a.
There are many challenges for conducting performance appraisals effectively,
performance appraisals are feared by everyone in the organization. They are disliked by
the employees and by the appraisers themselves. Being judged is a basic biological
fear, it comes from a part of our brain that is far primitive, it is deep rooted within us. The
ones who are being judged obviously have many things to fear and worry about that
gives them a lot of stress in the organization whereas the ones passing the judgment,
also have some things to fear, as they are only human, and can pass the wrong
judgments due to their own biases,their stereotypes and dogma. The challenges faced
by the ones who are passing the judgment can be very hard to deal with as those things
are a part of their personality, and a part of what makes them “them”. A common
challenge faced by the appraiser in the workplace is known as the halo error effect.
What is the halo/horn effect? The "halo" or "horn" effect is a form of rater bias which
occurs when an employee is highly competent or incompetent in one area, and the
supervisor rates the employee correspondingly high or low in all areas. An example of
the halo effect is when one assumes that a good-looking person in a photograph is also
an overall good person. This error in judgment reflects one's individual preferences,
prejudices, ideology, and social perception. this is a deep, rooted bias and perceptual
error which is inside all of us it is a part of our reptilian brain. Another one of the
challenges faced by the appraiser is none other than stereotype effect. A stereotype is a
mistaken idea or belief many people have about a thing or group that is based upon how
they look on the outside, which may be untrue or only partly true. Workplace
stereotyping is a fixed, overgeneralized belief about a person or group of people. This
stereotype may be based on your past experience with someone of a similar age,
gender, ethnicity, background, education, etc., or your cultural biases and prejudices
(which we all have). For example, women may be assumed to be less competent than
men in the workplace. Lastly, another challenge faced by the appraiser is known as the
similar to me effect. Similar-to-me error is when the rater's tendency is biased in
performance evaluation toward those employees seen as similar to the raters
themselves. We can all relate to people who are like us but cannot let our ability to relate
to someone influence our rating of their employee performance. And some of the
challenges and reasons as to why the employees hate performance appraisals are given
below. It creates an atmosphere of high anxiety and stress. When you receive feedback
that challenges your performance level, it is quite natural to go into a defensive mode,
for it makes you feel anxious, irked, and withdrawn. And when the entire feedback is
collated and shared at the end of the year, employees are bound to show aversion to it.
Managers bring their own biases and subjective notions to the process of appraisal.
These preconceptions invariably skew the actual results, which should have been
originally based on objective parameters. The biased feedback makes the employees
lose faith in the system and view the whole performance appraisal process as unreliable
or unfair. Also, there is a lack of a defined standard for conducting performance
appraisals. This creates confusion and stress upon both the appraiser and the appraised
b. Some of the strategies for effective performance management and performance
appraisals is given below, The success of meeting organizational goals is reliant on
employee performance management. Performance management is an ongoing
collaborative process where managers and employees work together to improve
performance.
c.
d. There are seven main techniques to guide the performance management process:
e.
f. Plan and set clear performance goals and management expectations
g. Perform regular checks on employee progress
h. Utilize employee peer reviews
i. Provide frequent employee performance feedback from management
j. Offer incentives to strive for higher performance
k. Clearly define roles and responsibilities
l. Encourage continued professional development
m. Also, while and before conducting a performance appraisal, the appraiser must Brush up
on their appraisal skills - if they haven’t received any formal training on performance
management, now is the time to request it. Even if they have, consider asking for a
refresher to ensure that they are up to date on company policy. They should also
consider asking peers for some honest feedback on their management style as this
could affect their ability to undertake effective appraisals. They should prepare in
advance as preparation is key, arrange a private meeting venue with as few distractions
as possible. Give the employee sufficient notice (two weeks is ideal) and an overview of
the process in advance. If the organisation asks staff to complete a self-appraisal form,
ensure this is issued well in advance of the meeting. They should focus on
communication that goes both ways. They should encourage a two-way, open
discussion - ask the employee open questions relating to their performance. Offer
positive feedback, thanks and praise for areas in which they have excelled. If they
identify any areas for development, acknowledge these and steer the conversation
towards ways in which these might be improved through training or additional support.
They should focus more on listening rather than talking, it is vital to actively listen and
consider non-verbal cues such as body language. Not interrupting the employee when
they are speaking, although the need may arise to ask probing questions to clarify
meaning. Lastly, the appraiser should offer regular feedback - give staff the opportunity
to discuss their performance on an ad-hoc basis - not just at their annual performance
review. Take the opportunity to discuss performance both formally and informally,
ensuring training and development are regularly offered when required.