Managing

Performance Appraisal

QU, MBA

1st, April, 2009

Dr Hend Al Muftah

Session Plan

Introduction

Practice of Performance Appraisal (PA)

Contemporary PA

Problems related to PA

PA @ QU

• Why do employees need

performance reviews?

• Why do managers and supervisors

need performance appraisals?

• Why do organizations need

performance appraisals?

Introduction

The practice of PA has undergone

many major changes over the last

decades, which was driven by large-

scale organizational changesRestructuring

Move to teamwork

TQM

BPR

Cultural change

Key terms

Performance… relationship between a person‟s capabilities and what the person actually achieves, usually related to a person‟s job.

Performance management…..…A broad term that has come to stand for the set of practices through which work is defined and reviewed, capabilities are developed, and rewards are distributed…” (Morhamn & Morhamn, 1995).

Performance Appraisal…a process for reviewing the past performance of an employee, and agreeing future objectives and development activities.

Appraisal – what is it?

•A Measure of performance(actual vs. planned)

•A Conclusion of continuous

feedback

•A step towards development

Practice of PA - Scope

PA has become a common HR practice in high performance jobs especially within financial, sales and customer care sectors, especially within profit-making organizations.

It is equally practiced in private and public organizations such as government authorities, schools, universities, hospitals, banks etc., etc.,

Still „contingent‟ and „peripheral‟ workers are mostly left out of appraisal schemes

Practice of PA – Advantages and

DisadvantagesAdvantage

- PA can bring coherence (integration) within the organization (i.e. performance → reward → development → succession)

Disadvantages

- Integration plans are often too ambitious

- Using past information to predict future performance can be misleading

Practice of PA – Uses of PA

Application of PA can be for the following purposes:

Defining (and clarifying) performance expectations

Identifying training and development needs

Providing career counseling

Help with succession planning

Facilitating communications and involvement

Allocating rewards and determining promotion

Motivating and controlling employees

PA

Objectives

Documentatio

n

Provide

career

counseling

PromotionsSuccession

planning

Rewards

Controlling

Identifying T

& D needs

Defining Perf. expectations

Motivation

Performance Management (PM)PM is a “system & attitudes which help

organizations to plan, delegate and assess the operations of services”

• Shared vision of the org objectives

• Individual performance objectives that are related to org objectives

• Plan, Monitor And regular review of individual targets towards progress

1. Ongoing Developmental Process & Motivational Exercise

2. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the PM process

How is Appraisal Conducted?

Set the organization‟s goals

Set the departmental goals

Set & Discuss individual

goals

Define expected results

Performance reviews

Provide feedback

5 key Components of Conducting

Appraisal/Review

1. Planning and Preparation

2. Starting the Meeting

3. Discussion

4. Closing

5. Follow-up

Appraisal Discussion

"The manager and you should spend only about 30% of the

time discussing the past and 70% talking about future

performance,"

PA as Managerial Control

PA have become very important

managerial tool in motivating &

controlling staff

PA is seen as a tool in maintaining staff

loyalty & commitment

PA provides managers with opportunity

to reinforce corporate values and culture

Thus, it is a strategic instrument in the

control process

Contemporary PA

- Upward Appraisal System: Involves

employees rating their manager‟s

performance & often leads to improved

leadership and employee empowerment

- Customer Appraisal: where organization is

setting its employees performance standards

base on customer surveys (e.g. customer

care card, telephone surveys, focus groups,

interviews, postal surveys)

Contemporary PA – 360° Appraisal

- A popular choice (75% of Fortune 500 companies are using it)

- 360° Appraisal is based on feedback derived from ratings from peers, sub-ordinates, supervisors (managers) and customers.

- Wide variations in terms of what is appraised.

- However two general approaches are used mostly:- Unstructured approach: open questions are asked about (i)

major value adding areas (ii) managerial strengths (iii) improvements needed

- Structured approach: questionnaire based on model of managerial competency. Key components include role analysis, commercial awareness, customer care, performance problems and professional development.

