Performance Appraisal

Knowledge Center

Definition Performance Appraisal? Meaning.

A Performance Appraisal is a method and a process to identify, observe, measure, evaluate and develop individual employee performance, providing employee feedback, and (indirectly) to improve the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. An appraisal normally consists out of the assessment by a qualified person of the performance and of a discussion of the development and training needs of an employee. It is important to realize there are two sides to any appraisal:

1. 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.

2. 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:

3. Documented.

4. 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.

Steps in a Performance Appraisal. Process

Typically a an appraisal of performance is comprised of three main steps:

1. Definition of the expected duties and the job standards. By line manager, together with employee.
2. Conduct of the performance appraisal, comparing the actual performance of the employee with the performance standard that were previously defined.
3. Feedback and follow-up: line manager provides feedback to the employee and plans are made for future development.

Forum New Topic Forum about Performance Appraisals. How to Give Constructive Feedback? Models and Tips I would like to gather methods and best practices on giving constructive feedback... Perhaps you are using a particular (...) 42   39 comments How to Get Employees to Improve? Issues with Feedback As a manager, you are trying to improve the performance of your team members. And so you should. It's quite common to th (...) 27   13 comments Obsession with Quantifying Human Performance In his book Tyranny of Metrics (2018), Jerry Muller describes the damage our obsession with metrics is causing. Today, a (...) 20   42 comments How to Manage Up and Across while Working from Home? Quite a few people quit their job just because of their boss. Research shows that around 57% of the people leave their j (...) 8   5 comments Consider the Job Situation in Appraisals It is not only the performance that is to be studied but the situation where the job is being carried out needs to be st (...) 7   Decentralized PA In my opinion, performance appraisal should be done at the small units (branches), especially in large corporations. In (...) 6   1 comments Appraise the Past, Develop for the Future As described in the summary, performance management has a dual role: 1. Feedback on past performance, and achieveme (...) 6   Theory of Performance Appraisal? Are there any theories regarding PA? (...) 5   1 comments Performance Appraisal Quotes My quote for the day not related to this topic but willing to add here "use less people instead of useless people" in th (...) 5   How to Deal with Very Good Performers? How to manage very good and top performing employees? What is the best way to reward employees that are ever hittin (...) 4   1 comments Mismatch in PA: Actions from Last Year are Rewarded/Punished This Year It has always been my concern that the traditional way of determining the compensation of an employee is on the basis (a (...) 4   5 comments How Role Clarity and Employee Performance Management can help with Strategic Focus Leadership teams often face the challenge that the majority of jobs in the business defaults mainly in the first level o (...) 4   2 comments Optimize on the Strengths of your Employees I studied many aspects from Business Management to Psychology and later moved to a qualification in teaching. I learned (...) 4   Double Purpose of Employee Appraisals Basically there seem to be two reasons / goals of appraisal systems. 1. To give a feedback to appraisee so that he/ (...) 4   Bonuses.. what is Fair to All Within Large Corporations What is fair to all in a large corporation when bonus time rolls around, quarterly, and yearly. Should all employees be (...) 4   3 comments New Performance Appraisal System for Teachers in the Philippines? What is the new performance appraisal for teachers being used here in the Philippines? (...) 3   1 comments Subjectivity in PA There is a general feeling that PA are subjective and that when managers rate their team members, a (...) 3   Value System Appraisal Performance evaluation is a function of any value system. Thus, efficient performance appraisal should deliver valuable (...) 3   Deloitte’s New Performance Management System Deloitte redesigned their employee performance management system. In Deloitte’s new system there are no cascading object (...) 3   Comparing Appraisals with Examinations Appraisals are to employees what examinations are to students. Examinations have undergone several changes and so h (...) 2   2 comments Annual Confidential Report (ACR) Systems In PA, employees are evaluated over a certain time and given feedback for future development. I thin (...) 2   How to Conduct Appraisals in Project Organizations? What is the best type of appraisal for organizations where work is organized around tasks or projects that take a short (...) 1   1 comments Appraising the What and the How In my organisation a semestral (semi-annual) appraisal of performance is held to all employees. We evaluate WHAT they di (...) 1   Feedback Should be Like a Mirror: Neutral As we can see in various documents on feedback, it is often seen in terms of 'good' or 'bad'. However, feedback is (...) 1   1 comments The Best Methods of Performance Appraisal System in Government Sector I am currently working on finding out the best methods to conduct PA in the government sector where (...) 1   Tips on Performance Management of Employees I'd like to share some important tips on employee performance management: Define and Communicate Company Goals a (...) 1   2 comments 🔥 NEW Post COVID-19 Performance Evaluation A performance review, also called a performance evaluation or performance appraisal, is an appraisal in which a supervis (...) 0   Methods for Evaluation of Employees Let's collect methods and tools, old and new for the evaluation of personnel used by the management of human resources. (...) 0   Performance Appraisal and Salary Determination The performance appraisal process should be based upon an assessment of the employee's value to the company. This value (...) 0   The Meanings of Performance Evaluations The employee evaluations that I have had for the past 15+ years are for the most part reiterations of previous evaluatio (...) 0   PA are not Fair I don't believe in PA. Because it is not fair system for employees due to it's such a very complicat (...) 0   1 comments From Business Objectives > Department Deliverables > Employee Objectives > Performance Appraisal Each year, an organization determines business objectives and these objectives are cascaded into set of action items. Ea (...) 0   Difficulty of Conducting Performance Apprasals in an R&D Organisation The work of an R&D organisation cannot be defined precisely at the beginning of a year. This poses challenges for mid ye (...) -2   1 comments Start a new forum topic about Performance Appraisals. More info. Share your opinion, knowledge and experience or ask a question (sign up for free first)

