The Ethical Performance Appraisal

Carrying out performance appraisals require careful attitudes and techniques on the behalf of the evaluator. So, if you are the evaluator you must ensure that before you assess and evaluate your employees and subordinates performance, the skill and technique you are about to implement is ethical. Performance appraisals carried out ethically will result into a morale boost and give the evaluated employees to improve without being subjected to humiliation in front of fellow colleagues.

In order to root out any chances of weak and inefficient performance appraisals, 360-Degree Performance Evaluation has been designed. This type of performance appraisal gives the complete and overall view of the employee. The modern facility of the web-based systems has made this task faster, easier and more thorough. Make sure to not only take information from the employee's direct supervisor but also from fellow colleagues. This technique is highly beneficial as the employee's performance can be thoroughly monitored even in the absence of the supervisor. Whenever need be, customers and suppliers can also contribute in the process of evaluation.
In order to carry out the performance appraisals ethically one must keep many aspects and factors in mind. Confidentiality is one of the most important aspects regarding collection and evaluation issues. Assure your respondents that their feedback will kept highly confidential and not be leaked to any unnecessary source. When the respondent has faith that his feedback will not be brought to public in his name, he will be able to provide an honest feedback. However, if the respondent fears that there is a lack of confidentiality and trust; he will give a false feedback in order to avoid any sort of possible argument and conflict. Also, the person being evaluated would most definitely prefer to have his results be kept private. However, if need be, in the case of fraud or any other sort of crime, the evaluation can be brought to public.
Implementing a rating system in order to understand the employee's performance is also much more ethical as compared to the ranking system. An employee can be rated in comparison to a certain standard of performance. Ranking the employees in comparison to each other will promote unhealthy and unethical attitudes amongst them. To get to the topmost rank, it may happen more than often that the employees would refuse to help each other for fear of promoting the other. Also, if all the employees are efficient but there will be one who has the lowest rank. This will prove to be highly damaging and detrimental to the employee's morale.
The evaluator or the evaluating team must consider a thorough and ethical performance appraisal. A complete, honest and strong appraisal will enhance the employee's general performance. Fair and honest evaluation processes will help in forming a strong bond of relations amongst the supervisors and colleagues and also within the colleagues. Only then can a fruitful and productive outcome can be visibly noticed in the efficiency of the overall organization.

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Performance Appraisals - From Dreaded Routine to Helpful Change Agent

Performance appraisals, as you may know, can be very stressful for both the employee and the manager. I'd like to share some of my tips in making the appraisals less nerve-wracking and more productive.

