Performance appraisal is a tool used by HR, more specifically by the people management area, to measure the performance of employees or areas of a company . It can be carried out periodically according to the needs of the organization.
This methodology also helps to understand whether the employee is below, meets or exceeds the performance expected by the organization and, based on an analysis of hard skills and soft skills , that is, technical and behavioral skills, it is possible to draw up a strategic plan for according to the needs of that employee or team, such as training, promotion, bonus, dismissal , etc.
In addition, the performance evaluation helps in a strategic vision for the company, as it highlights strengths and points for improvement, both with regard to each employee and with regard to the teams. In this way, it is easier to visualize ways to improve processes and generate more results.
Table of Contents
What are the goals of performance appraisal?
Among the most common goals are development , improvement and innovation . The three points of attention generate different types of performance appraisal for the professional when they are broken down into goals.
These goals help measure progress and help guide the employee. Discover some of them below:
1. Development goals
They correspond to professional or personal growth. Here, you identify the employee’s potential and seek to promote key competences to achieve it.
2. Improvement goals
These are the cases of correcting the performance. This occurs when the reports indicate a performance below the expected standards and requirements, and HR must follow the evolution of the indicators.
3. Innovation goals
It consists of creating new functions to increase productivity delivery. It is a determining factor for the company’s success, because, as the world is changing rapidly, organizations are constantly called upon to innovate.
4. Smart Goals
Choosing development, improvement and innovation goals, or focusing on another aspect, it will be important to establish adequate levels of demand . The smart methodology can help a lot, as it establishes that the goals must be:
something clearly identifiable and particularized ( specific) ;
measurable in quantitative or qualitative terms ( measurable );
A level within the possibilities, strengths and resources of the recipients ( attainable );
A really important factor for the company ( relevant );
Achievable within a deadline ( defined in time ).
By considering the five criteria, you will promote transparency in performance reviews. After all, everyone will know what the expectations are, and they will be fair.
What is the importance of performance evaluation?
Appreciating the performance of employees is not just a formality. For some time, the number of processes that demand information about the people in the organization has grown in order to be properly planned.
The most obvious is human training and development . Qualifying requires knowledge of current performance levels and tracking the evolution of those levels as programs are implemented.
Another reflection of performance evaluations is seen in the distribution of rewards , because whoever has the best performance accesses the best benefits, such as bonuses, awards and opportunities.
Counseling is also helped. By identifying a potential or weakness of the employee, HR can instruct on the best way to evolve and increase the added value for the company.
There is also the importance of performance as a critical assumption of business strategies. It sounds complicated, but it’s not. Without performance, the company’s plans do not prosper. The best sales planning doesn’t hold up in the face of bad salespeople , for example.
Finally, mention should be made of the processes initiated because of the performance reports. It is in performance that the effects of wear and tear on the organizational climate, leaders who need to be replaced, errors in the mapping of HR processes and investments in people are investigated.
How to choose the type and method of evaluation?
A well-defined objective will provide clarity on which of the available options should be used. After all, the type and method must be consistent with the purpose of the analysis.
Type of assessment
First of all, the option requires consideration of which people should be appraisers and appraisers . After all, the process can encompass the employee himself, the team, the leader or even everyone together.
Choose between self-assessment, 180 degrees, 360 degrees, etc. it also requires an analysis of internal conflicts and the level of maturity of professionals.
Think of the evaluator role as a power. The less certainty about the impartiality and balance of the person in charge, the more mechanisms to share the conduct of the process and avoid biased results must be on the agenda.
Among the most common problems is confirmation bias . From there, the evaluator will focus only on the information and events that corroborate his initial opinion. If the leader no longer recognizes the competence of an employee, there is a risk that he will only seek data that confirm this concept.
Another risk is the halo effect. Here, the mistake is in drawing conclusions from a single characteristic. Imagine a team member particularly skilled or deficient in their communication, this can positively or negatively affect the analysis of other competencies.
There is still the one most linked to conflicts and friendships in the workplace, the affection bias . In this case, even if unconsciously, the diagnosis is hampered by the proximity and relationship between evaluator and evaluated.
Evaluation method
The choice of method is decisive for creating the evaluation history and for making performance measurement more accurate. At this point, the definition of the search parameters and the way in which the information will be collected takes place.
Graphic scales
Traditionally, raters use a two-column-based form. In the first, the analysis criterion is noted; in the second, the professional’s performance. The idea is to get a degree of performance (excellent, good, fair, bad, terrible) for each of the parameters.
Forced choice
The graphic scale is replaced by lists of sentences about the professional’s performance. For example, instead of ranking from 0 to 5, the form would ask to mark the sentence that best describes the employee’s behavior: “rarely absent from work”, “sometimes already absent”, “often absent”.
Field surveys
The third possibility is more focused on the qualitative aspect. In it, HR conducts a series of interviews in the workplace and collects the perception of key people for the result, usually with more open questions.
The modality provides more complete feedback, but requires additional work to transform the responses into statistical data. Unlike scales and forced choice, in which it is possible to quickly transform the result into numbers, the interpretation of the answers is required.
Participatory evaluation by objectives
APPO corresponds to the attempt to create a more democratic model. The pillars of this analysis are 5, according to Chiavenato:
definition of consensual objectives between manager and employee;
negotiation of the availability of resources;
professional performance, that is, the strategy and means used to achieve the result;
monitoring the results in self-assessment or with the help of the manager;
intensive feedback with constant improvement based on information obtained from monitoring.