Best Practices Sign up The top-rated topics about Performance Appraisals. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions. Checklist of 50+ Common Errors in PA I was asked to make a list of common mistakes by managers in PA. G.T. Milkovich and J.M. Newman (...) 83   55 comments How to Achieve Fair PA? It's important that a fair method / system of feed back must be implemented in every organization. This means the apprai (...) 50   2 comments No Routine Annual PA Performance appraisals in my opinion should not be allowed to become a routine annual exercise, but should be used to im (...) 49   4 comments Concerns not Previously Discussed During Performance Reviews I am always worried that there has not been enough upfront review. When my supervisors complete a performance review I a (...) 39   2 comments How to Deal with Average Performers? Managing Average Performers They did deliver, if only a mediocre, standard performance. So they can not be dismisse (...) 29   39 comments Open Communication? Try Coffee Talks I my view, the main problem with annual performance evaluations is the lack of open honest communication. I have found t (...) 27   3 comments Wrong Use of Employee Appraisals My personal view regarding appraisals is that it has become a penalty tool to fight personnel vendettas and not for the (...) 26   1 comments Three Types of PA In employee performance management, PA are an important method to detect the strengths and weaknesse (...) 25   13 comments Broken Confidentiality of PA Hi, my problem is related to behaviour of my boss, who is a causing trouble, especially between employees, because he is (...) 19   4 comments Don't Forget Appraisal Follow-up I came to realise that some appraisals take long to bear any effect. Some data is compiled about the employees but no ef (...) 18   How to Deal with Poor Performers and Non Performers? How does one manage poor performing employees and how do you deal with someone that comes to work that is not productive (...) 17   17 comments Conditions for Successful PA Performance appraisals are a vital action in HR systems. But it will not be a successful program, unless we teach employ (...) 16   5 comments Outcomes of PA The performance appraisal process in practice seeks to develop the human capital of the organisation. However, an indire (...) 16   How to Receive Personal Feedback? Tips Even if we know intellectually that feedback from other people has many advantages (like helping us to avoid making cert (...) 15   1 comments How to React When You are Undervalued? How can you succeed when your tumultuous efforts are not recognized by your superiors and your performance is rated on p (...) 13   6 comments How to Prepare for a Performance Appraisal as Appraiser It is wise to put yourself in the position of the recipient of the appraisal you are about to give to someone else. How (...) 10   39 comments Tips for Ensuring PA Hold Up in Court One inherent risk in the use of performance evaluations is that they may become the basis for or evidence in workplace d (...) 10   8 comments Avoiding Biases in PA My experience indicates that while an employee is being appraised, there are certain cognitive biases which effect the p (...) 9   5 comments Appraisal for Future Job? I am currently studying Project Planning and management . Can a performance appraisal be done to appraise an employee on (...) 9   6 comments Disparaging Appraisal Terms I recently heard the following terms referring to some office workers: they are "do nothings" and "non-performing invest (...) 5   3 comments

