Performance management system

AN
ARTICLE ON
EMPLOYEE’S
PERFORMANCE
APPRISAL
SYSTEM

P.B.S. KUMAR
B.Sc,MA(PM),MA(Ind.Eco.),MBA(HR),BGL,DLL,PGDIR&PM

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“Performance management is an ongoing
process throughout the year. It’s not just
about performance appraisal, in fact,
performance appraisal is only a small part
of it. Performance management is about
preventing and solving problems.”

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INTRODUCTION
Performance appraisal is an attempt to assess an employee’s performance.
The assessment may be taken into account in determining wage or salary
increases. Claims are made that some schemes are objective, but most of
them are bases on ‘subjective opinion’. Some schemes involve the employee in
making an assessment. Employees know they are being evaluated and they
are told the criteria that will be used in the course of the appraisal. Nothing is
kept secret. The appraiser and the appraisee should carry out this task jointly in
a cordial atmosphere stressing on the plus points and finding out ways and
means of overcoming drawbacks, if any, of the appraisee.

PURPOSE OF APPRAISAL
Appraisal has three purposes:

To help improve performance by identifying strengths and weaknesses
and by getting things done which will develop the former and overcome
the latter.

To identify those with potential for greater responsibility, now or in the
future, and to provide guidance on what should be done to ensure that
this potential is realized.

To assist in deciding on pay increases which fairly equate the level of
reward with the level of performance.

Performance appraisal is …….or should be, a continuous process, but it is
necessary from time to time to carry out a stock-taking exercise which reviews
performance and progress over a period of time, so that a more comprehensive
story can be built up to from the basis for considered action. The starting point
is the performance review, which posses three questions.

1. What has actually been achieved during the period against what was
expected to be achieved ?
2. What are the factors that influenced the level of achievement ? These
could relate to the personal efforts or abilities of the individuals
concerned, or to external factors beyond his direct control.
3. What needs to be done to improve performance ?

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The performance review leads to the potential review, which should answer two
questions.:

1. What potential has this individual to advance beyond his present level of
responsibility ?
2. What needs to be done to ensure that he fulfils his potential by the
company, his manager and himself ?

COMPONENTS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
There are a number of reasons for performance appraisal of employees such
as counseling, promotion, training, or a combination of them. Therefore, it is
necessary to understand clearly the objectives of the performance appraisal.
While doing the performance appraisal. While doing the performance appraisal,
the appraiser should address the question in respect of the five Ws. Viz. who,
what, why, when, where, as also the how of performance appraisal.

ADVANTAGES OF EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE
APPRAISAL
The principal advantages of employee performance appraisal are :

It provides a regularly scheduled uniform system of reviewing the
employee’s performance and an opportunity for exchanging views
about each other, i.e. the department and the employee.

It gives evidence of management’s interest in the individual employee.

It induces supervisors and department heads to think more seriously
and objectively about the performance of their employees.

It gives an opportunity to an employee to know his plus and minus
points and to improve his performance.

It provides and objective basis for many types of personnel decisions
including pay increase, training, promotion etc.,

Employee performance appraisal indicates whether the present job
makes full use of an employee’s abilities and if any change is desirable
in his duties, what kind of training is required to improve his
performance.

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THE APPRAISAL PROCESS
The appraisal process should deal, as far as possible, with objectively observed
facts rather than subjective opinions. The aim is to get agreement between the
boss and his subordinate on what the latter has achieved and what he needs to
do to improve his performance. Such agreement is more likely to occur if the
discussion is based on comparing agreed results with agreed targets or
standards of performance. It is unreasonable to criticized; it is only accepted
and acted upon if it is felt to be fair – and it will only be considered fair if the
individual fully accepts that he has not achieved standards which had
previously been agreed by him as reasonable and attainable.

REQUISITES OF A GOOD APPRAISAL
SYSTEM

The following are the requirements of a good employee performance appraisal
system:

The most important condition for the success of any rating system is that
the supervisors fully understand the plan, have faith in its effectiveness
and carry out their part conscientiously. The original rating is made by
the employee’s immediate supervisor. If this rating is made carelessly,
no amount of care and intelligence elsewhere will be able to save the
programme.
It is important that the employee performance appraisal system has to
active support of the top executive who make the final decisions on
promotion, training, increment, transfer, etc.
An appraisal from that has been thoughtfully and skillfully designed
should be used. A well designed from is of great help in securing
accuracy and uniformity in doing the appraisal.
An important part of any employee’s performance appraisal plan is the
statement of standards of performance standards will enable both the
employee and the rather to have some basis for judgment as to how
satisfactory the employee’s performance has been. These standards
should be stated in writing and in as specific terms as possible.
It must have the support of all the line managers who administer it,
otherwise they will not take interest in its operation.
It must be easily understandable. If the system is too complex or too
time-consuming, it may be non-starter and ultimately be rejected by
those who are to use it.
It must identify persons of proven competence and leadership.

