●
These errors include the following:
– Unintentional
– Intentional
Intentional
●
Leniency
– Leniency error occurs when raters assign high (lenient) ratings to most or all
employees.
– It involves artificial rating inflation
●
Severity
– Severity error occurs when raters assign low (severe) ratings to most or all employees.
– It involves artificial rating deflation.
●
Central tendency
– It is hard to make performance-based distinctions among employees rated by the same
rater.
Unintentional
●
Similar to me error
– Supervisors are more likely to give higher performance ratings to those
employees who are perceived to be more similar to them in terms of attitudes,
preferences, personality, and demographic variables including race and gender
●
Contrast error
– If an absolute measurement system is in place, supervisors compare individuals
with one another instead of against predetermined standards.
– This error is most likely to occur when supervisors complete multiple appraisal
forms at the same time because, in such situations, it is difficult to ignore the
ratings given to other employees.
–
●
Halo error
– when raters fail to distinguish among the different aspects of performance
being rated
– This error is typically caused by the supervisor’s assigning performance ratings
based on an overall impression about the employee instead of evaluating each
performance dimension independently
●
Primacy error
– when performance evaluation is influenced mainly by information collected
during the initial phases of the review period
●
Recency error
– Raters are more heavily influenced by behaviors taking place toward the end of the
review period instead of giving equal importance and paying attention to incidents
occurring throughout the entire review period
●
Negativity error
– Raters place more weight on negative information than on positive and neutral
information
●
First impression error
– First impression error occurs when raters make an initial favorable or unfavorable
judgment about an employee and then ignore subsequent information that does not
support the initial impression.
 – This type of error can be confounded with the “similar-to-me error” because
first impressions are likely to be based on the degree of similarity: the more
similar the person is to the supervisor, the more positive the first impression
will be
●
Spillover error
– Occurs when scores from previous review periods unjustly influence current
ratings
●
Stereotype error
– Occurs when a supervisor has an oversimplified view of individuals based on
group membership
●
Attribution error
– If supervisors make incorrect inferences about the employees’ dispositions and
ignore situational characteristics, actions taken to improve performance may
fail because the same situational constraints may still be present
Frame of Reference Training (FOR)
●
It helps in improving the raters accuracy by thoroughly familiarizing raters with the various
performance dimensions to be assessed.
●
A typical FOR training program includes;
– A discussion of the job description for the individuals being rated and the duties involved.
– Raters are then familiarized with the performance dimensions to be rated by reviewing the
definitions for each dimension and discussing examples of good, average, and poor performance.
– Raters are then asked to use the appraisal forms to be used in the actual performance
management system to rate fictitious employees usually shown in written or videotaped practice
vignettes. The trainees are also asked to write a justification for the ratings.
– Finally, the trainer informs trainees of the correct ratings for each dimension and the reasons for
such ratings and discusses differences between the correct ratings and those provided by the
trainees.
Behavioral Observation Training (BO)
●
Focuses on how raters observe, store, recall, and use information about
performance. Fundamentally, this type of training improves raters’ skills at
observing performance
●
involves showing raters how to use observational aids such as notes or diaries.
These observational aids help raters record a preestablished number of behaviors on
each performance dimension and record of critical incidents throughout the review
period
●
Self-Leadership Training (SL)
●
It is to improve a rater’s confidence in her ability to manage performance
●
The assumption is that if there is increased self-direction, self-motivation, and
confidence, there will be increased accuracy.
Pilot Testing
●
It is a good idea to test a version of the entire system so that adjustments and
revisions can be made as needed.
●
Meetings take place between supervisor and employee, performance data are
gathered, developmental plans are designed, and feedback is provided and also all
participants maintain records noting any difficulties they encountered, ranging from
problems with the appraisal form and how performance is measured to the
feedback received.
●
The pilot test allows for the identification and early correction of any flaws before
the system is implemented throughout the organization
●
End users are likely to have a higher system acceptance rate knowing that
stakeholders in the company had a say in its design, rather than feeling that the
system was created by the HR department alone.
●
In selecting the group, we must also consider that the group should be sufficiently
large and representative of the entire organization so that reactions from the group
will be generalizable to the rest of the organization.
●
Pilot testing the system can provide huge savings and identify potential problems
before they become irreversible and the credibility of the system is ruined
permanently.
Benefits
●
Gain information from potential participants
●
Learn about difficulties / obstacles
●
Collect recommendations on how to improve system
●
Understand personal reactions
●
Get early buy-in from some participants
●
Get higher rate of acceptance
Ongoing Monitoring and Evaluation
●
A decision needs to be made about how to evaluate the system’s effectiveness, how
to evaluate the extent to which the system is being implemented as planned, and
how to evaluate the extent to which it is producing the intended results.
●
Evaluation data should include reactions to the system and assessments of the
system’s operational and technical requirements.
●
Interviews can be conducted with key stakeholders including managers and
employees who have been involved in developing and implementing the
performance management system
Indicators to Consider

●
Number of individuals evaluated
●
Distribution of performance ratings
●
Quality of information
●
Quality of follow-up actions
●
Quality of performance discussion meetings
●
System satisfaction
●
Cost-benefit ratio or return on investment (ROI)
●
Unit-level and organization-level performance
Online Implementation
●
Online tools to facilitate implementation
●
E-mails
●
Electronic newsletters
●
Web sites
●
Appeal filing
●
Training programs
●
Pop-up reminders
Online Implementation—Advantages
●
Automation
●
Speed up processes
●
Lower cost
●
Gather and disseminate information faster and more effectively
●
System can be linked to other HR functions
●
Easier to monitor unit-level and organizational-level trends over time
Online Implementation—Limitations
●
PM systems that are not implemented following best practices will not necessarily
improve from the use of online components.
●
In fact, online implementation may create a more complicated system that is a big
waste of time and resources for all involved.