Performance Appraisal System

It is a well-known fact that organizations can do their set targets only with positive contribution from their employees. In order to give in a positive way, the employees need to be dedicated and at the same time, knowledgeable enough to deal with the increasing challenges of today's business world. Performance appraisal is the method of evaluating the performance of an employee in a given year. The result of the performance appraisal can show how useful a particular employee is to the progress of the organization. Before we understand the various performance appraisal methods, let us first know the need and importance of performance appraisal methods in the next paragraph.

Need and Importance of Performance Appraisal

The need of the performance appraisal method is mainly to find out the area of strengths and weaknesses of the employees. These strengths and weaknesses are studied by the HR managers carefully and are discussed with the employees at the time of the appraisal. The performance appraisal process involves setting of performance standards which can help the comparison of the performance of all the employees. Communication of these standards to all the employees of the company is also one of the most crucial process in the performance appraisal process. Performance measurement is a process which takes time and lot of efforts on part of the senior management of the organization. At many places, marks or grades are given to the employees by comparing their real employee performance with the desired performance.

Performance appraisal strengths and weaknesses can help employees conduct a reality check themselves and improve their performance. The last step in the performance appraisal process is that of decision-making where the employees are given enough time to learn new technologies, be more efficient, increase their working speed and improve the quality of their work. The performance appraisal methods adopted by companies can differ depending on their needs. There are many sample performance appraisals available on the Internet which you can study before you prepare your own. In the next section, we shall know about the types of employee performance appraisal systems.

Types of Performance Appraisal Systems

Among the various performance appraisal methods, individual appraisal method, where employee's sole performance is studied minutely is widely used. Unstructured method is believed to be a rather traditional approach for the performance appraisals. In this method, there are no set rules for deciding the merit of the employee. The comments made by the seniors on the performance of the employee are considered to the decisive. The most modern of all the performance appraisal is the 360 degree appraisal method in which the top management, juniors of the employee and some other people who know him on a daily basis give comments on his overall performance and attitude towards work. The free essay methods, in which the senior management members write an essay on the skills, abilities and performance of the employees is also used at many places. However, this method has some limitations-if the person writing it is not good enough for the job or makes mistakes, then it would be a loss for the entire organization. Peer evaluation techniques of appraisal, in which the employees check each other's performance has been a hit everywhere. Since the employees spend most time with each other, they would be definitely aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Performance Appraisal Form

Now, having understood the need and types of performance appraisal system, you must be eager to know how a performance appraisal form looks like. So, here is a sample performance appraisal form:

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FORM

EMPLOYEE INFORMATION Org/Division/Dept: Location/Based at: Name of the Employee: Current Designation: Date of Joining: Last Review Date: Appraisal Date & Time: Appraisal Venue: Appraiser: PERFORMANCE ACHIEVEMENT Objective Performance No. Agreed Objectives Weight Result Total Score --- --- --- --- --- COMPETENCIES Communication Skills: Written and Oral __________ Time Management Skills _____________ Decision-making Ability _____________ Organizational Ability _____________ Technical Skills _____________ Analytical Skills _____________ Negotiating Skills _____________ Teamwork _____________ Customer Dealing _____________ Financial Skills _____________ Initiative/Spirited _____________ Flexibility _____________ Dependability _____________ DISCUSSIONS Strengths: Positive Attributes ----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- Weaknesses: Needs Improvement ----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- OVERALL RATING ----------------- EMPLOYEE COMMENTS ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Scale Evaluation 1. Unsatisfactory Improvement required in all possible areas 2. Improvement Needed If proper efforts are put in, can do better 3. Good (Target Achieved) Performing tasks and duties as per directions 4. Very Good Performing in an excellent way with positive outcome 5. Outstanding Performing beyond expectations with phenomenal results SIGNATURE (APPRAISER) --------------------- SIGNATURE (APPRAISEE) --------------------- Note: The employee's signature below indicates that a performance development discussion was conducted on the specified date, but does not necessarily indicate an agreement with the content of the session.

Hopefully, this information on performance appraisal system will be very useful for you. Giving promotions to right candidates and effective performance management is a must to boost their morale. So, do this task with care and work smartly. Good luck!