Objective OfPerformance Appraisal
The primary objective is to evaluate the performance, efforts and then reward the employee accordingly so that employees continue to perform well and contribute to the success and goal achievement of the organisation. An adaptable and comprehensive HR and payroll software can help you set the performance cycle and monitor progress in real-time!
There are 3 main elements that this evaluation requires. You must sit with the team members individually when setting the objectives. It is a prerequisite for both, the manager, and the team member to mutually agree on them. It’s the first step to ensure the successful accomplishment of the set objectives.
- The quantity and quality of the work done
Ask the employees the amount of work they can take up and ensure to maintain the quality expected and then decide the number. You don’t want to overburden them and lose the work quality.
- The time taken to perform the tasks
Validate the quantity they commit to deliver by discussing the time they would need for each task. Decide the time and mention them in the objectives simultaneously.
- The actual value that work adds to the company
Avoid deciding the tasks without understanding the company goals properly. The objectives you set must be in sync with the company objectives. Come up with the tasks for the team, basis that. Also, make the team understand how their work would impact the bigger goals. This adds more meaning and motivation.
Types Of Performance Appraisal/ Performance Appraisal Methods
There are multiple methods to do performance appraisals. However, not all of them work well in every work culture and company. In this section, we explore the performance appraisal process types while mentioning the pro, the cons and what are they ideal for. For your convenience and clear distinction,
We have divided performance appraisal methods into two types-
- Traditional methods of performance appraisal
- Modern methods of performance appraisal
Let’s dive right in!
Traditional Methods of Performance Appraisal
In total, there are 8 traditional methods of performance appraisal. Since, they don’t hold much relevance in today’s time, we discuss them briefly below.
Essay Method
This is said to be one of the first ways to evaluate the performance of an employee. In this appraisal method, the rater (typically the manager) writes/ documents the behavior, performance of the employee including his job knowledge, skills, attitude, growth, potential and improvement made by far.
Rating Scales Method
This stands to be a popular method, still used as a sub part of the modern methods of doing appraisal. Rating scales method uses a scale to evaluate performance on different parameters. The parameters can be anything, from attendance, skills, timeliness and results. The rating for each one of them is given from 1 to 10. The higher the score for the parameter, the better!
Checklist Method
As the name suggests, in this appraisal method a checklist is created by the employer consisting of brief statements. Then there are two options – yes or no that need to be ticked off. The long series of questions based on different criteria then helps in evaluating the performance.
| Criteria | Yes | No |
| Is the employee competent enough? | | |
| Is the employee completing the tasks given to him on time? | | |
| Is the work showing efforts being put? | | |
| Is the employee taking initiatives? | | |
| Does the employee shows resentment when he is given new opportunities at work? | | |
Bell Curve Appraisal Method
Also known as forced distribution method, in this, the manager on his own or by asking the team to categorise each other, divides employees in his team into low- average- high performers. it is assumed that only 10-20% would be high performers and 70-80 average while 10% would be low. The curve decides how the employees would be treated-given training, terminated, promoted or required to be more productive.
Josh Bersin, in an article in Forbes, mentioned how Bell Curve is a myth. He says that it fails to reflect how the people actually performed. It just puts employees in a box on the basis of their past performance and the decisions are taken not on how the employee is performing currently but just the past because of the tag they got. This goes on to disrupt happiness and performance of employees.
Critical Incident Method
This appraisal method puts emphasis on one critical incident that required quick, strong, immediate action/response/support from the employee. Instead of taking the overall performance of the employee and the quality he delivered in other tasks assigned to him, he is solely judged on the basis of such incidents. For instance, On xyz date implementation team was asked to get the product implemented in a maximum of 3 days.
How did A, B, C, D, E react Who worked the most? Who was resisting? Or not as dedicated?
| Ex. Implement product in tight deadline. |
| Workers | Reaction | Scale |
| A | Worked overtime | 4 |
| B | Been the most responsive | 3 |
| C | Client appreciated the most | 2 |
| D | Was not as involved | 1 |
Paired Comparison Method
In this method, for every trait the manager wants to evaluate, employees are compared in pairs, the better person in each pair is chosen till the time one comes out as the best. A special formula is used to find how many pairs should be made-
N(N-1)/2wherein ‘N’ is the number of employees you want to evaluate for the trait.
