Performance Appraisal

Description of Performance Appraisal. Explanation.

Definition Performance Appraisal. Description.

A Performance Appraisal is a process that consists out of the assessment by a qualified person of the performance and of the development and training needs of an employee. It is important to realize there are two sides to any Appraisal:

Judgment (Historic). Actual performance is compared against performance targets and feedback (both positive and negative) is given. This may or may not include the determination of a pay increase. Generally, including pay in the Appraisal has the major disadvantages that honest and open communication becomes almost impossible, and the judgment part of the Appraisal becomes too dominant.
Development (Future-oriented). The needs of the employee are evaluated in terms of the training requirement to improve skills and knowledge in line with future performance objectives and the direction the employee wants to grow. Furthermore Employee Objectives (SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, Time-related) are agreed. Compare: Career Management.

Any Performance Appraisal should be:

Documented.
Delivered in a face-to-face meeting.

Any Appraisal should be well prepared for by both the manager and the employee. Although normally the line manager of the employee is best positioned to be the appraiser, in some organizations it can be a special Personnel Manager. The advantage can be that this specialized person has more experience, special skills and knowledge on doing employee reviews. An issue is that the Personnel Manager must be aware of how the employee is functioning in his work environment. This can be supported by Peer-Appraisals and/or by 360-Degree Feedback.

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End of description Performance Appraisal. An explanation.