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Conference
„Enhancing the effectiveness and
efficiency of the civil service through
performance appraisal“
Performance appraisal in the civil service:
An overview of practices
Airi Alakivi
Senior Adviser, OECD/SIGMA
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Baku, 10 October 2012
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Topics
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OECD/SIGMA’s way of work in
strengthening public governance
Objectives of performance appraisal
Practices of performance appraisal
Common challenges and trends in
performance appraisal of civil
servants
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OECD/SIGMA’s way of work in
strengthening public governance
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There is no acquis communautaire on public administration and
civil service issues in the European Union
There are European Principles for Public Administration
(OECD/SIGMA 1999), a guiding concept for the reform of civil
service in accession states
OECD/SIGMA is a joint initiative of the EU and the OECD, working
with countries in transition (EU candidate countries and European
Neighbourhood countries) to promote and strengthen public
governance systems and capacities of people working in
working in public administrations, in five key areas:
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Legal framework and civil service management
Public finance management
Public procurement
Policy making and co-ordination
Strategy and reform
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Why performance appraisal?
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Efficiency and effectiveness in government’s
performance depend on the talent of civil servants
and the quality of their knowledge and skills; therefore,
the state is responsible for ensuring the efficient,
professional and impartial performance of the public
administration through establishing adequate
management standards and tools of HRM, incl.
performance appraisal
A professional and well-functional civil service
supports economic recovery and growth, helps to
sustain good policy making and service delivery, and
accountability and responsibility in utilising public
resources
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Objective of performance appraisal
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Performance appraisal is means by which
 performance of a civil servant is assessed against a
set of predefined criteria with which an individual
fulfils an agreed set of tasks and objectives (focus on
delivery)
 needs for training and development of new
knowledge and skills are identified
 clear targets and responsibilities for the next period
are agreed
 good performance are rewarded, e.g. with career
development, performance-related pay
 levels of professional competences are evaluated (by
180-360º feedback) and development needs defined
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Practices of performance appraisal (1)
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Performance appraisal has been introduced in civil
service laws in most EU and OECD countries
 General principles in the law, detailed regulations
and procedures in the secondary legislation
 Decentralised implementation
 No universal performance criteria for civil servants
 No static conceptions of performance evaluation
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Practices of performance appraisal (2)
Who is evaluated?
 All categories of civil servants
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 Degree of achievement of agreed targets
 Levels of professional competences (knowledge, skills, values)
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Who carries out the evaluation?
 Immediate superior
 (in the case of 360º feedback also civil servant him/herself,
immediate subordinates and colleagues)
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What are the most frequent appraisal criteria?
How is the evaluation performed?
 Once in a year (twice in a year) – performance conversation
according to the regulations and methodological guidelines
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Practices of performance appraisal (3)
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Objectives
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U.K.
1985
(2002)
- to promote the delivery of high quality but affordable public services, and rewarding good
performance and penalising bad performance
- to increase transparency
- to improve pay practices
Denmark
1987
(2002)
- to retain high-qualified employees and compensate civil servants for hard working
conditions
- to strengthen the link between pay and performance, and objectives of ind. institutions
France
2002
- to acknowledge and reward individual merit and performance of civil servants
- to simplify the structure of the pay system, making it more coherent and flexible
- to facilitate civil servants’ mobility
Lithuania
2002
- to assess professional qualification and competences to perform the activities set in the
job descriptions, and to link the results to remuneration and promotion opportunities
- (for the heads of institutions:) to assess professional qualification and competences to
perform the activities set in the job description, and capacity to implement the institutional
strategies and achieve its goals
Slovenia
2002
- to foster careers of civil servants and the adequacy of the decisions on their promotion
Portugal
2004
- to improve the quality of public services
- to increase civil servants’ accountability, differentiate performance levels and reward merit
- to improve the quality of team work and leadership
- to help identify training needs and mobility opportunities
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Practices of performance appraisal (4)
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Criteria for appraisal
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U.K.
- the level of achievement of professional targets
- specific set of professional competences based on a competency framework, e.g. ability
to solve problems and make decisions, leadership, incentive and development skills,
communication and cooperation skills etc.
Denmark
- appraisals are based on a dialogue between the employee and the line manager
- adaptations of balanced scorecard, individual targets linked to the institutional objectives
France
- professionalism and technical skills
- organisational and professional results
- personal qualities and interpersonal skills
Lithuania
- for career civil servants: productivity, competence and quality of performance
- for heads of institutions: achievement of the strategic goals, management and leadership
skills
Slovenia
- professional results
- independence, creativity and accuracy in the performance of professional work
- reliability in the performance of work
- quality of cooperation and organisation
- other skills related to the performance of work
Portugal
- civil servants contribution to the achievement of the agreed targets and outputs
- behavioural skills
- personal attitude, efforts and commitment
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Practices of performance appraisal (5)
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Examples of indicators on which appraisal is based
U.K.
- percentage of achievement of agreed targets (usually a small number of agreed targets,
most commonly 4–8). Target rates are frequently used to link the appraisal system to PRP.
