Everything you need to know about the features of performance appraisal. Performance appraisal mainly aims at evaluating the performance of employees and developing them.
The evaluation is usually performed to take decisions regarding the remuneration or promotion of an employee.
On the other hand, the development objective focuses on finding the strengths and weaknesses of the employees and the organization, and enhancing the strengths by overcoming the weaknesses.
The features of performance appraisal are:-
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1. Continuous Approach 2. Systematic Process 3. Periodicity 4. Basis of Assessment 5. Reinforcement Activity 6. Chain Activity
7. Formal/Informal Assessment 8. Superior-Subordinate Instruction 9. Superior-Subordinate Mutually Set Goals 10. Superior-Subordinate Mutually Set Performance Criteria 11. Progress Evaluation 12. Superior’s Supportive Role.
Features of Performance Appraisal- 6 Successful Features
Typically, a successful performance appraisal has the following features:
1. Performance management is closely aligned to organizational context and culture and linked to clearly defined organizational objectives. Therefore, performance measure is based on the critical success factors derived directly from the business strategy.
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2. Performance management system is closely linked to other systems of human resource management, particularly career planning, succession planning, and training and development. However, its linkage with compensation management is a contentious issue.
Many experts feel that there should be separation of appraisal for rewards from appraisal for development to avoid spill over of bitterness from former to the latter. Further, to obtain a broader perspective, it is suggested that peer-level managers, instead of just immediate superiors, should conduct appraisal for rewards.
3. Performance management is seen as a continuous process of monitoring and feedback rather than annual one-off event and there should be involvement of employees through focus group interviews, surveys, etc. in all stages of the design, implementation, and review process.
4. Performance management involves effective use of technology in conveying desired competencies and in monitoring, collecting, and giving feedback so that there is minimum possible bureaucratization of administering the system.
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5. Performance management emphasizes comprehensive training to managers not just for their own development only but to act as effective coaches as the role of coaching in performance improvement is quite crucial.
6. Performance management is a dynamic system that is suitable for changing workplace realities such as working in teams and alternative work arrangements like telecommuting, job sharing, etc.
Features of Performance Appraisal- According to William D. Anthony, PL. Perrewe and K.M. Kacmar
According to William D. Anthony, PL. Perrewe and K.M. Kacmar – the individual is still responsible to the extent of high percentage of his/her work performance. Employees, therefore, should not be encouraged -to take excuses of organisational reasons for their under or non- performance.
Organisational drawbacks should be identified so as to facilitate development and motivation but not for poor performance. Thus a positive approach is required M.W.Cummings, too, says ‘the overall objective of performance appraisal is to improve the efficiency of the enterprise by attempting to mobilising the best possible efforts from individual employed in it.
Such appraisals achieve the objectives- (1) Salary reviews, (2) development and training of individuals (3) Planning job rotations and (4) assistance in promotion.
1. It is a continuous process. The performances of employees are evaluated on a continuous basis.
2. It is a systematic examination of an employee’s strength and weakness in terms of job.
3. A performance criteria or yardstick is set by the supervisor in consultation with the subordinate and in accordance with overall organizational objectives. The employee’s performance is measured against the performance criteria set.
4. It helps to analyze whether the performance has met the standard set and if there is any deviation from the standard set.
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Thus performance appraisal helps to know the comparative worth of the employees. Naturally it helps the process of decision making as far as personnel administration is concerned. It motivates the organisation in bringing about better working conditions and by placement of right man in right job the organisation can achieve desired results.
Features of Performance Appraisal- 7 Important Features
An annual review of an employee’s overall contributions to the company by his/her manager is known as Performance Appraisal. Performance appraisals, also called annual reviews, evaluate an employee’s skills, achievements and growth, or lack thereof.
Performance appraisal is the process of evaluation of an employee at higher levels. In order to know whether the selection of an employee is right or wrong, performance appraisal is resorted to. Promotion, transfer, salary increase etc., are some of the matters that are dependent upon the evaluation of the performance of an employee.
Appraisal of an employee reveals as to how efficiently the subordinate is performing his job and also to know his aptitudes and other qualities necessary for performing the job assigned to him. The qualities of employees that are apprised through performance appraisal are ability to do work, spirit of co-operation, managerial ability, self-confidence, initiative, intelligence etc.
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To ascertain whether an employee has shown his or her best performance in the given job, performance appraisal is done by organizations Employee Appraisal is done by the human resource management of the organization.
Performance Appraisal can also be viewed as the systematic evaluation of the performance of employees and to understand the abilities of a person for further growth and development.
Performance appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as follows:
i. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and plans.
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ii. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees.
iii. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance.
