Unit-2-Performance Appraisal

Assessment center-psychometric tests. Role PlaySelf-appraisal-360 Degree appraisals-Rating-less appraisals for the future of PMS. Critical incidents worksheet, Combining behavior and outcomes, Attribution theory-Causal matrix. Diagnosis and Performance improvement.

Assessment center
An 'Assessment Center' is not a location but a process. It is used by organizations to assess staff, either as part of the

recruitment process or for internal promotion. The Assessment Center involves a set of varied exercises which are designed to simulate different aspects of the work environment. The assessment center method involves multiple evaluation techniques, including various types of job-related simulations, and sometimes interviews and psychological tests. An assessment center consists of a standardized evaluation of behavior based on multiple inputs. Multiple trained observers and techniques are used. Judgments about behaviors are made, in major part, from specifically developed assessment simulations. These judgments are pooled in a meeting among the assessors or by a statistical integration process.

Common job simulations used in assessment centers are:

In-basket exercises Group discussions Simulations of interviews with subordinates or

clients Fact-finding exercises Analysis/decision-making problems Oral presentation exercises Written communication exercises

Essential Features of an Assessment Center

Job analysis of relevant behaviors Measurement techniques selected based on job analysis Multiple measurement techniques used, including simulation exercises Assessors behavioral observations classified into meaningful and relevant categories (dimensions, KSAOs) Multiple observations made for each dimension Multiple assessors used for each candidate Assessors trained to a performance standard Systematic methods of recording behavior Assessors prepare behavior reports in preparation for integration Integration of behaviors through: Pooling of information from assessors and techniques; consensus discussion Statistical integration process

Common Uses of Assessment Centers

Selection

Diagnosis

Developmen t

Selection and Promotion Supervisors & managers Self-directed team members Sales Diagnosis Training & development needs Placement Development Skill enhancement through simulations

Selection Participants High potential Employees and applicants Positioning opening to be filled Few, global, traits Few(3-5) generic One half to one day Overall rating

Diagnosis All interested employees Current or future position Many, specific, developable distinct Many(68),moderate similarity to job 1.5-2 days Dimension profile

Development All interested employees Current or future position Few, developable, very specific Many, work samples 1.5-3 days Behavioral suggestions

Target position

Dimensions

Exercises

Length Key outcome

Feedback to

Participant, manager up to two levels

Participant, immediate manager

Participant

A Typical Assessment Center

Candidates participate in a series of exercises that simulate on- the job

situations
Trained assessors carefully observe and document the behaviors

displayed by the participants. Each assessor observes each participant at least once.
Assessors individually write evaluation reports, documenting their

observations of each participant's performance.

Assessors integrate the data through a consensus discussion process,

led by the center administrator, who documents the ratings and decisions.

Each participant receives objective performance information from the

administrator or one of the assessors

Assessor Tasks

Observe participant behavior in simulation

exercises Record observed behavior on prepared forms Classify observed behaviors into appropriate dimensions Rate dimensions based upon behavioral evidence Share ratings and behavioral evidence in the consensus meeting

Psychometric tests
Psychometric tests have been used since the early part of the 20th

century and were originally developed for use in educational psychology. Now these tests are being used as a part of the recruitment or selection process. Tests of this sort are devised by occupational psychologists and their aim is to provide employers with a reliable method of selecting the most suitable job applicants or candidates for promotion. Psychometric tests aim to measure attributes like intelligence, aptitude and personality. They provide a potential employer with an insight into how well you work with other people, how well you handle stress, and whether you will be able to cope with the intellectual demands of the job. Psychometric testing is now used by over 80% of the Fortune 500 companies in the USA and by over 75% of the Times Top 100 companies in the UK. Information technology companies, financial institutions, management consultancies, local authorities, the civil service, police forces, fire services and the armed forces all make extensive use of use psychometric testing

 As an indicator of the personality, preferences and abilities,

psychometric tests can help prospective employers to find the best match of individual to occupation and working environment. As a recruitment and selection tool, these tests can be applied in a straightforward way at the early stages of selection to screen-out candidates who are likely to be unsuitable for the job. They can also provide management with guidance on career progression for existing employees. Because of their importance in making personnel decisions it is vital that the tests themselves are known to produce accurate results based on standardized methods and statistical principles.
A psychometric test must be: Objective: The score must not affected by the testers beliefs or values Standardized: It must be administered under controlled conditions Reliable: It must minimize and quantify any intrinsic errors Predictive: It must make an accurate prediction of performance Non Discriminatory: It must not disadvantage any group on the basis of gender, culture, ethnicity, etc.