Contemporary PA – Advantages of 360°

Appraisal

- Multiple raters give a wide perspective to evaluation

- Whole some feedback to the manager and the managed

However cost and time requirements for 360° Appraisal are high. Hence

HR Consultants are making lucrative careers out of it

Problems related to PA

Most employees (both managers and

managed) hate PA (most disliked this

activity – WHY?).

PAs over promised and under deliver

Most managers are not trained to conduct

PAs. Hence they use their gut feeling and

focus on negativity.

PAs are subject to political manipulation

(„who is the daddy‟ effect).

Paperwork related to PAs is excessive

PM @ QU

2007-08

The process of quantifying, reviewing,

reporting, and enhancing performance

levels

What are the major benefits to QU?

Enforcing a fair and consistent

performance appraisal system

Fostering personal growth and career

development for QU staff

Supporting QU “Attracting & Retaining

Employees” objective

Enhancing QU performance through

linking individual objectives to University

objectives

PMS Components

Ongoing … Review

Appraisal of Objectives

• What results should be

delivered

• SMART

Competencies Assessment

• How should the results be

achieved

• Soft skills

Personal Development Plan

Bridge gaps and prioritise an

action plan for development

• Linked to QU Objectives

• Leadership

• Teamwork

• Planning & Organisation

• Results Orientation

• Change Orientation

• Customer Focus

PM Cycle

1

Continuous Feedback

Ongoing Update

2

Performance Final

Review and Evaluation

Setting Objectives

and

Personal Development Plan

Ap

pra

iser

Ap

pra

isee

3

The PMS Cycle

Setting Objectives

and

Personal Development Plan

1

1. Setting Shared QU objectives

2. Setting organizational unit objectives

3. Agree employee objectives

4. Agree Competencies Levels

5. Set the Personal Development Plan

The PMS Cycle

Continuous Feedback

Ongoing Update

2

1. Talk to each other about performance

2. Identify improvements and actions

3. Update objectives (if needed)

The PMS Cycle

Performance Final

Review and Evaluation

3

1. Self assessment

2. Review by appraiser.. comments

3. Discussion and agreement on scores

REALITY!!!Results2007

Out of the 92% (QU staff who submitted their PAs to HR), 54% scored 4 (exceed expectations) and 18% scored outstanding performance!!!

Out of the 98% (QU staff who submitted their PAs to HR), only 29% scored 4 (exceed expectations) and 4% scored outstanding.

The received scores (2008) showed the following:

Actions

Professional and highly customized PM training for both supervisors and staff

Efficient 2-way communication with the organizational units through focal points

“3 is Good” campaign

Yes, we made it…affected positively the performance culture….

Positives

Awareness about QU objectives.

Awareness about department objectives.

Awareness about individual objectives and self initiatives.

Understanding of job responsibilities.

Understanding the job competencies.

The PM system will NOT:

Solve all our organizational problems

Change the organizational culture

Make the organization fairer or staff happier

Why not?

Because PM system is a tool and tools don‟t make

things happen….

People do!!!

People just like you, with the right tool in hands and

the right attitude in mind!

KEY MESSAGE

THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY OF MANAGING

PERFORMANCE

THERE ARE NO UNIVERSAL SOLUTION TO PM

PROBLEMS AND EACH ORGANIZATION MUST,

THROUGH A PROCESS OF DIAGNOSIS,

ACTION, EVALUATION AND LEARNING,

DEVELOP ITS OWN STRATEGY AND

PRACTICES

LESSONS LEARNED

Generally, PM proved it success as effective tool towards changing performance culture within QU, specifically:

Emphasizing development, NOT evaluation, culture

Documentation

2-way communication (effective continuous feedback)

Everyone should know what to do, and what NOT to do

Everyone contribute

Everyone develops the necessary skills

Managers must have the necessary skills

Managers must monitor and measure

THANK YOU

Q & A