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There should be very close collaboration between line managers and the
HR manager, because the line managers are primarily concerned with
subordinate and his job, and the human resource manager focuses on
the man and his career.

As much notice as possible should be given to the employee regarding
the performance appraisal interview, so that the employee may be
mentally prepared.
Adequate time should be allowed for the performance appraisal
interview. This may vary according to circumstances and the persons
taking part in it.
Complete privacy and freedom from telephone and other interruptions
should be ensured.
Finally, it is a must to establish rapport before commencing the
employee performance appraisal interview.

APPRAISAL SHOULD HAVE
CONTINUOUS PROCESS
Generally, performance appraisals are made annually. However, once a year is
not enough. Too much will have happened between appraisals to them to be
adequate reflections of work done. If people like to be told how they are doing,
and what their prospects are, you should let them know constantly.

The best method of continuous appraisal is the encouraging of greater
cooperation between management and individual employees. Once the staff
becomes used to a flow of reaction and response, they may feel emboldened to
comment constructively on your own behaviour and approach.

There is no need to set up elaborate procedures for continuous assessment.
Just allocate extra time for studying the work of individuals, discussing it with
them, and sorting out problems, encouraging initiative and setting new goals.

GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE APPRAISAL
What you get from an appraisal depends on what you put into it. As a rule the
questions you ask should be those that lead to the most detailed discussion,
and that keep the convergence of the person and the job firmly insight. If
properly handled appraisals can provide a wide variety of information, help you
set largest and reveal problem areas hitherto unsuspected.

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INPUT – (Questions to ask)

What do you think you are particularly good at ?

What are you weakest points ?

What are the most difficult problems you have had to face in the past six
months ?

Who (confidentially) do you find it difficult to work with ?

Are there any parts of he office procedure you consider to be in need of
a radical overhaul ?

Which parts of your job interests you most ?

How do you see your future within the company ?

How do you see your future in the department ?

Is there anything / anyone you need in order to develop your job and
become more effective ?

Why did the project under your care fail to deliver on time / run massively
over budget ?

Where is the weak point in your communication chain ?

Is there anything in your job description that has become redundant or
you would wish to change ?

Are you happy ?

OUTPUT

Executives’ progress over the fast six months / year is reviewed.

Feeling of motivation are refreshed.

A halt is put to lingering, unresolved problems.

Personal conflicts are identified / resolved.

Job descriptions are scrutinized and updated.

Information is provided for salary and promotion reviews.

Ambitious new targets, agreed between appraiser and apprised are set.

Staff are encouraged to examine their own work more closely.

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ADVANTAGES OF PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
Performance Management ensures that managers and their subordinates are
aware of what needs to be done to improve performance. Its provides feedback
so that people know where they stand, where they ought to be going to get
there. It can be linked to performance related pay where the rewards are clearly
dependent on the results achieved.

DISADVANTAGE OF APPRAISAL
Appraisals are a waste of time and effort unless some form of counseling
results from them. An appraisal should not be thought of as

1. The employee telling the manager how he / she is doing followed by

2. The manager dispensing wisdom.

An appraisal must be worked through together by appraiser and appraised.
Before you can really discuss and evaluate performance, you most decide on
the results that you as a manager expect to see and these goals must be
agreed on. It is always advisable to have something definable and / or
measurable to appraise.

Appraisals should end in mutual agreement. Finish by setting a date by which
certain results should be evident.

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MANAGING PEERFORMANCE
Why should you care about managing the performance of your employees?
Because communication between manager and employees is essential for
increasing productivity, improving morale and motivation, and allowing
coordination of each employee’s work with the goals of the unit and the
organization.
Many managers dislike performance management. They try to avoid it or they
try to cut corners or they simply mess up. It’s often because they don’t
understand performance management.
So, they’re focusing on the wrong things. They focus on appraisal rather than
planning. They focus on a one-way flow of words (manager to employee) rather
than dialogue. They focus on required forms rather than communication. They
focus on blaming rather than solving problems. They focus on the past rather
than the present and the future.
So they waste time and effort and just don’t get out of performance
management the benefits that it can provide – if done properly. In fact, their
time and efforts often oly make the situation worse.
Performance management is an ongoing communication process, undertaken
in partnership between an employee and his or her immediate supervisor, that
involves establishing clear expectations and understanding about the following:

• The employee’s essential job functions

• How the employee’s job contributes to the goals of the organization

• What it means, in concrete terms, to do the job well

• How job performance will be measured.