 Psychometric tests fall into two main categories:

Personality questionnaires which try to measure aspects of your personality, Aptitude tests which try to measure your intellectual and reasoning abilities. Personality Tests Most employers recognize that personality is of great importance in success at work. Consequently, most of the psychometric tests as a part of the recruitment process will include a short personality test. The principle behind these tests is that it is possible to quantify the personality by asking the interviewee about his feelings, thoughts and behavior in a variety of situation both at work and outside of work. Personality has a significant role to play in deciding whether the interviewee have the enthusiasm and motivation that the employer is looking for. It also determines how well interviewee is going to fit in to the organization, in terms of his personality, attitude and general work style. In most working situations its the personalities of the people involved that affect the day-to-day success of the organization. If a manager cant motivate their staff or the team doesn't work well together, then quality of service and productivity will suffer.

Example of Personality Tests

Interview will be presented with statements describing

various ways of feeling or acting and asked to answer each one on a 2 point, 5 point or 7 point scale. The number of questions interviewee are expected to answer varies from about 50 to 200, depending on the duration of the test. 1. I prefer to avoid conflict. A) True B) False
2. I enjoy parties and other social occasions.

A) strongly disagree B) disagree C) neutrals D) agree E) strongly agree

3. Work is the most important thing in my life.

A) very strongly disagree B) strongly disagrees C) disagree D) neutral E) agree F)strongly agree G) very strongly

Aptitude Tests
Aptitude tests consist of multiple choice questions and are

administered under exam conditions. They are strictly timed and a typical test might allow 30 minutes for 30 or so questions. The different types of aptitude tests can be classified as follows:
Verbal Ability Numeric Ability Abstract Reasoning Spatial Ability Mechanical Reasoning Fault Diagnosis Data Checking

Work Sample

Self appraisal
Self appraisal is an important part of the Performance

appraisal process where the employee himself gives the feedback or his views and points regarding his performance. It is done with the help of a self appraisal form where the employee rates himself on various parameters, tells about his training needs, if any, talks about his accomplishments, strengths, weaknesses, problems faced etc. Employees should complete a self-appraisal prior to the supervisor completing the annual performance appraisal. The self-appraisal form allows employees to summarize major accomplishments within the review period, list any educational activities accomplished during the review period, state goals/objectives, and provide an opportunity to address other issues. The self-appraisal also assists employee in planning professional and career development activities, recognizing

 Employee self appraisals can serve as a very powerful tool for

managers. If done correctly, this tool can reveal employee perceptions of the workplace, how it is managed and things that could be done to improve the worker experience. As managers, it is important to solicit this kind of feedback and be open to learn from what employees think and use it as a learning experience for professional growth. This process can be intimidating to employees without proper preparation and honest discussions making it important to prepare employees for this exercise, especially new or young people in the work place. Preparation should be done by explaining why the feedback is important, what the organization hopes to learn and how the information will be used to set goals and improve the employee experience.

Employee Self Appraisal Example

Name: ________________________ Date: _________________________ Department:____________________ What do I consider the important abilities which my job requires? What are some aspects of my job responsibilities that I like the best? That I like the least? In what ways can my supervisor help me do my job better? In what aspects of my job do I feel I need more experience and training? What are my major contributions/accomplishments from the past year? What have I done for my personal and/or professional development? The following changes made in my job would improve my effectiveness. Are all of my capabilities being utilized in my present position? If not, how can they be better utilized? What are specific things I need to do in the next year for my own development? In what ways does my present position better prepare me for assuming more responsibility? What are my long range plans? What type of work do I see myself doing five years from now? How am I preparing myself for this work?

