Introducing a case-study approach

Performance appraisal is an essential instrument of personnel management designed to serve the following purposes:

1. To identify an individual employee’s current level of job performance.

2. To identify employee strengths and weakness.

3. To enable employees improve their performances.

4. To provide a basis for rewarding or panelizing employee in relation to the contribution or lack of adequate contribution to corporate goal.

5. To motivate higher performance

6. To identify training and development needs.

7. To identify potential performance

8. To provide information for succession planning.

9. To validate selection process and training programme.

10. To encourage supervisory understanding of the subordinates Who should Appraise Employee Performance?

Traditionally, performance rating used to be the sole responsibility of the immediate senior officer or head of section or department. Recent development indicates that employee performance appraisals are undertaken in seven basic ways which include:

(1) Rating of subordinate by superior officer called superior rating;

(2) Rating done by employee of equal rank called peer rating

(3) Rating of a senior officer by employee of junior rank called subordinate rating;

(4) Committee rating usually conducted by a group of senior officials of organization on an

80 employee.

(5) Self-appraisal is done by the employee himself on his own performance based on agreed standard of performance;

(6) Users of service rating is conducted by the customers or consumers of organizations product or service and lastly.

(7) Contract rating is done by experts assigned by the organization management to conduct employee performance on contract basis and on behave of the organization management 3.5 Performance Appraisal Process

Performance appraisal process is made up of series of interconnected activities that constitute the appraisal system. The process commences with the filling of appraisal form called Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) form in Nigeria civil service. After the employee has filled and forwarded the form to the boss or manager or head of the department, the assessment is made and the boss invite the subordinates for post appraisal interview which allow the rate and the rater to reach an agreement on the result of the appraisal.

The process always ends in employee job improvement plans or promotion to another level or higher position and or salary increases.

For an appraisal system and instrument to achieve successful measurement of employee performance, it should fulfill the following conditions:

3.6.1 Reliability and Validity

A good appraisal system should be reliable and valid. An appraisal system is said to be reliable if several ratings by one person produces similar results or if two different experienced raters obtain similar rating scores on one employee. An appraisal technique is valid when it appraises exactly what it is designed to measure.

81 3.6.2 Determining performance criteria

An effective appraisal system specify what to measure in the appraisal form such as quality and quantity of output, services and requisite job behaviour, talents and attitudes. Different jobs should have different performance measurement criteria. Care must be taken not to use one system of criteria for measuring performance of different professions and skill like in the civil service where APER form is used as the standard criteria to measure all jobs in the service whether applicable or not, assessment just have to be made.

However, some organizations in the civil service have made concerted efforts to design APER forms that should measure job-related performances of their agencies. Those who have not improve their appraisal instrument should do so in the interest of validity and relevance of measuring instrument.

3.6.3 Standardization

A good appraisal system should establish precise and concise standards such as the forms, procedure and administrative technique to conduct employee appraisal accurately measure job-related performance.

3.6.4 Practical Validity

The appraisal instrument (form) and system should be applicable to measure wide ranging group of jobs and skills, easy to administer, cost effective and effective.

3.6.5 Legal Sanction

The appraisal principles and practices should conform with the legal provisions of every country. The principle of general acceptability of the performance measuring techniques and instruments.

82 3.6.6 Training of Appraisers.

Since appraisal is a veritable element of personnel management, care should be taken to ensure that the officials assigned to do them have adequate knowledge of the rationale for appraisal and possess adequate knowledge of the subordinate job contents, and have acquired requisite experience to handle appraisals and in conducting appraisal interviews.

3.6.7 Open Communication

A good appraisal system ensures that employees are made conversant or aware of expected work-place behaviour or performance standards or levels. Also, the result of the rating should be openly discussed with the subordinate who should be allowed to ask questions regarding the rating criteria used and the result. This implies that the open system of appraisal where subordinate are shown the rating score and told who the result is obtained is more preferred to the secrete appraisal system where the boss assess and forward result to top management where decisions are taken without the consent of the employee.

3.6.8 Post – Appraisal Interview

A good appraisal system consist of post appraisal interview which grant the employee opportunity to contact the assessors and find out their errors, deficiencies, and strength so as to know the performance level expected of them.

3.6.9 Due Process

A standard appraisal system should establish a formal procedure for employees to register their grievances in situations of in accurate or unfair assessment made on them by their superior officers.

These indeed are comprehensive factors to be put into consideration in establishing effective

83 appraisal system in organizations.