Features of Performance Appraisal:
1. It is a systematic process.
2. It is concerned with differences among the employees in terms of their performance.
3. It tries to establish a plan for performance improvement.
4. Major decisions like promotions, transfers, pay increase etc. are done on the basis of merit rating of employees.
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5. Performance appraisal though is a systematic and a very comprehensive process.
6. Performance appraisal is not job evaluation.
7. Performance appraisal may be formal or informal.
Features of Performance Appraisal– 7 Salient Features: Continuous Approach, Systematic Process, Periodicity, Basis of Assessment, Reinforcement Activity and a Few Others
Salient features of performance appraisal are as follows:
Feature # 1. Continuous Approach:
Performance appraisal is a continuous approach. It is not that evaluation is made for the performance for a particular date. The employees’ performance for the whole review period is assessed. So, assessment of job is continuous.
Feature # 2. Systematic Process:
Assessment activity is carried on a definite plan, programme. Review period, reviewing authority, reviewing method etc. are pre-determined and the whole performance assessment work follows a clear-cut, definite process.
Feature # 3. Periodicity:
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It follows a definite period for the assessment of employees’ performance. Evaluation may be made for the performance of six month’s period or for the whole period of twelve months.
Feature # 4. Basis of Assessment:
Assessment is made on the basis of standard set earlier. Quantum and quality of performance is judged looking to the goals, standard fixed earlier.
Feature # 5. Reinforcement Activity:
Performance appraisal system includes reinforcement activity to strengthen weak areas of reviewees. Reviewing authority tells reviewee the weak areas that need improvement. He also ascertains reasons for less performance and provides counselling, coaching and feedback to strengthen the weak areas. The employees who perform much more than the standard set are given positive stroking, stimulation to maintain.
Feature # 6. Chain Activity:
Activities under this system follow each other. Performance appraisal is like a chain activity.
Feature # 7. Formal/Informal Assessment:
Performance appraisal could be formal or informal. In case of informal assessment, supervisor/boss observes working, performance of employees working under him and provides feedback, counselling to perform as per standard set. So, this is a continuous method of looking at job behaviour of employees and of providing annually input to employees by boss for improving performance.
In case of formal assessment boss assesses performance annually or biannually on the basis of information/data available in the relevant areas (key responsibility areas), job related behaviour of subordinates, perceptible manifestation of change in attitudes, behaviour, service of employees etc.
Features of Performance Appraisal- 12 Major Features
Performance appraisal mainly aims at evaluating the performance of employees and developing them. The evaluation is usually performed to take decisions regarding the remuneration or promotion of an employee. On the other hand, the development objective focuses on finding the strengths and weaknesses of the employees and the organization, and enhancing the strengths by overcoming the weaknesses.
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The performance appraisal of employees serves the following features:
i. Acts as a tool for improving the performance
ii. Helps assess training and development needs of employees
iii. Ensures that the organization has skilled, competent, and motivated employees
iv. Consolidates goal setting, employee development, and performance reward into a single common system
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v. Ensures that employee performance supports the strategic goals of the organization
vi. Focuses on future rather than past
vii. Leads to self-development of employees at all the levels of organizational hierarchy
viii. Integrates the management of organization with the employee performance
ix. Provides constructive feedback to employees so that they can improve their performance or get rewarded for the efforts they have put in for the organization
x. Provides a basis for sound employee policies related to transfers, promotions, layoffs, or terminations
xi. Helps in the prevention of internal conflicts and employee grievances
xii. Helps determine the increment in compensation and incentives to be paid to the employees.
Features of Performance Appraisal
1. It is a systematic process, which aims to evaluate performance of the employees on an objective and judgemental basis.
2. It provides an objective description of an employee’s job’s relevant strengths and weaknesses.
3. It aims to find out how well the employee is performing the job and tries to establish a plan for further improvement.
4. The appraisal period is carried out periodically according to a definite plan.
5. It can be formal or informal. The informal evaluation is likely to be more subjective and influenced by personal factors.
Features of Performance Appraisal- Superior-Subordinate Instruction, Superior-Subordinate Mutually Set Goals, Progress Evaluation and a Few Others
The key features of performance appraisal are:
Feature # 1. Superior-Subordinate Instruction:
The list of duties and areas of responsibility are jointly prepared by the superior and the subordinate staff on the basis of mutual agreement and understanding.
Feature # 2. Superior-Subordinate Mutually Set Goals:
The subordinates set their short-term goals in consultation with their bosses. There is the mutual understanding.
Feature # 3. Superior-Subordinate Mutually Set Performance Criteria:
The methods of achieving the business objectives are mutually set by the superior and his subordinates. They agree upon standards or norms for measuring and evaluating performance.