360 Degree Performance Appraisals

360 degree feedback, also known as 'multi-rater feedback', is the

most comprehensive appraisal where the feedback about the employees performance comes from all the sources that come in contact with the employee on his job. 360 degree respondents for an employee can be his/her peers, managers (i.e. superior), subordinates, team members, customers, suppliers/ vendors - anyone who comes into contact with the employee and can provide valuable insights and information or feedback regarding the "on-the-job" performance of the employee. 360 degree appraisal has four integral components: 1. Self appraisal 2. Superiors appraisal 3. Subordinates appraisal 4. Peer appraisal.

 Self appraisal gives a chance to the employee to look at his/her

strengths and weaknesses, his achievements, and judge his own performance. Superiors appraisal forms the traditional part of the 360 degree performance appraisal where the employees responsibilities and actual performance is rated by the superior. Subordinates appraisal gives a chance to judge the employee on the parameters like communication and motivating abilities, superiors ability to delegate the work, leadership qualities etc. Also known as internal customers, the correct feedback given by peers can help to find employees abilities to work in a team, co-operation and sensitivity towards others. 360 degree performance appraisal is also a powerful developmental tool because when conducted at regular intervals (say yearly) it helps to keep a track of the changes others perceptions about the employees. A 360 degree appraisal is generally found more suitable for the managers as it helps to assess their leadership and managing styles. This technique is being effectively used across the globe for performance appraisals. Some of the organizations following it are Wipro, Infosys, and Reliance Industries etc.

360 Degree Performance Appraisals

Whats 360 degree measures?

360 degree measures manners and capacities.

360 degree improves such skills as listening, planning and goalsetting. 360 degree concentrates on subjective areas, for example efficiencies of teamwork, character, and leadership. 360 degree supplies on the way others think about a specific staff.

Advantages of 360 degree appraisal

Offer a more comprehensive view towards the performance of

employees. Improve credibility of performance appraisal. Such colleagues feedback will help strengthen self-development. Increases responsibilities of employees to their customers. The mix of ideas can give a more accurate assessment. Opinions gathered from lots of staff are sure to be more persuasive. Not only manager should make assessments on its staff performance but other colleagues should do, too. People who undervalue themselves are often motivated by feedback from others. If more staff takes part in the process of performance appraisal, the organizational culture of the company will become more honest.

Disadvantages of 360 degree appraisal

Taking a lot of time, and being complex in administration
Extension of exchange feedback can cause troubles and tensions

to several staff.
There is requirement for training and important effort in order to

achieve efficient working.

It will be very hard to figure out the results.

Feedback can be useless if it is not carefully and smoothly dealt.

Can impose an environment of suspicion if the information is not

openly and honestly managed.

Rating less Appraisal

In this qualitative assessment, more attention should be paid to

everything that is written in the appraisal by the appraisers for any other decisions While assessing the performance of an individual through ratings, we reduce the person and his entire years work into a few numbers. Reducing the human being to a mere statistic and using these statistics to take decisions is considered anti with the HRD philosophy. But if these numbers are not there, reward administration becomes difficult, perceptions of subjectivity increases and appraisals may not be valued much by employees.

RATING LESS APPRAISAL CYCLE

Phase1:Planning

Phase 3: Assessment

A motivated engaged and high performing workforce that supports the organizations Work.

Phase2:Check In

PHASE 1: PLANNING
Months 1-2 Managers and employees meet to:

1. Review expected outcomes. 2. Set performance objectives. 3. Set development goals. 4. Establish resources needed to meet objectives and goals. 5. Identify supports and barriers in achieving goals

PHASE 2 : CHECK-IN
Months 3-9 Managers and employees meet to:

1. Discuss results to date. 2. Review and refine the objectives. 3. Remove barriers to goal achievement
Months 10-11 Managers and employees separately prepare for

assessment discussions.

