Staff AppraisalCorporate bodies, large and small, continue to invest considerable management time, energy and resources into appraisal schemes. Most large businesses have them. Even without a formal scheme, judgements are still made about employees and fellow workers. Decisions - benign, beneficial or insidious - about continuity of employment, promotion, reward opportunities, redundancy, inclusion/exclusion from decision-circles etc. are made on the basis of these.
"Staff appraisal" is better called "performance and development review". The purposes of this review are generally stated as
It is a review stage of a process which begins with
The review should not be the occasion for the member of staff to be confronted with how well he/she has performed or not performed or to discover that the "goal posts" have moved without being told during the review period.
It usually takes place between the employee and whoever he/she is responsible and accountable to - generally their direct line manager. The emphasis is on "the organisation" (through the manager) talking to each member of staff - as "an individual". Each manager, in essence, has to give time and attention to each member of staff he/she is responsible for.
Even where there is a formal policy for giving systematic, job-related feedback on performance, many appraisal encounters between a boss/subordinate result in frustrating and problematic experiences for appraisers and appraisees. Yet companies and many participants say they obtain considerable benefit from formal appraisal processes.
Despite problems, staff appraisal schemes of sorts are still recommended and implemented and there is much literature and guidance on appraisal approaches and how to manage appraisals etc. Roughly the various types of appraisal scheme can be categorised as:
Prescriptions : Rating and forms based focusing on employee
Such prescriptions have origins in the work of Douglas McGregor and (for results-based appraisal) on the work of Peter Drucker. Of McGregor's - Theory X and Y, the Theory Y model stresses the importance of
diagnosing the needs of individuals and integrating these with the needs of the organisation. By satisfying individual needs, the organisations capacity for performance is optimised.
McGregor advised that processes of job/role definition, targeting and planning (within staff appraisal) coupled with a supportive, mutually evaluative boss-subordinate relationship - offer potential for improved individual performance and development. Employee energy is thus focused on business objectives as driven by competitive, quality, performance-based values. Theory Y purposes and performance-related criteria link the business's objectives and goals to job holder contribution.
Staff appraisal, as a social and organisational practice, is thus presented a means to embed "socially positive, individually beneficial and organisationally essential" norms into work performance, organisational membership, the conduct of manager-staff relationships, control over work arrangements, the delivery of rewards and health of social/work relationships. The practices (should) also ensure that lower needs in the Maslow hierarchy (physiological, needs for security-orderliness-predictability, social acceptance and self-esteem/status) are not chronically under-served.
So employers are recommended to adopt and maintain staff appraisal policies and reap the assumed benefits -
© Created by Chris Jarvis for the BOLA Project.