Feature # 4. Progress Evaluation:
There is the system of continual evaluation of progress to ascertain whether predetermined goals are being achieved. If necessary, the superior and subordinate, by sitting at meetings face to face, determine new goals.
Feature # 5. Superior’s Supportive Role:
In this new approach to performance appraisal, the superior always extends supportive hands to his subordinates in realising business objectives. He acts as a friend, philosopher and guide.
The aim of performance appraisal is to emphasise on the results and not on the means or the personal traits. The superior does not act as a judge to pass his verdict on the performance of his subordinate, rather he helps him through continuous guidance to reach his goals.
Performance appraisal is more concerned with the assessment of performance and not with evaluating or rating qualities of potentials of the subordinate staff. In performance appraisal, more attention is given to work-related and career-oriented goals and primary emphasis is on self-supervision and self-regulation by the subordinates with frequent feed-back of information for effective control and communication.
Management by objective, or the new approach to performance appraisal as it is called, is a good wage solution to the problem of motivation. Through mutual interaction between the superior and his subordinates, it provides ample scope for employee participation in goal-setting and in planning and organising the work.
Features of Performance Appraisal – Some Important Features
A student, for example, may exert a great deal of effort while preparing for the examination but may manage to get a poor grade. In this case the effort expended is high but performance is low. In order to find out whether an employee is worthy of continued employment or not, and if so, whether he should receive a bonus, a pay rise or promotion, his performance needs to be evaluated from time to time.
When properly conducted performance appraisals not only let the employee know how well he is performing but should also influence the employee’s future level of effort, activities, results and task direction. Under performance appraisal we evaluate not only the performance of a worker but also his potential for development.
Some of the important features of performance appraisal may be captured thus:
a. Performance appraisal is the systematic description of an employee’s job-relevant strengths and weaknesses.
b. The basic purpose is to find out how well the employee is performing the job and establish a plan of improvement.
c. Appraisals are arranged periodically according to a definite plan.
d. Performance appraisal is not job evaluation. Performance appraisal refers to how well someone is doing the assigned job. Job evaluation determines how much a job is worth to the organisation and, therefore, what range of pay should be assigned to the job.
e. Performance appraisal is a continuous process in every large scale organisation.
The main features of performance appraisal are explained as under:
1. Focuses on Employee Development – Performance appraisal is not limited to ‘calling the fouls’. Its focus is on employee’s development. It forces managers to act as coaches rather than as judges. The appraisal process provides an opportunity to identify issues for discussion, eliminate any potential problems and set new goals for achieving high performance.
2. Evaluation of Employees – It tries to find out how well the employee is performing his job and tries to establish a plan for further improvement.
3. Periodic Process – The appraisal is carried out periodically in accordance of a definite plan. As such it is not a one shot deal.
4. Future-oriented Activity – Performance appraisal is not a past-oriented activity with the intention of putting poor performers in a spot. Instead, it is a future oriented activity showing employees where things have gone wrong, how to set everything in order and deliver results using their potential in a proper way.
5. Determines Employee’s Potentialities – Performance appraisal refers to how well an employee is doing the job assigned to him.
6. May be Formal or Informal – The informal evaluation is more likely to be subjective and hence it is influenced by personal factors. Some employees are liked better than others for this reason only, they have better chances of receiving various kinds of rewards than others.
The formal system is likely to be more fair and objective, since it is carried out in a very systematic manner, using printed appraisal forms.
Features of Performance Appraisal – 6 Main Features
The main features of performance appraisal may be listed thus:
1. Systematic process- The appraisal is a systematic process that tries to evaluate performance in the same manner using the same approach. A number of steps are followed to evaluate an employee’s strengths and weaknesses.
2. Picture of employee strengths/weaknesses- It provides an objective description of an employee’s job-relevant strengths and weaknesses.
3. Indicates how well X is doing on the job- It tries to find out how well the employee is performing the job and tries to establish a plan for further improvement.
4. Not a one shot deal- The appraisal is carried out periodically, according to a definite plan. It is certainly not a one-shot deal.
5. It is different from Job Evaluation- Performance evaluation is not job evaluation. Performance appraisal refers to how well someone is doing an assigned job. Job evaluation, on the other hand, determines how much a job is worth to the organisation, and therefore, what range of pay should be assigned to the job.
6. It may be formal or informal- Performance appraisal may be formal or informal. The informal evaluation is more likely to be subjective and influenced by personal factors.
Some employees are liked better than others and have, for that reason only, better chances of receiving various kinds of rewards than others. The formal system is likely to be more fair and objective, since it is carried out in a systematic manner, using printed appraisal forms.
