Performance Appraisal: The Basics

By Author: Travis Ray
Total Articles: 14
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A performance appraisal is an essential tool in a business. A company is composed of a number of employees that come from different backgrounds, have different ideals, and have different work ethics. These employees place a huge role in the success or downfall of your company. This emphasizes the importance of constantly monitoring their performance. If you want your business to succeed, you need to ensure that your employees are not only performing well, but are also enjoying their job. When employees find satisfaction in what they are doing, they tend to do better in their tasks. An annual performance appraisal is the perfect way to keep an eye on your employees' performance

A performance appraisal is more than just handing out questionnaires and having your employees answer them. It is also more than interpreting the results. It is a process that should abide with the standards being set by the company and the law. For starters, it is pertinent that these appraisals should be related to the job, designed to fit all employees regardless of gender, race, background and beliefs, it should be fair, and lastly it should ...
... be carried out by someone knowledgeable and competent in conducting a performance appraisal. If the employee feels that he or she has been wrongly appraised, he or she should be given the choice to raise the matter to the heads.

A standard form should be used when conducting a performance appraisal. This standard form should be applicable to all employees. Standardized forms should contain details like the name of the employee being appraised, details on the evaluation process like dates, day, and time intervals, criteria for performance like an updated job description, objectives, and estimated outputs, a grading system, and of course a slot where additional comments can be written down. Additional sections like suggestions and recommendations can also be added in the form. Lastly, there should be a space where the employee and the supervisor can sign in order to validate the details contained in the performance appraisal form.

It is your task to provide inputs as an appraiser conducting a performance appraisal. These inputs should be documented and filed. You views should be objective and less opinionated. For your inputs to be considered valid you should possess a deep understanding of the responsibilities and obligations of the employees you are currently appraising. To do this you must understand the employee's job description. Moreover, comments on age, race, color, physical appearance, religion, and disability are high discouraged. A performance appraisal is not designed to focus solely on the employee's shortcomings, but it is also designed to give due recognition to the employee's accomplishments and outstanding performance thus these should be documented as well.