Tips for Employees
For the employees, performance appraisals are inherently difficult because evaluations are naturally anxiety-provoking. For most people, it is intimidating to feel that you are being critically evaluated. Because many employers are not the best about giving regular feedback, employees are often unsure what to expect and the fear of the unknown is difficult. There is often a good deal riding on these evaluations (your job, a promotion, a raise, etc) so that adds pressure to it.
When you have a review, go in with a strong working knowledge of your own performance appraisal. Know where you have been excelling and where you have been weaker. Proactively saying, "I have struggles a bit on this account and want to improve my sales skills," will come across very well to your manager and make her want to help you. Also prepare specific questions and ideas about what you need to do your job better. Be careful not to complain but to request specific resources or assistance to help you perform your best.
Recognize whether your boss is giving you helpful criticism or whether he is being overly critical or malicious. If it is the latter, do your best to remove yourself emotionally from the situation and let the criticism roll off you. If your boss is reasonable and has some helpful pointers and ideas, remind yourself how the criticism will help you and that your boss's purpose is to help you perform your best.
Tips for Managers
For the manager, these evaluations are difficult, especially when constructive criticism needs to be given. While it is important that managers give honest and direct feedback, they often fear compromising the quality of the relationship with their employees, hurting the individual's feelings, decreasing morale and teamwork. Managers worry about how employees will take feedback and whether it will be taken out of context. Managers sometimes doubt their own leadership abilities and wonder, "who am I to give this type of feedback?"
It is also common for managers to dislike the performance appraisal where almost everything is positive because they worry that their employees will then slack off or think that they are pushovers for going so easy on them.
How to Set up Your Session
Frame the session within the employee's goals for her career and your goals for her and the company. Create direct links to using the session to make changes with specific incentives. The worst thing to do is not to follow-up because that sends the message that the session was not important. Make sure that the employee has the necessary resources to make the changes you are asking him to make.
How to Deliver Difficult Feedback
The best performance appraisals do not present any shocking information. Managers should give ongoing feedback to employees so employees know what to expect in their appraisals. This reduces the anxiety on both sides and improves the usefulness of the appraisals. Follow-up on the appraisals is equally important.
The employee will best hear feedback (positive or negative) when it helps them to accomplish their goals. If the manager can frame negative feedback as help or advice that can enable the employee to reach his career goals, it will be taken much better and even appreciated. It is also important to balance negative with positive feedback so the employee does not dismiss the important negative feedback as the manager being overly critical.
If your employee reacts negatively, here are a few tips. First, recognize that the employee is likely to have that reaction because they care about their position and want to do a good job. Second, try to empathize with their position or put yourself in their shoes. For a crying employee, you can say, "I see it is very important to you to do well in this position and I really appreciate that. Would you be willing to work together to make that happen?" Third, address the behavior specifically.
If the behavior is inappropriate, the employee needs to know. A good way to diffuse a defensive response is to give specific, concrete, behavioral examples. Fourth, if the employee is having a strong emotional reaction and not hearing your feedback, schedule a follow-up session to discuss it when he is feeling calmer.
Remember that ongoing communication and follow-up make the sessions as productive and change-inducing as possible.

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How to Write a Performance Appraisal For a New Hire

Many performance appraisal systems are not as effective as they should be. Here are four steps to include when using a performance appraisal for a new hire (which can also work with existing employees):

1. Establish expectations early
New hires benefit from having a performance appraisal system which is highly structured. You should make clear what the critical job elements are that they will be evaluated upon, and how these will be measured. These elements should truly be critical to the basic performance of the job: if an employee does not perform them well, their employment will most likely be discontinued, and everyone should understand this to be part of the employment agreement. It is best to use a set of goals which all parties can agree upon: clear, concise, and easily understandable performance metrics are best. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely, relative to an employee's performance. You should provide your employee with a copy, and keep a copy for yourself as well, with signatures to indicate agreement to these standards.
2. Follow-up regularly
Most employers wait until the end of a performance cycle to give employees appraisals, and this is a mistake. At the end of a performance cycle, there is almost nothing an employee can do to improve their performance, which creates unnecessary stress and ill will for all involved. Instead, it is much better to follow-up on a regular basis with new hires, explaining on a weekly or bi-weekly basis how their performance on critical job elements has been, and which elements they still need to devote more attention to. This gives employees the opportunity to give their very best efforts, and if these are not sufficient, then all parties involved are aware of what the outcome is likely to be.
3. Identify additional opportunities
Assuming most employees satisfy their critical job elements, it is then important to develop a set of additional job requirements which also need to be performed. While these opportunities may be done more or less at the discretion of the employee, they should be explained as being important steps the employee can take to distinguish themselves as being valuable contributors worthy of promotion and advancement. These additional opportunities can be provided in writing at the same time as the critical job element expectations, but it should be emphasized that these are added duties for the employee, and less vital for the purposes of staying employed. It may help to include language in writing to indicate the optional, but highly recommended nature of these additional duties, just so there is no confusion or dispute later on.
4. Perform the formal evaluation
Finally, with this system in place, most employees will have all the requirements and feedback needed to do an outstanding job. Any annual (or semiannual) formal performance review should then simply be a summary of what has already been observed so far, with more than adequate opportunities available for employees to meet expectations, as well as greatly exceed them if they desire to do so.

In this way, a performance appraisal for new hires can be fair, motivational, and yet also provide excellent documentation if unfavorable hiring decisions must be made later on. This makes it easier to keep employee morale high, while also being clear about the expectations for performance.