Features of Performance Appraisal – Basic Features with the Viewpoints of Performance Management
The basic features with the viewpoints of performance management are:
1. It measure and evaluate the performance and working results of employees on the basis of certain parameters;
2. It is a planned and continuous process to involve performance review focusing on the future rather than the past;
3. It represent an isolated, mechanistic and HRD driven approach;
4. It creates and develop a better platform to improve the quality and efficiency of employees;
5. It is business driven system aimed at people, resource and organisation development;
6. It is a comprehensive, goal oriented and integrated organisational approach and system;
7. It is a strategic and integrated nature and behaviour of management by improving the performance of employees with their team capabilities;
8. It establish performance criteria and standards against which individual and work unit achievements can be measures;
9. It also includes the concept of Total Quality Management to emphasise of the managerial and operational tools with the systems of appraisal of employees in order to achieve performance goals;
10. It create and develop shared vision and ethical values that is being communicated to all employees for seeking employee commitment;
11. The performance target may be a result of inter linkage between the objectives and expectations of job with organisational goals and strategies;
12. With the effectiveness of performance management process, the innovative viewpoints, changes and improvement can be made.
Features of Performance Appraisal – 14 Basic Features
The basic features of performance appraisal are given here:
1. It is the process of evaluating the performance and qualifications of the employees;
2. It is a method to examine and evaluate the required skill and qualities of employees for a particular job;
3. It is an operating method to provide needful data and information concerning of recruitment, selection, placement, promotion financial rewards in respect of job and work performance;
4. It is a periodically as well as time based system to judge the relative worth or ability of employees for a particular period of time;
5. Performance appraisal provides reassurance to employees that they are contributing and doing with right manner and things;
6. It is a planned, pre-determined, systematic and objective based method to evaluate the performance of employees;
7. It has the objectives to determine the skill and qualifications for selection, wage- payments, promotions, fringe-benefits and transfers etc.
8. Performance appraisals provides opportunities for self-development of employees;
9. Performance appraisal reveals the adequacy of performance in terms of quantity, quality, speed and timeless etc.;
10. It is concerned particularly to technical, professional and managerial personnels;
11. A major part of appraisals are based on employees’ traits, behaviour and work results;
12. It is essential to state that it attempts at accurate measurement by trying to eliminate human biases and prejudices;
13. Performance appraisal provides means for recognition of the importance and values of performance of employees;
14. Performance appraisal is a valuable source of career and talent of management.
Features of Performance Appraisal – 5 Main Features
The main features of performance appraisal are as follows:
(i) Performance appraisal is a process of evaluating the performance of employees.
(ii) It is the systematic examination of an employee’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of the job requirements.
(iii) It is an ongoing or continuous process wherein the appraisals are done periodically according to a definite plan.
(iv) The main purpose of performance appraisal is to secure information necessary for making objective decisions like advance increment, transfer and promotion.
(v) Appraisals of employees are based on well-defined criteria such as-
a. Knowledge of work.
b. Ability to do the work.
c. Quality and quantity of output.
d. Relations with superiors, peers and juniors.
e. Personal qualities like dependability, adaptability, initiative, leadership, etc.
Performance appraisal should be differentiated from job evaluation which is concerned with the determination of worth of different jobs. Performance appraisal refers to the task of rating or assessing the individual performance and abilities of the workers.
Features of Performance Appraisal – 7 Features
Following are the main features of performance appraisal:
1. Systematic Process – Performance appraisal is a systematic, process consisting of the number of steps to be followed for the purpose of evaluation of strengths and weaknesses of the employees.
2. Description of an Employee – Performance appraisal is the objective and systematic description of the employees’ strengths and weaknesses in terms of the job performed by them.
3. Continuous Process – Performance appraisal is not a one shot deal, rather it is an ongoing and continuous activity where evaluations are arranged periodically according to the definite plan.
4. Collection of Information – Performance appraisal is concerned with the collection of important and necessary information about the employees’ strengths and weaknesses, so that the decisions related to them can be taken correctly.
5. Human Oriented – Performance appraisal is human oriented as it is done for the employees, of the employees and about the employees working in the organisation.
6. Formal and Informal – Performance appraisal can be formal as well as informal. Informal appraisals takes place on a continuous basis where feedback is given to the employees by his immediate supervisor, they are not documented. Formal appraisal, however, is conducted periodically and is documented.
7. Different from Job Evaluation – Performance appraisal is different from job evaluation. Job evaluation is concerned with the determination of the worth of the job, whereas performance appraisal refers to the task of rating or assessing the individual performance and abilities of the employees.