PHASE 3 : ASSESSMENT
Months 11-12 Managers and employees meet to:

1. Discuss past years performance 2. Set groundwork for next years cycle -Identify potential objectives -Suggest development opportunities

CONDITIONS FOR MAKING APPRAISAL RATINGLESS

Performance rewarding is not by central team but is decentralized. Focus is on team appraisals Individuals work with commitment and devotion irrespective of

rewards. Everyone gets same rewards. Performance appraisals are not the only means recognizing employees contributions When the organization is in the process of becoming hierarchy less organization In this case qualitative may come into play

Characteristics of rating less performance appraisal

No rating and no forced distribution Periodic (quarterly) reviews and feedback from the supervisors Input from diverse sources (360 degree feedback) An evaluation process to ensure that the system is working as

intended (managers are given meaningful feedback and annual performance reviews), evaluation methods include employee opinion surveys, work group discussions of the process and reviews of appraisal content.

Goals for performance review process

Facilitate performance feedback (reduce defensiveness often tied to

assigning numerical values to performance dimensions) Increase constructive discussion during performance feedback. Encourage employee development (link the appraisal to training needed to improve on the current job and development for future needs of the department and institution and the subordinates career objectives) Improve quality of performance evaluations and feedback. Ensure fairness (avoid unfair discrimination and recognize value of diversity) Recognize individual accomplishments and contributions to group efforts Establish a clear and direct link to compensation treatment and other personnel decisions (eg. Promotion, transfer, managing marginal performers restructuring)

ADVANTAGES
It encourages supervisors to provide more constructive feedback in a

non-threatening way. Employees feel threatened by the rating systems but rating less appraisals provide the opportunity to employees to improve their work and behavior without facing any pressure.

Critical incidents worksheet

Critical incidents worksheet also known as Critical incident technique

is a method used for many sectors. CIT model is method used for collecting observations of human behavior that are judged to be effective or ineffective in work, activities. Critical incident method- Recording of events by appraiser. An incident is critical when it illustrates what the employers has done or failed to do The critical incidents for performance appraisal is a method in which the manager writes down positive and negative performance behavior of employees throughout the performance period. Each employee will be evaluated as such and ones performance appraisal will be based on the logs that are put in the evaluation form. The manager maintains logs on each employee, whereby he periodically records critical incidents of the workers behavior. At the end of the rating period, these recorded critical incidents are used in the evaluation of the workers performance. The critical incidents file of performance appraisal is a form of

History of CIT method / technique

This method was developed by Flanagan during World War II (Director

of the Division of Aviation Psychology, United States Army Air Forces). He described critical incident technique as a set of procedures used to collect observations of human behavior. These observations are used to solve practical problems and develop psychological principles. Application of CIT method / technique: The critical incident technique has been applied in studying some sector as follows: Organizational development Large scale tasks and activity analysis of numerous occupations Health care. Market research etc. Purpose of CIT method / technique: Built job descriptions, job specification and job standard. Create a list of good and bad behaviors which can then be used for performance appraisal. Testing the effectiveness of the job description and job specification.

Process of critical incident technique

Critical incident technique includes five steps as follows:

1. Prepare critical incident: Make interviews plan and inform to individuals who concerned Critical incidents can be collected using questionnaires, critical reports, phone interviews, or computerized incident reporting systems. 2. Obtain materials: Obtain records such as investigation and accident records from departments or agencies concerned. 3. Gather facts: Interview individuals who have experienced problems or who have observed others who have had problems. You can use critical incident technique in order to do interview.

4. Analysis: Brainstorm and create lists of dimensions, events of job behaviors The analyst looks for events that occur with some frequency, how often they occur and under what conditions the events occur. Create categories of these frequent events. List examples of effective and ineffective behavior for each dimension 5. Interpret: The analyst rate each incident according to its value to the company Review results of a critical incident technique can be fed back into system to reduce or eliminate the cause of loss. The final and most important aspect is the evaluation, which will determine if the solution that was selected will solve the root cause of the critical incident.

Information source of CIT method / technique: Sources for critical incidents include: Workers co-workers supervisors, managers, Customer External and internal suppliers And others.