Expert Tips Sign up Advanced insights about Performance Appraisals. Here you will find professional advices by experts. 3 Suggested Changes to Improve the Performance Review Process Improving Performance Appraisal Process, Improving Performance Reviews, Best Practices Performance reviews are used in organizations to find out who to hire or to promote and to improve employees’ performanc (...) The Focus of Improving Appraisal Systems Improving Performance Appraisal Process, Improving Performance Reviews, Improving Appraisal Systems, Best Practices Research on improvements in PA often reveals that touch initiatives often emphasize increasing the a (...) Fairness of Managers and Leaders: are Fair Leaders More Effective? Management, Leadership, HR, PA In many studies the relationship between fairness and effective leadership is studied. Managers and leaders are often re (...) Solutions for Top 50 Problems Faced in PA Improvement of PA Find out solutions to top 50 problems faced in PA. Dr. John Sullivan has described the top 50 proble (...)

Information Sources Sign up Various sources of information regarding Performance Appraisals. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. How to Give Successful Feedback to Employees Giving Feedback, Conducting a Performance Review, Performance Appraisal This presentation can be used as a guidance for giving feedback to your employees. The presentation includes the followi (...) Effective Employee PA: Purposes, Characteristics, Sources and Methods Performance Appraisal Concise but good presentation about PA. The presentation includes the following sections: - Purpose (...) Employee Performance Management and PA (In depth) PA, Performance Management, Employee Performance In depth presentation about Performance Management and Performance Appraisal. The presentation clearly explains both con (...) 10 Common Mistakes in Giving People Feedback Performance Feedback, Performance Appraisal, Giving Feedback, Feedback to Employees Giving proper feedback to other people is important, but hard. In this micro-learning video 10 common mistakes are expla (...) The Role of Supervisor | Skills of Supervisors Skills of a Supervisor, Supervisor Role, Supervisor Behavior This presentation elaborates on the skills that supervisors need in order to be successful in their business/organizatio (...) You Cause Poor Employee Performance Employee Appraisal, Performance Appraisal, Performance Review, Employee Performance Following recent forum discussions on preparing PA as a manager, in this video Patrick Schwertfeger (...) The High Performance Development Model Employee Performance Management, Employee Development, Career Management Presentation about the High Performance Development Model. The presentation contains a brief description of many employe (...) Multitasking and Ways to Avoid It Multitasking Behavior, Peeformance Management This presentation is about Multitasking. It includes some interesting multitasking experiments and ends with seven solut (...) Bullying: Workplace Performance and Preventive Strategies Organizational Management, Strategy This presentation is about bullying in the workplace, its impacts and management strategies that can help to address bul (...) DCOM Model Organization Dashboard Evaluate Organization Capability in DCOM Table presents factors by which to determine if an organization is capable (and to what degree) in utilizing DCOM. The e (...) DCOM Roadmap at 3 Levels Applying the DCOM Approach Checklists describing typical attention points for: Direction, Competence, Opportunity and Motivation (DCOM) at 3 levels (...) Guide Toward Coaching your Employees Coaching Employees, Performance Reviews, Giving Effective Feedback Presentation that provides information about the ways to effectively coach employees. The presentation includes the foll (...) How to Get a Raise. 5 Negotiation Secrets Salary Negotiations, Negotiating a Raise In this video Donald Dell gives advice on how to get a raise. 1. Never make the first offer: listen and learn first 2. (...) Introduction to Performance Appraisal of Employees Initial Understanding of Performance Appraisal, Start of Workshop In this short video some key elements of Performance Appraisal are defined: 1. Objective: to improve performance. 2. A (...) Work-Family Conflicts and Work-Life Policies Performance Management, Work-Life Balance, HR, Programs This presentation is about Work-Family Conflicts and Employee Performance. The presentation includes the following secti (...)

Research Links Sign up Automatically jump to further useful sources regarding Performance Appraisals. News Videos Presentations Books More

Compare with: Self-Appraisal  |  Peer-Appraisal  |  Behavioral Observation Scales  |  Competency-based Approach  |  Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales  |  360-Degree Feedback  |  Management by Objectives  |  CSFs and KPIs  |  Result Oriented Management  |  Pre-Employment Screening

Return to Management Hub: Communication & Skills  |  Human Resources

More on Management  |  Return to Management Dictionary

This ends our Performance Appraisal summary and forum.