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Performance Appraisals - The Ultimate Link Between Employee Performance and Profitability

Today's businesses are under a great deal of pressure to perform. With increasing customer expectations, global competition, and costs of goods and services, many companies struggle to meet profit forecasts. As a result, companies are beginning to discover the powerful link that exists between employee performance and financial success. Many companies are relying more heavily on human capital to address consumer demands while lowering operating costs, and improving financial position.

Deploying employee performance appraisal programs that lead to measurable improvements in employee performance can provide the human capital leverage companies need to overcome many of today's business obstacles. Companies must develop and execute initiatives that create a strong linkage between its HR department, management team and employees.
A large number of companies use formal performance appraisals to measure, recognize and reward employee performance. How frequently an appraisal is administered has little influence over whether desired outcomes in employee performance and behavior are achieved. The key to a successful performance appraisal is clear communication, accurate information and flawless execution.
Employees generally feel more motivated, empowered and appreciated when performance appraisals are executed properly. As a result, employers realize the benefits associated with higher productivity levels, increased employee performance and improved quality results.
Performance appraisals can help to increase employees' support of company goals and objectives. An appraisal that contains clearly defined goals, objective measurements, and an accurate summary of the employee's performance has a higher potential of increasing employee satisfaction and inspiring ongoing performance than appraisals that fail to support these elements.
Although there are many steps that have proven to be effective in delivering successful outcomes, proactively communicating expectations, frequently following up, and properly aligning goals and objectives should never be omitted.
Proactively communicating clearly defined expectations, goals and objectives to employees is one of the most important steps. Omitting this step often results in performance appraisals that are perceived by employees as ambiguous and unfair. In addition, it is difficult for supervisors to truly hold employees accountable for their overall performance at the end of the evaluation period.
Providing employees with regular feedback regarding their individual performance is another important step. However, communicating clear goals and objectives, but failing to provide employees with frequent and ongoing performance related feedback often results in less than favorable outcomes. Failure in this area has the highest potential of producing negative results in employee satisfaction, loyalty and performance. Frankly, this is a critical area where both the employee and the employer suffer equally.
Another extremely important step in the performance appraisal process is the alignment of department-level goals and objectives with the company's overall business strategy. Generally, the human resources department holds the responsibility of assisting with the development of department-level goals and objectives. When executed effectively, HR ensures that each department's goals are clearly defined and aligned. Often, this area is commonly overlooked in both large and small organizations.
A performance appraisal that only supports general elements rarely produces high-performing employees. How the appraisal is communicated to the employee, and how frequently the employee is given performance related feedback between appraisal periods play a significant role in the effectiveness of the appraisal process.
Poorly written and executed appraisals often result in employee dissatisfaction, reductions in productivity, and unwanted employee turnover. Failure to meet the employee's expectations during the performance appraisal process can be disastrous.
To achieve and sustain exceptional employee performance, companies must engage their internal resources, and then develop and execute a performance appraisal program that leads to a strong alliance between its human resources department, management team and most importantly, its employees. All three groups must have a clear understanding of everyone's role, responsibilities and expectations. This, combined with flawless execution, will position companies to achieve desired results in employee performance, lowering operating costs, and improving financial position.

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Employee Performance Appraisal - 5 Steps for the Ideal Assessment Form

Conventional wisdom says that there’s no such thing as a perfect employee performance appraisal form. And with so many sorry examples of appraisal forms around, conventional wisdom might almost seem correct.