• What barriers hinder performance and how they can be minimized or
eliminated.

• How the employee and the supervisor will work together to improve the
employee’s performance.

“Performance management is, in some ways, very simple and , in other ways, very complex. It
consists of lots of parts and requires some skills. But if you approach it with the proper mindset,
you can make it work – and pay great benefits.”

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MODERNIZE YOUR THINKING
One of the challenges of making performance management and appraisal
work involves leaving behind older ideas of how work gets done, the roles of
manager and employee, and the purposes associated with performance
management. For example, managers who believe their role is to tell staff what
to do rather than work with them to solve problems don’t fare well with
performance management. Managers who believe performance appraisal is the
venue for bashing employees over the head don’t do well. And managers who
refuse to take on the role of helping everyone succeed quite simply don’t get
success.

There are two things to understand-what performance management should be
and what performance management should not be. These aren’t based on
theories, but on observations of what works and doesn’t work in real work
places.

Performance management isn’t a way to threaten, cajole, or intimidate
employees into being more productive. It isn’t a method to blame or find fault in
employees. It’s not for attacking the personality and attitudes of employees.
So, what is it? It’s a broad set of tools used for the purpose of optimizing the
success of each employee, each work unit, the manager, and the organization.
If these goals are to be achieved, the manager must adopt a modern mindset.

Commit to the idea that your job is to build success in the preset and future and
not to manage by looking at the past (managing by looking in the rearview
mirror). This means you must be looking forward.

Understand that the benefits you can achieve through performance
management will come only when you complete all the steps, not just
evaluating performance.

Accept the fact that, on your own, you can improve performance only a little bit.
Employees, on their own, can improve performance only a little bit. However,
when you and each employee realize you are on the same side and work
together, then you can improve performance by huge amounts, not only for
each employee, but also for your work unit.

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Here are three other suggestions:

Invest:

Performance management requires an investment on your part. Yes, that
means you need to do the work. Most important, it means that if you invest the
time and effort, you will save time, effort, and costs.

Share responsibility:

The responsibility for productivity lies with you and the employee. For
responsibility to be shared, there needs to be two-way communication between
manager and employee. You need information to move things along. The
employee needs information.

Seek out employee wisdom:

Performance management is a good way to harness the knowledge, skills, and
experience of employees. They do the work every day. They are closest to the
action. Often they know better than you how to fix things.

“Employees need to play an active role in defining and redefining their jobs.”

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IDENTIFY THE BENEFITS
It’s not surprising that managers tend to skip the performance management
process. Most of us haven’t had a chance to participate in performance
management done properly. As a result, many don’t understand the benefits for
the employee, the manager, and the organization. Performance management
can be valuable-provided you understand what it can do for you.

Performance management takes an upfront investment to achieve certain very
practical aims. For example, performance management can be used to make
sure each employee’s work contributes to the work unit’s goals. It can reduce
the amount of “supervision” you need to provide by clarifying for employees
what they need to do and why they need to do it. Performance management,
properly done, allows you to identify problems when they occur so you can fix
them early. The need to discipline is reduced as a result. The bottom line is that
performance management can improve productivity- if you commit to the entire
process. You’ll recoup your investment.

Besides being the tool for improving productivity, performance management
also protects you in situations where you fire an employee or have to make
other difficult decisions about employees. Performance management involves
documenting problems and communicating those problems to employees. If an
employee files a complaint, your documentation will show that your decisions
were based on performance issues and that the employee knew about those
issues and had a chance to address them. Solid performance management
documentation can even deter frivolous lawsuits and complaints.

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Here are three ways to focus on the benefits you want:

Keep the goal in sight:

Before any step into the performance management process, remind yourself
that your goal is to improve performance and help everyone succeed. Focus on
that and you will start seeing benefits quickly.

