Post meeting Phase:

It’s not the end for Jawalkhel Group of Industries after providing feedback to the
employees. If the performance review indicates that the performance of the employee
is ranked as “unsatisfactory” on a particular quarter, the HR decides whether or not
“performance” is the reason behind those results. The weekly meetings conducted by
the HR department examines whether the job itself or context in which the job is
being performed is bringing out unsatisfactory results. Then the decision regarding
development of the employee is done.

Decisions related to training and development phase is guided by the appraisal. The
area where the employee needs improvement is jotted down and is followed by the
cost and benefit analysis of the opportunity. If the cost of providing the training is
lower than the benefit that comes with it then employee is provided with the training.

While in other organization, this phase is over with the training and development
decisions but in JGI HR department examines more than just unsatisfactory results.
Even when the employee’s performance is satisfactory their performance and
predicted performance is compared. An employee’s career graph is made as soon as
the employee joins the organization. When interviewing the employee, the Human
Resource Department analyzes the career growth that the employee will undertake in
the next few years. If the career growth is not growing as per the prediction then
necessary career planning and counseling is provided. This gives immense
opportunity to the employees and empowers them.

Bias

 Primacy and Recency Effect

Recency error is when the primary incident affects the overall evaluation of the
employee. This bias is also removed through the appraisal system of Jawalkhel Group of
 Industries as the appraisal is done every three months. There will be less chance of
having an employee performance on ends of spectrum when the appraisal is done very
quarter.

 Halo Effect

In each quarter and in each appraisal the same supervisor rates the employee. This creates
a threat of conducting halo effect. But there is a provision of self appraisal which tries to
eliminate this bias. Also because of the transparency and weekly meetings this bias is
removed.

 Bias

Because there will be human conducting the performance appraisal and their belief can
influence their rating this effect could not be removed by the current appraisal system.
The supervisor’s opinions towards race, caste, religion, age, sex can influence their
evaluation. But in the need to eliminate this, the organization carefully considers an
employee in the selection procedure itself.

 Sunflower Effect

Rating everyone high to make one look good or put one on safer side is called sunflower
effect. This is removed due to the weekly meetings conducted by the Human Resource
department.

 Non Performance Factor Effect

Many a times non performance factor can guide their evaluation in the performance. One
could be really good at interpersonal skills but might lack the ability to perform.
Considering this bias in mind Jawalakhel Group of Industries has divided their appraisal
in two aspects i.e. performance and competency. Performance part of the appraisal rates
employee based solely on performance and the competency aspect rates employee based
on the soft skills and behaviour required by the employee to perform those tasks. This
distinction somewhat eliminates the effect.
Recommendations:

The organization already follows BARS method and alteration ranking method for appraising
employees. It is difficult to provide recommendations when they are way ahead of the current
performance appraisal standard here in Nepal. Even so we have come up with the following
recommendations after considering the drawbacks of the system.

Multiple Rater Appraisal System

While JGI is the only company using the PiiQ software in Nepal, it does not employ the concept
of multiple rater appraisal system. The previous appraisal form did have a provision of self
rating, rating by the supervisor and rating by the reviewer. Each of them carried weightage of 10
percent, 60 percent and 30 percent respectively. But in PiiQ, only the self appraisal and appraisal
by the supervisor is compared. This forgoes the advantage of having more accurate, fairer and
appraisal with fewer biases.

Confidentiality and Access

Because the software can be used by almost anyone and anonymity is not maintained (as of now)
the issue of confidentiality always remains as a threat. As you can basically see what your
supervisor rated the supervisor can themselves be biased as to not come out as stiff. It would be
freer of biases if one could not see what their supervisor rated.

Situational Constraints for performance

There could be many reasons why an employee is not performing according to the standards. If
the employee is always an excellent performer and fails to perform at one quarter then their
overall appraisal is hampered. This will be reflected on their salary increments. Their
performance might have been deteriorated by the situational factors but if their salary is
decreased as a result of this then the organization might lose a perfectly motivated employee.
Therefore, it is important to consider situational factors while appraising the employee.

Not using evaluation as a primary reward

Performance appraisal is given so much importance that it is the guiding force in determining
reward and developmental aspects of the employee. While an employee may not be directly
contributing to a project or held liable for a project, they might be the one providing back support
to the team or the one incharge. These considerations should be done while appraising the
employee. Holding the appraisal system solely as the basis for the primary reward and salary
increments can lead to lobbying and unethical methods for getting projects. While we are not
suggesting that the employees of JGI are involved in unethical practices but the importance that
is given to the appraisal system could lead to these practices especially when ethical codes of
conduct are missing.

Matrix Structure

As we know the concept of matrix structure is ever flourishing. The employees of JGI are
involved in various activities at once. They are multi taskers and could be reporting to more than
one supervisor at a time. But while in appraisal they are rated by the same supervisor everytime.
This could not depict the actual performance of the employee. The employee could have been
putting in more effort according to the priority of the task assigned. While their regular
performance may be unsatisfactory their new task might be bringing in great results. The idea
that they might be reporting to multiple supervisors should be considered when appraising the
employees.