It’s not. There is an ideal model for the employee performance appraisal form. And getting the form right is essential to effective employee performance management, since the appraisal form is the lightning rod that not only attracts everyone’s attention, but also focuses organizational energy on the issues of highest priority. An ideal form has five key components that cover 1.) organizational competencies, 2.) job competencies, 3.)key responsibilities, 4.) goals and major projects and 5.) individual achievements and accomplishments.
Organizational & Job Competencies
The first two sections of the employee performance appraisal form focus on the “how” of the job, the way the individual goes about accomplishing his results. Here we identify and assess competencies – the behavioral elements of the job. To start, top management should identify a small number, usually about a half-dozen or so, of the competencies expected from every member of the organization, regardless of the individual’s job or level in the company. Since they apply to all, these universal or organization-wide cultural competencies might include attributes such as:
• Customer Focus
• Communication Skills
• Learning and Continuous Improvement
• Team Player
• Interpersonal Skills
The other behavioral element of an employee performance appraisal assessed in a perfect form is job-specific competencies. The talents and skills required for success as a professional individual contributor like a programmer or accountant or engineer aren’t identical to those needed for success in a leadership job.
In professionals’ jobs, such skills as analytical thinking and achievement orientation might be indispensable, while in the leadership jobs greater emphasis might be placed on developing and retraining talent and people management and command skills. Of course there will be overlaps — technical skills and decision making are competencies important in both job families. But the ideal employee performance appraisal form will allow for the identification of those competencies that have a high correlation with job success in the specific position the employee holds. Safety is sure to be present on an appraisal form for an operator’s position; relationship building better be assessed if the employee works in the sales department.
Organizational competencies and job-specific competencies are the first two elements of an exemplary employee performance appraisal form. That covers the HOW component of the job. Now let’s look at the WHAT component — the results the person actually accomplishes. Again, there are two major components: Key job responsibilities and goals and major projects.
Key Job Responsibilities
The third element, key job responsibilities, represents the major aspects of an individual's job – the big rocks of the position that ideally would be listed in a well-written job description. Got obsolete job descriptions? No problem. Just provide space in this part of the employee performance appraisal form for the manager and employee to identify in simple verb/noun form the most important responsibilities or accountabilities of the job incumbent: Assess patients, assure customer satisfaction, train operators, develop marketing plans, sell shoes, etc.
Few jobs have more than a half-dozen key job responsibilities. If you come up with more, you're probably listing minor tasks and duties that are performed in order to accomplish a key responsibility.
Goals & Major Projects
Goals and major projects represent the other half of those elements that cover the results aspect of a job. Goals are big deals. They go well beyond the key job responsibilities listed in the position description; well beyond the predictable cheaper/faster/better expectations.
In truth, real goals are transformational – they are visionary and long-term. They transform the nature of the position itself. “Keeping the network up and running,” for example, is a well-stated key job responsibility. In comparison, “Developing a system that eliminates network failures,” is a formidable goal that will totally alter the nature of a network administrator’s job.
Many people in an organization also take on special projects or assignments over the course of a year in addition to their specific job description duties. Too often their contributions are unheralded in their annual appraisal. The goals and major projects part of the form is also the place for the assessment and recognition of these contributions.
Achievements & Accomplishments
The final element of an ideal employee performance appraisal form is the one that research suggests is the most important: A brief enumeration of the individual’s most important achievements and accomplishments. Ever since the original GE studies in the early 1950s, researchers confirm that growth and development result more from building on a person’s unique strengths than from attempts to shore up deficiencies.

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Performance Appraisal: Discussing Development Needs

One of the most motivational parts of the performance appraisal meeting is the discussion we have with our employees about their development and career progression needs. But here's something interesting. According to recent CIPD research, although:

• 75% of managers say they always / sometimes discuss employee development and career progression during one to ones (including, presumably, their performance appraisal meetings)


• just 38% of employees say this happens

So what's the reason for this gap between what managers say they are doing and what employees say they are getting?
My guess is that during the performance appraisal meeting (which is when we are often best placed to talk about these needs) we are not brining enough focus to having a helpful discussion aimed at helping our employees a) identify their development needs and then b) exploring how they can meet those needs
OK, how do we help our employees assess their development and career progression needs during the appraisal meeting? In this article I'm going to focus on development needs not specifically related to the employee gaining a promotion - because not all our employees have a burning desire, or possibly the ability, to climb to the next level (we'll cover promotion in another blog!)
Here are a few ideas
1. Put assessing development needs on the appraisal meeting agenda
This might sound obvious but it's important that there is a specific item on the agenda of the performance appraisal meeting for discussing and agreeing development plans. It's easy to get so involved in other aspects of the meeting that either employee development gets forgotten all together or it's dealt with in a rushed five minutes at the end of the meeting (I'm reminded of a manager I had once who said 'there will be no promotions this year so there's no point talking about your career development is there?')
2. Focus on strengths
As I've said, not every employee wants to be promoted (or maybe, they're not ready for that promotion yet) but the majority of employees would love the chance to explore how they can build on their strengths
The appraisal meeting is a great time to look at strengths because, as part of the performance review part of the appraisal meeting, you will have identified achievements and successes and it's just a very short step then to identifying the strengths the employee has demonstrated in order to gain those achievements and successes
It's all about focussing on our employee's:

• Identified strengths
• Potential strengths

So that we can then creatively explore:

• How our employee's strengths could be developed
• How potential strengths could be tested

3. Address areas for improvement
It might go without saying but, of course, if during the performance review part of the appraisal meeting we and our employee have identified areas for improvement then those too are development needs (and, probably, high priority!)
Key questions to ask your employee are:
What are the skills, knowledge or experience you think you need to develop to improve this area of performance?
How can we best meet these needs?
4. Focus on areas of interest
Another approach is to help our employee identify what they are interested in that they would like to develop further. It might be they would like to learn more about client management or maybe they would like to develop their skills in networking
Of course it might be that they want to develop their interest in table tennis which, unless you are running a table tennis manufacturing business, is not really going to work is it? So, you need at all times to...
5. Focus on 'dual value'
Although primarily focused on our employee's personal development, any developmental activities undertaken should contribute to their effectiveness in their current job, or act as preparation for additional responsibilities
In simpler terms, developmental activities should provide what I call dual value:

• Value to the employee through the development of skills, knowledge and experience
• Value to the organisation or business through the employee's increased effectiveness

The easiest way to check that development activities pass the 'dual value' test is to ask the question
How will developing this skill/ building this knowledge /gaining this experience help you to be more effective in your work?
Performance Appraisal Development Needs Discussions - Summary
As is so often the case, discussing development needs in the performance appraisal meeting works best when both we and our employees are well prepared (read more on how our employees can prepare here). And, of course, you can (and should) discuss these development needs more often than in the annual appraisal meeting. It's all about bringing some focus and commitment to helping our employees with this element or their working lives that is so important and so motivational

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Sample Performance Appraisal

A performance appraisal carried out for professional and administrative personnel and a confidential employee performance appraisal contains the names and job titles of employees and the department for which they work. It also states the names of the appraisers and their job titles. Performance appraisal sheets are normally divided into three main topics that are, evaluation or job performance area, ratings, and comments. The evaluation area comprises of various factors. These factors include job knowledge, professional competence, and managerial ability. Apart from these, productivity, quality of work, problem solving ability, communication, and initiative are also areas that need evaluation. Factors such as attitude and cooperation, personal leadership, adaptability, and self-improvement also cannot be ignored while evaluation.

Based on the appraisals, professional and administrative personnel can be rated as outstanding, excellent, acceptable, marginal, or deficient. The comments section contains improvements, suggestions, goals to be achieved, potential of employees, etc. Performance appraisals show the overall effectiveness of employees in their job performance, that is, it is a summary of all comments. Plans for professional growth is a section that supervisors and employees should develop cooperatively. This section includes additional responsibilities, management opportunities, special courses, committee assignments, etc. While evaluation, it is advisable to give examples of strengths and weaknesses of the employees as and when possible.
Confidential employee performance appraisals also contain other job requirements such as focusing on specific needs of business or needs for individual improvement, public contact, ability to stay within cost guidelines, etc. They also give a performance summary, which shows the employee's outstanding and strongest points, employee's shortcomings and weaknesses, and specific accomplishments and changes since last performance review. They also help in deciding goals for improvement, that is how the employee can be more effective and what additional training can be helpful.
Performance appraisals also have an employee feedback section. This section contains the employee's most important accomplishments on the job, weakest job performance areas, areas in need of improvement, and other work concerns they would like to discuss. It also provides the date scheduled for the next review and the areas targeted for improvement.

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