Advantages of critical incident technique

Data is collected directly from the respondent in his or her own words

(users views, NOT designers). Focus on unusual or extraordinary may be more helpful than routine data Does not force the respondents into any given framework. Flexible method. Inexpensive and provides rich information. Identifies even rare events that might be missed by other methods which only focus on common and everyday events. Useful when problems occur but the cause and severity are not known. Emphasizes the features that will make a system particularly vulnerable and can bring major benefits

Disadvantages of critical incident technique

Critical incidents often rely on memory, incidents may be equivocal. Reliability weak. The method has a built-in bias towards incidents that happened recently, since these are easier to recall. It will emphasize only rare events; Everyday issues may be missed. Negative incidents may be more noticeable than positive incidents. It results in very close supervision which may not be liked by the employee. The recording of incidents may be a chore for the manager concerned, who may be too busy or forget to do it. The supervisors have a tendency to unload a series of complaints about incidents during an annual performance review session.

Common problems of critical incident technique

Respondents may be reluctant to express incidents

that reflect badly on themselves. The critical incidents are recorded after the events have already taken place both routine and nonroutine. The process of collecting a fairly good number of incidents is a lengthy one. The analysts overseeing the work must have analytical skills and ability to translate the content of descriptions into meaningful statements. Respondents may reply with stereotypes, not actual events (using more structure improves this). The meaning of critical incident must be clear to participants.

Combining behavior and outcomes

DEFINING PERFORMANCE The definitions of performance in the dictionary are: (1) The execution of an action, and (2) something accomplished. In terms of an employee this would suggest that performance has to do with what the employee accomplishes and what actions or behaviors go into creating the accomplishment. From this, performance criteria may fall into three categories: inputs, activities and outcomes

Inputs An input is what the person brings to the job. This includes the employee's knowledge, skills, abilities and effort. A pay for knowledge plan may define performance as developing or increasing knowledge, skills or ability, but this plan must specify exactly what is to be learned or improved. Behaviors Behaviors focus on what the employee does at the job. They measure the way the job is done. Again, the thought behind this is if the employee does the job correctly, then the desired outcome will occur. The advantage of defining performance as a behavior is that it is more observable than other criteria. Doing the job the way it needs to be done is very important in organizations where work must be coordinated between employees. Some performance appraisal techniques, such as BARS, focus clearly on this definition of performance.

Outcomes This is what usually comes to mind when the word performance is used. Outcomes are the productivity measure of the employee, group or organization. Why dont we just use outcomes as the measure of performance in all cases? Identifying and measuring desired outcomes can be very difficult for many jobs. The outcome may be achieved but in ways that are unacceptable. Ex. A sales person who sells a large quantity of goods to a customer with poor credit creates more problems than the value of the sales. How one goes about doing the job may also be important. Ex. A bank teller who treats customers politely is valuable to the bank, but this is not an outcome of doing the job.

Weiners Attribution theory-Causal matrix

Attribution theory assumes that people try to determine why people do

what they do. Attribution is a three stage process: behavior is observed, behavior is determined to be deliberate behavior is attributed to internal or external causes.

Weiners attribution theory is mainly about achievement. According to

him, the most important factors affecting attributions are ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck. Attributions are classified along three causal dimensions: locus of control (two poles: internal vs. external) stability (do causes change over time or not?) controllability (causes one can control such as skills vs. causes one cannot control such as luck, others actions, etc.)

 The locus dimension defines the location of a cause as internal or

external to the individual. Among the dominant causes, ability (aptitude) and effort are internal since they reflect characteristics of the person. Task difficulty and luck, on the other hand, are external or environmental determinants of outcomes. The stability dimension designates causes as constant or varying over time. Ability is stable in that one's aptitude for a task is relatively fixed, whereas effort and mood are unstable because individuals may vary from one situation to the next in how hard they try and in how they feel. Finally, the controllability dimension refers to personal responsibility, or whether a cause is subject to one's own volitional influence. Effort is controllable because individuals are believed to be responsible for how hard they try. In contrast, aptitude and luck are generally perceived to be beyond personal control. When one succeeds, one attributes successes internally (my own skill). When a rival succeeds, one tends to credit external (e.g. luck). When one fails or makes mistakes, we will more likely use external attribution, attributing causes to situational factors rather than blaming ourselves. When others fail or make mistakes, internal attribution is

Diagnosis and Performance improvement.