Denmark
- some institutions use adaptations of balanced scorecards – civil servants’ individual
targets are normally linked to the institutional objectives –, however rating is usually
informal
France
- there is a cascade of performance agreements from the political level to the senior civil
servants and downwards, the strategic and operational objectives being translated into
performance targets and indicators
Lithuania
- indicators that are helping to assess the adopted criteria for performance, i.e. productivity,
competence, quality of performance
Slovenia
- percentage of achievement of agreed targets
Portugal
- percentage of achievement of agreed targets (a global mark for all agreed targets is
calculated, using specific weights)
- appraisal marks of attitudes, based on standardised qualitative descriptions of the 1–5
quality levels of professional attitudes
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Practices of performance appraisal (6)
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Frequency of appraisal
U.K.
- usually annually
- in some cases more frequent “monitoring-oriented” appraisals (mid-year review, quarterly
review meetings) are also performed
Denmark
- once a year
France
- once a year
Lithuania
- once a year
- extraordinary appraisals are possible
Slovenia
- once a year
Portugal
- once a year
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Practices of performance appraisal (7)
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Who evaluates the civil servants?
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U.K.
- the immediate superior plays a key role in the performance appraisal (cacading from the
Secretary General downwards)
- room is also left for self-assessment
- for the allowance of PRP or bonuses for good performance, Pay Committees have usually
the final word
Denmark
- the appraisal is carried out jointly by the line manager and the concerned civil servant
France
- the appraisal is performed by the immediate superior and the civil servant him/herself
- in order to ensure a coherent and transparent implementation of PRP, managers has to be
trained on performance appraisal
Lithuania
- the appraisal is carried out by the immediate superior (of a career civil servant) or by the
appointing authority (of a head of an institution)
Slovenia
- the appraisal is carried out by the immediate superior of the civil servant, using specific
evaluation forms in order to substantiate the results of the appraisals
Portugal
- the line manager (or the person who has responsibility for the supervision of the civil
servant’s work) plays the key role in the appraisal
- the system also integrates self-assessment and intervention of top manager of the
concerned institution and advisory unit for the coordination of appraisal (CCA)
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Practices of performance appraisal (8)
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What are the usual procedures?
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U.K.
Procedures are quite diverse for senior civil servants/SCS (ca 4000) and other civil
servants (ca 505 000):
- detailed methodological guides for performance management and reward in the SCS
adopted by the Cabinet Office
- performance appraisal procedures for other civil servants decided at the institutional level
Denmark
Ministry of Finance has designed a methodological tool to facilitate the annual interview,
which includes a preparation guide, a conclusion form and a development plan form for civil
servants
France
- performance and results achieved during the year are assessed against the set of agreed
targets
- results of the appraisal are formalised in a report prepared by the line manager and
communicated to the civil servant
Lithuania
- immediate superior performs the appraisal, using a 4-level rating scale
- result of the appraisal may lead to the award of a bonus, promotion, demotion or dismissal
Slovenia
- appraisal is performed by the line managers in form of an interview
- civil servants are notified of their appraisal result within 30 days, if they agree, they
confirm their agreement by signing the evaluation form
Portugal
- a standardised 1–5 rating scale is used
- 5 steps have been instituted: self-assessment, previous assessment by the line manager,
harmonisation and validation of the appraisal by the CCA, evaluation interview,
homologation of the assessment results by the top manager
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Practices of performance appraisal (9)
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How are the appraisal procedures controlled?
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U.K.
If civil servant does not agree with the results of an appraisal, he/she can request an
interview with the evaluator, if the mark is not changed the civil servant can make a
complaint all the way up to the managerial staff of the concerned authority.
Denmark
No formally instituted mechanisms to control the fairness of the appraisals. However, the
system is based on transparency and mutual trust. As rules related to the PRP have been
adopted in the collective agreement with the central employee’s organisations, the
negotiation system in place offers union representatives the possibility to ensure that the
appraisals are fair.
France
Additional comments to the appraisal report, prepared by the line manager, by the
employee, the line manager or the higher-level manager may be added, before the report is
included in the civil servant’s administrative file.
Lithuania
Civil servants who contest the results of the appraisals have right to appeal the appraisal
decisions in accordance with a procedure set out by the Law on Administrative Proceedings
Slovenia
Civil servants disagreeing with the results of the appraisals may request, within 8 days after
being notified, that the appraisal result to be re-examined by the commission.
Portugal
The fairness and coherence of the appraisals are expected to be controlled by the CCA
during the appraisal process. Within 5 days from the notification of the appraisal results,
civil servants may contest the result. In such cases, the top manager requests an advice
from CCA, and within 15 days takes the final decision.
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Common challenges and trends
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principally financed by the EU
A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
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Simple systems
Clear and adequate methodological procedures
Mutual trust and clear communication of the appraisal
criteria, expected outcomes and incentives
Flexibility in renegotiating objectives and targets when
necessary
Adequate training
Linking good appraisal results to rewards, career
development and enrichment
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Performance appraisal based on competency
frameworks – how to define and assess the most crucial
competencies for civil servants of today and tomorrow?
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Thank you for your attention!
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