Suggestions for improving performance appraisals in HRM are as follows:
Suggestions
1. Choosing the Appraisal Method:
With a wide range of appraisal methods currently available, an organisation is faced with a difficult task of selecting the best approach to meet its needs. Before selecting the method of appraisal to be followed, we should examine two areas with special care:
(a) Various factors that can help or hinder the implementation of a particular appraisal programme and
(b) The appropriateness of the appraisal method for the special jobs to which the appraisal system will apply.
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2. Multiple Raters:
As the number of raters increases, the probability of attaining more accurate information increases. If a person has had ten supervisors, nine have rated him excellent and one poor, we can discount the value of the one poor evaluation.
Therefore, by moving employees about within the organisation so as to gain a number of evaluations, we increase the probability of achieving more valid and reliable evaluation.
3. Training Appraisers:
If you cannot find good raters, the alternative is to make good raters. Evidence indicates that the training of appraisers can make them more accurate raters.
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Common errors such as halo and leniency have been minimised or eliminated in workshops where managers can practice observing and rating behaviours.
4. Ongoing Feedback:
Employees like to know how they are doing. If managers share with the subordinate both expectations and disappointments on a day-to-day basis by providing the employee with frequent opportunities to discuss performance before any reward or punishment is handed out, there will be no surprises at the time of the annual formal review.
5. Selective Rating:
It has been suggested that appraisers should rate in those areas in which they have significant job knowledge.
If raters make evaluation on only those dimensions on which they are in a good position, we increase the inter-rater agreement and make the evaluation a more valid process.
6. Peer Evaluation:
The main advantages of peer evaluation are that:
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(a) There is a tendency for co-workers to offer more constructive insight to each other so that, as a unit, each will improve and
(b) The recommendations of peers tend to be more specific regarding job behaviours.
However, for peer assessments to function properly, the environment in the organisation must be such that politics and competition for promotions are minimised.
7. Post-Appraisal Interviews:
It is necessary to communicate to employees how they have performed. To meet this need, managers must take the time to schedule a meeting with their subordinates to discuss the results of the performance evaluation.
Employees need to know how they are doing, be recognised for outstanding achievements and be notified about where there is room for improvement.
8. Rewards to Accurate Appraisers:
The manager doing the evaluation must perceive that it is in their personal and career interests to conduct accurate appraisals.
If they are not properly rewarded for doing effective appraisals, they will take the easy way out trying first to avoid the process entirely.
If pushed, they will complete the appraisals, but such appraisals can be expected to suffer from positive leniency and low differentiation. Encouraging and rewarding accurate appraisers will overcome this.
To conclude, we can say that performance evaluations are an integral part of every organisation. Properly developed and implemented, the performance evaluation can help an organisation achieve its goals by developing productive employees.