If the ultimate purpose of performance management and

performance appraisal is to improve performance, rather than to punish less productive employees, then we need to engage in a problem-solving process that is likely to improve performance rather than an emotional process that is likely to offend, and actually damage employee morale and productivity. If there is a performance problem, then we need to use a problem-solving process. The most important step in the performance improvement process is to diagnose why the performance problem occurs -- the real causes underlying the problem, or the "root cause". If we don't properly identify the causes, how can we possibly figure out the solution. An important part of any performance management system is to identify and diagnose the cause is of behavioral or performance problems. An effective behavioral diagnosis process starts with a clear identification of the problem. Here the problem means a problem of a performance gap. Simply stated, a performance gap is the difference between desired or expected behavior, and actual or observed behavior.

Performance review
A review discussion is an opportunity to coach, mentor, learn and

understand. The manager encourages his/her employees to critically reflect over progress made on the Performance appraisal plan and to develop creative, yet feasible alternatives for problem areas. Any performance review process is incomplete without the feedback to the employees. The feedback could be given in the review discussion. Review discussions are semi formal, scheduled, periodic interactions usually bimonthly or quarterly between a manager and his employee. The basic purpose of the review discussion is to analyze the performance of the employee in the past to improve the performance of the employee in future.

 The manager uses this opportunity to: Review the performance of the each employee individually. Discuss the problems faced by the employees during the course of action. The solutions tried, and the degree of success achieved in solving the

problems faced. Revisit with the employee, his/ her annual plan for the remaining time period and develop revised action plans, if necessary
Review discussions reassure the employees that each one of them has

structured opportunities for one to one interaction with the manager once every two or three months during the year. These opportunities are important as they provide an important chance for performance monitoring or development mentoring. The aim of the performance review discussions is to share perceptions, solve the problem faced during the course of the action, decide on the new goals jointly and provide a feedback to the employee for the past performance i.e. to look at his strengths and weaknesses and also help to chart out a career plan for the employee.

The focus of these performance review discussions should not bet o judge the employees past performance; rather it should be to motivate the employee to improve his future performance and reinforce his good behaviou

Performance analysis
A performance evaluation is a formal review of an individual

employee's job performance over a specific time period. Performance evaluations measure such things as efficiency, increases in productivity, and progress toward departmental and individual goals. A SWOT analysis analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with a given topic. Strengths Performance evaluations can provide meaningful feedback to employees to help them better themselves professionally and personally. Managers and employees who use the evaluation process to set performance goals can steadily increase job performance and overall human resources productivity over time. Making personal development a priority in your human resources department can help garner deeper loyalty in your workforce, as well. Evaluating individual and group performance can also help ensure that pay raises and other incentives are distributed equitably to high performers, rather than being based on politics, nepotism or simply length of service.

 Weaknesses

Performance evaluations must be performed by people, which always

leaves room for human error. Using people to judge and assess other people brings a range of challenges to the table, such as political influences, emotional influences and interpersonal issues. Even when managers truly wish to act unbiased in evaluations, human handicaps, such as the propensity to place more emphasis on recent events than events further in the past, can dampen the equity of a review. Companies can counteract the human element of the process by requiring managers to keep records and attach them to reviews to back up their results. Soliciting feedback from more than one person in evaluations can also help keep evaluations fair by reducing personal influences on final results.
Opportunities Records-based performance evaluations can help companies identify

rising stars in their ranks, allowing them to choose the hardest working, most dedicated and most skilled employees to place on advancement tracks or even groom for executive leadership. Evaluations also grant companies the opportunity to continually reduce costs by improving efficiency in operations.

 Threats

Performance evaluation weaknesses can introduce threats to the

process. If employees feel they're being treated unfairly in an evaluation, especially when pay raises and incentives are on the line, they can become extremely dissatisfied. An inaccurate performance review system can cause high performers to leave the organization, or it can spread discontent throughout the informal communications network of the company.