Be patient about results:

You will see some benefits from the performance management process very
quickly after starting. Performance planning, by itself, should help reduce
wasted effort and the need to closely supervise your staff. The full benefits
won’t be obvious until you’ve been through the entire one-year cycle at least
once or twice.

Do all the steps:

Performance appraisals alone don’t improve performance. When you do all the
steps of performance management, that’s when you get the payoff. Plan
performance, communication during the year, diagnose problems, and review
performance.

“Since performance management helps employees understand what they should be
doing and why, it gives them a degree of empowerment – the ability to make day-to-
day decisions.”

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MANAGE PERFORMANCE
There’s a major misconception about performance management. Many
people confuse performance appraisal and performance management,
believing they are one and the same. When employees and managers believe
that performance management consists of one annual meeting where the
manager evaluates performance for the purposes of punishing employees who
don’t make the grade, is it surprising that nobody looks forward to the process?

Performance evaluation is just a small part of performance management-and
probably the least important part. To improve performance and create a more
enjoyable workplace, you need to manage performance, not just evaluate it. If
you just evaluate, chances are you’ll end up with less productivity, not more.

So, do all the steps. Start out by planning performance. This critical step
involves making sure both you and the employees understand what he or she
must do in the next year to contribute to the overall goals of your work unit.
Both of you should be clear about how the employee needs to do the job.

Make sure you communicate about performance all year round. That helps you
identify and solve problems early before they result in significant costs.

Managing involves making the right decisions. What do you need to make
those decisions? Data and information. Part of the overall performance
management process involves observing and collecting data so you and the
employee know how things are going.

Documenting is the process of recording significant discussions and events
related to an employee’s performance. Proper documentation (done during all
stages of the process) makes performance discussions easier, since you and
the employee don’t have to rely solely on memory. Documentation may involve
complex forms or it may be as simple as jotting down some notes.

Diagnosis and problem-solving refer to how you and the employee identify
barriers to performance (past, present and future), so you can formulate plans
to overcome those barriers.

Finally, there’s the performance appraisal meeting, which yields a summary /
review of the year. If you successfully complete all of the other steps, the
review meeting is simply a fast formality, since everything would have been
discussed during the year. That’s why the actual performance appraisal
meeting is the least important part of performance management.

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Here are three important things to do:

Ensure that employees know the difference:

Employees need to understand these steps. Explain the point of each part.
Explain what will happen. Explain how the process will benefit them.

Make it two-way:

Remember that performance management involves an exchange of
information. You get and give information to the employee. The employee gets
and gives information to you. That’s how you improve performance.

Make it about you, too:

Performance management isn’t just about what the employee does. It’s about
identifying your role in improving performance. Talk about and decide how you
can help, what you can do.

“If you believe that performance appraisal is performance management, it’s just
not going to work.”

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WORK WITH EMPLOYEES
You have a pretty good idea about what your employees are doing and need
to be doing, right? Since that’s the case, you could simply tell your employees
what they need to do and then, at the end of the year, tell them how well
they’ve done. A fair number of managers do just that. They feel they know best
about the work that needs to be done.

But there’s a problem: this approach doesn’t work very well. Here’s why.

Managers have one perspective about the work. Employees have another
perspective. They complement each other and you need both. When you and
your employees combine your knowledge, you improve performance.

Involve employees as equal contributors in the performance management
process, particularly during performance planning, performance reviews, and
problem solving. Not only will this make the best use of available information,
but it will tell employees that you value their knowledge and insight. That’s
essential if employees are to become active and enthusiastic participants in
performance management. Involvement also builds a sense of ownership and
responsibility.

Treat employees, particularly experienced ones, as experts in their jobs until
they demonstrate a lack of expertise. You do not have to agree with input from
your employees and you’re certainly not bound to act on it, but you should not
dismiss it out of hand.

Guard against the tendency to rely on just your perspective, particularly when
the goal is to identify why performance has been below expectations or how
performance can be improved. Managers are often just too removed from the
details of the job to have a good grasp of the source of work problems.

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Here are three components to create a collaborative situation:

Give employees the information they need:

Make sure employees have enough information about the goals and challenges
your work unit faces. That helps them connect their own goals and work to
those of the work unit. It allows them to be active, valuable, and informed
partners in performance management.

Use more questions than statements:

Encourage staff to share knowledge, information, and ideas by asking
questions, rather than telling. Once their contributions are on the table, present
yours. Questions about goals and objectives and questions that encourage self-
evaluation are particularly valuable.

