Performance Appraisals is "the systematic, periodic and an impartial rating of an employee's excellence in the matters pertaining to his present job and his potential for a better job ." Performance appraisal is therefore the process of obtaining, analyzing, and recording information about the relative worth of an employee, with the objective being to measure what the employee does and improve the potential of the employee.Performance appraisals help organizations judge the gap between the actual and desired performance of an employee and help management exercise control over the organization. The specific motives of an organization in conducting a Performance Appraisal exercise could be any or all of the following:
• To provide feedback to the employees regarding their past performance
• To provide clarity regarding the responsibilities of the role and the expectations of the company from the employee
• To strengthen the communication and working relationship between the employees and their managers
• To diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of the employee and identify the relevant training and development needs
• To provide information that would facilitate decisions such as promotions and salary revisions, and fixing the career path of the employees
• To judge the effectiveness of the employee related functions of the organization, such as recruitment, selection, training, and development.
[...] Appraisals by suppliers and customers The focal point of an enterprise being to satisfy the customer, it is a logical conclusion to measure the performance of an employee by the extent to which the customer is happy with the employee. Feedback from the customer is the best way to evaluate a success of those who interact with customers routinely, and it is the best way to identify potential problems that drives away customers. This feedback would consist of parameters like how well the employee could understand the customers need and try to fulfill it, his eagerness, and commitment in serving the customer, his communication skills, and his keenness in explaining matters to customers and solving their doubts. [...]
[...] Like all performance appraisal methods, 360-degree appraisals provide feedback on the employee's performance, judge the gap between the past and present performance, and help management exercise better organizational control. One major thrust of the 360-degree appraisals however lies in career development, especially pinpointing skills and competencies, and identifying training and development needs in areas that require improvement. The industry has not yet concluded on whether to confine 360- degree feedback exclusively for development purposes, or to use them for appraisal purposes as well[iii]. [...]
[...] Should 360-degree feedback be used only for developmental purposes? Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership. Eichinger, Robert. (2004). Patterns of Rater Accuracy in 360-degree Feedback. Perspectives 23-25. [vii] Yammarino, F. J., & Atwater, L. E. (1993). Self-perception accuracy: Implications for human resource management. Human Resource Management, 231-235. Is your organisation ready for 360-degree appraisal? [viii] Hazucha, J. F., Hezlett, S. A., & Schneider, R. J. (1993). The impact of 360-degree feedback on management skills development. Human Resource Management, 325-351. Maylett, T. [...]
[...] For such reasons, a good 360-degree appraisal deals with customer feedback carefully and captures only traits directly attributable to the salesperson, like communication skills and the like. At times multi-rater assessments often generate conflicting opinions, and that there may be no way to determine whose feedback is accurate[xiii] Another major concern is the fact that a negative feedback in the 360- degree appraisal can adversely affect the morale of employees and de- motivate them, thereby retarding their performance. Although this holds true for any type of appraisal, but here the employee considers the fact that he or she has a negative rating from everyone he involves, which could be a thorough demoralizer. [...]
[...] ADVANTAGES The linking of individual performance with feedback from all the people involved fits well into a team-based work, and as such, 360-degree appraisals enjoy considerable popularity. This system of rating is also more objective compared to many other types of appraisals, since in many cases, the subordinates, peers, and customers would be in a better position to comment on the employee's performance rather than the supervisor. Several studies[viii] ascertain that 360-degree feedback facilitates improved performance when consistently implemented for a period of 3 to 5 years. [...]
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