Performance Appraisals

Getting the most out of performance appraisals
Performance appraisal offers more promise for improving employee and organizational productivity than any other human resource system. Holding aneffective performance review is a characteristic that distinguishes more successful companies from less successful ones.
The “right” appraisal system is not necessarily the current research favorite orthe one that is in use at another company, it is the one that best fits the particular organization and its management.
How an appraisal system is introduced and installed is likely to be as importantas what type of system is developed. An appraisal system that is forced into an organization by corporate management without consultation with other management levels, or that is introduced by humanresources department without support from the managers, probably will die really quickly. An introduction and installation strategy must sell the new system to the organization, building a generalbase of acceptance and ownership by the eventual users.
There are three organization and management variables that exert a special force in building a successful appraisal system:
1. Culture of theorganization:
a. Culture is a major determinant of how relationships are conducted within an organization and how the business is run. It colors the feeling one gets inside an organizationand is portrayed in the products and services delivered to clients.
b. The appraisal system must reflect the organization’s culture. An appraisal system that is out of synch with cultural normsalso will lack meaning for employees, because it will be viewed as irrelevant to how things really get done.
c. Bringing appraisal practices into agreement with culture requires a criticalanalysis of the elements of culture that impact appraisal – these include the way employees are rewarded and advanced through the organization, the structure and exercise of power, the flow and...