Listen, respond, and act:

Don’ t ask for participation and then ignore what the employee says. Listen first-
and then make sure the employee knows you’re listening. Then respond with
your own understanding and perspective. When necessary, commit to action to
help improve performance-and then follow through on your commitment.

“If managers look at performance management as something they do to
employees, confrontation is inevitable. If they view it as a partnership, they reduce
confrontation.”

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ALIGN EMPLOYEE GOALS

The entire performance management process ends up as wasted effort if the
employee’s goals and job responsibilities are not directly linked to the goals and
mission of the work unit, department, and organization. The reasoning is
simple. Not only do employees have to do things well, but they also have to be
doing the right things. It’s your job to ensure that the employee’s work
contributes to the achievement of organizational goals.

How do you align employee goals with the goals of the organization? The main
mechanism for doing this is the performance planning process. Here’s how it
should work.

Ideally your company should be doing some strategic and tactical planning so
that the company has some clear targets. Those clear targets are distributed
among the individual work units, so that each work unit ends up with a clear set
of goals it must achieve. Those work-unit goals are used during the
performance planning phase to determine the goals and objectives of each
employee. It’s best described as a cascading process.

The logic goes like this: if every employee achieves his or her goals, the work
unit achieves the goals assigned to it, which in turn helps the organization hit
overall targets.

Apart from optimizing overall performance, this process has another benefit. It
helps employees put their jobs in an overall context. When they know how their
jobs fit into the big picture, they’re more likely to be more motivated and get
more satisfaction out of doing their jobs. Understanding the work-unit goals also
makes it easier for employees to make decisions that take into account those
goals.

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Here are three ways to align employee goals:

Begin with the big picture:

Start the performance planning process by reviewing where the organization is
going. Then review what the work-unit MUST ACHIEVE. Then discuss what the
employee can do. Get significant employee input on how he or she can
continue.

Tweak the timing:

Aligning goals this way means that organizational and work-unit planning need
to happen before individual performance planning. Consider altering your
performance management cycle so it aligns with the overall work-unit planning
cycle. Don’t be discouraged if the organization doesn’t plan, since you can
make best guesses.

Reinforce during reviews:

At the end of the cycle (performance appraisal), don’t forget to highlight
individual accomplishments and how they’ve contributed to the larger goals.
Reinforce the links. Employees who understand how they’re contributing tend
to feel more ownership and pride.

“Regardless of what the rest of the company does, many managers find it useful to
set aside one day a year to meet with staff and identify what the unit needs to
accomplish in the coming year.”

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SET PERFORMANCE INCENIVES
We know people work best when they a) have clear goals, b) believe they can
achieve those goals, and c) know what they will receive when they achieve
those goals. There are other factors involved in motivating employees, but
these three simple aspects are very powerful.

Incentives are a bit different from rewards. An incentive is something that is
specified in advance. A reward is received after the fact. For an incentive to
motivate an employee, the employee must know about it in advance. The
specification of incentives should be part of the performance planning process.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that incentives need to be of huge value.
Yes, large financial bonuses can improve performance, but so can small
bonuses or other kinds of benefits. Access to training, consideration for
promotion, small pay raises, or even a nice dinner can serve as low-cost
incentives. In fact, huge bonuses can have a negative effect if not implemented
properly, since they can pit employee versus employee in the pursuit of
significant financial gain. Huge bonuses are not as cost-effective as moderate
ones.

There are two critical times with respect to incentives-setting up incentives and
determining of the criteria have been met.

Setting up incentives is part of performance planning; determining whether
goals have been achieved is part of performance appraisal. When planning
incentives, negotiate with each employee. Whatever criteria you negotiate,
make sure that the employee can reach them if he or she works hard and
exceeds normal expectations about performance. If you use criteria the
employee cannot possibly reach, incentives are worthless. Salary pays for
“normal performance”. Incentives reward superior performance.

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Here are some more tips:

Use group and individual criteria:

If you can, link incentives to both individual success and work-unit or company
success. The employee benefits from hitting his or her targets. The employee
also benefits if the work unit or company hits targets. Trying incentives to work-
unit success can improve a sense that “we’re in this together.”

Individualize incentives:

Incentives works only when the employee wants the benefit offered. Be
prepared to negotiate incentives on an individual basis. If employees can
choose their specific rewards, those choices are more powerful motivators.

Avoid vague criteria:

Using vague criteria linked to incentives is a recipe for disaster. Specify clear
goals that can be measured. Don’t link incentives to vague ratings scales. Make
sure you and the employee understand the criteria in the same way.

