Performance Appraisal Tools and Techniques

Performance appraisals are every year regular process in which an employee and his performance are assessed against a set of goals. Companies can enhance employee performance by trying different performance appraisal tools and techniques. A solid employee performance review strategy can make the process more efficient and effective. Although performance appraisals can be administered at any time, many companies do it on a semi-annual or annual basis. In this article, we will see some examples of performance appraisal methods for better understanding.

Objectives of the Performance Appraisal

Before we learn about various performance appraisal tools and techniques, here are the main reasons why performance appraisals are essential:

• To identify the skills and shortcomings of the employees to place the right staff in the adequate jobs.
• To keep track of compensation packages, wage structures, and salary raises.
• To provide employees with feedback on their performance and associated status.
• To maintain and evaluate a person’s potential for future growth and development.
• To review and hold learning programmes.
• To provide employees with feedback on their performance and associated status.
• To influence employees’ working habits. 

Performance Appraisal Tools and Techniques

• Ranking

According to the ranking method, the rater must rank their subordinates based on their overall performance. This method compares the ranking of one worker in a work team to that of another worker. Every employee’s comparative position is determined by their numerical rank. A person’s job performance may also be compared to that of another competitor in the group.

• Essay Appraisal

The free form approach is another name for this technique of performance evaluation. This is a formal manner in which your supervisor writes an essay based on your prior year’s or quarter’s performance. The manager may inquire about your knowledge of the job’s main subjects and even your comprehension of your company’s procedure, policies, and objectives.

• Weighted Checklists

Each statement that defines a certain task is assigned a weight as well as a scale value. When rating an employee, the supervisor looks for statements that most accurately represent the person’s behaviour. The values of all the assertions examined by the rater are averaged to score the rating sheet. For each job, a checklist is created by people who are very familiar with the tasks. 

The judges then categorise these assertions, and weights are allocated to them based on the value assigned by the judges.

• Method of Forced Distribution

This is a technique of ranking in which raters must allocate a specified percentage of rates to certain percentiles. The design and format of performance appraisals influence the classification of personnel to be assigned to each group.

• Critical Incident Technique

Using this strategy, the management makes checklists of remarks about an employee’s highly efficient and inefficient behaviour. These key incidents or events reflect excellent or poor employee or job performance. 

The manager keeps a log for each employee in which they capture critical instances of the worker’s conduct regularly. These incidences are considered in the worker’s record at the end of the appraisal period.

• Paired Comparison

Another performance appraisal tool and technique for ranking employees is the paired comparison methodology. This procedure, however, is substantially more difficult and time-consuming. 

The main aspect of this type of performance appraisal tool is that each employee is paired with another employee. The manager uses this strategy to determine whether each employee has significantly improved or is worse than the others.

 Advantages of Performance Appraisal Tools and Techniques

• Improvement in Performance: Appraisal methods are always designed to help employees improve their performance. It helps in the estimation of potential changes such as technology. 
• Employee Development: Appraisal systems assess whether employees require additional training and serve as the primary source of information about the employees’ capabilities and potential.
• Remedial Actions: Through the appraisal system, any shortcomings in staff can be learned, and remedial actions are implemented.
• Career Planning: The performance appraisal tool is helpful in career planning for employees because it benefits the preparation of a SWOT analysis for each employee.
• Promotions: Performance appraisal techniques help managers decide which employees should get promotions, transfers, and prizes.
• Motivating Employees: It is a tool for inspiring people. Employees are motivated to give their best performance for better performance evaluation.

Conclusion

Performance appraisals are reviews of an employee’s work performance regularly. Companies frequently use performance appraisals to provide responses on employees’ jobs and understand choices such as fee raises, incentives, and terminations. 

The examples of performance appraisal methods differ from one organisation to the next. Some organisations, for example, do annual appraisals, while others do it every six months. There are also different performance evaluation systems, which have evolved through time as technology and human resource practices have progressed.