“Think of your job as helping each employee hit that target, make that extra money,
or get that promotion.”

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FOCUS ON COMMUNICATION

Forms don’t improve performance. People working together improve
performance.

That’s a point that’s often lost in the minds of both managers and human
resource staff who supply evaluation forms for use by managers. The truth is
that most appraisal forms are so bad they make employees resentful and are
far too general to achieve the goals and generate the benefits of performance
management.

During appraisals, filling out the form is the least important part of the process.
What is important is that you and the employee have a meaningful dialogue
about past performance and what can be done to improve performance in the
future (regardless of current levels).

What do you do if you are forced to use a form that is too general and vague
and doesn’t require recording information needed to improve performance?
Complete the form if you are required to do so-but augment it in two ways.

First, don’t limit your discussion to the form and its items. In fact, don’t even
bring out the form until the end of the meeting. Talk about the job, past
performance, barriers to performance, and ways to overcome those barriers.
Ask how you can help improve performance.

Second, you can document (write down) the important aspects of that
discussion and append them to the form. Record any strategies or plans to
improve. Include what you can do to help. You want to succeed in improving
performance in spite of being forced to use a horrible tool.

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Keep the following in mind:

Use forms to summarize, not tyrannize:

When given a form, people tend to fill it out and provide only what it asks for. As
a result, the form controls the review process, when you and the employee
should be guiding the process. Use the form t summarize discussions and add
notes to the form as necessary.

Lobby for better tools:

Some appraisal forms are so bad that completing them will inevitably end up
insulting employees. This happens if the forms ask for evaluations about
attitudes and personality, rather than behaviors and results, or force you to rate
a certain percentage of staff as below average. See if you can convince
decision-makers to allow you to use a more flexible approach.

Focus on communication:

Performance management is about communication. Even if you have to use
poor forms, you can overcome the negative effects by being open and honest
and working with employees to improve performance. Dialogue is the key.

“When you focus on performance management as a way of communicating and
building relationships, the actual format of the reporting system becomes less
important.”

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MAKE IT FACE TO FACE

For years, managers focusing too much on the forms have destroyed
performance management. Now we have a new wrinkle-the use of technology
for performance management. Various computer - based systems have been
developed to make the process faster. One system allows you to “phone in
“your employee ratings using a touchtone phone!

Here’s the problem. Computers are great for recording large amounts of
information and automating certain kinds of repetitive tasks. They do not
however, make the users of the technology wiser or smarter or improve their
judgment and thinking abilities. And we know that these things are the
essentials that make performance management work.

As with forms, people tend to do only what computer programs ask of them.
Use a performance management computer program and people will do only
what it requires. And that’s not enough to improve performance.

Use the technology, but keep in mind the pay off comes from good face- to-
face communication. Never allow any computer program to result in less
interaction between you and your employees. Use technology for storing
relevant information and data and for summarizing discussions you have
directly with employees.

Keep in mind that allows us to do things faster. That’s not always a good thing.
If we do the wrong things, but do them faster, we get to the wrong place more
quickly. When systems are automated, the resulting automating system will be
only as good as the thinking that went into creating it.

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Here are a few tips for harnessing technology:

Avoid technology tyranny:

Don’t restrict yourself to filling in online forms or doing only what’s asked. Does
it make sense to be told what to do by a machine? No.

Watch for poor setup:

Performance management software usually needs to be customized to be
useful. That customization is often done by information technology or human
resource departments. Their needs are different from yours. The software can
be tweaked, so provide feedback to improve it.

Fight the novelty:

Don’t be seduced by the novelty of these systems. It may be “cool” to sit by
yourself and do performance appraisals on a computer. That doesn’t mean it’s
going to get you where you want to go.

“Any method can have undesirable side effects, particularly if it’s used without
proper thought and care. Be alert to potential problems with your appraisal system.”

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AVOID RATING PERILS

If you’re using a rating form in your performance appraisals, it’s best to be
aware of their limitations and do your best to reduce their negative aspects.

Typically, a rating system has some sort of verbal descriptor (e.g., “completes
tasks on time,” “exhibits leadership ability”). For each descriptor, the rater is
asked to assign a number (usually one to five) that best describes the
employee’s performance on that item. Variations include replacing numbers
with evaluative phrases (e.g., “poor,” “excellent”) or combining the two. Often
the exact same form is used to evaluate employees across a wide range of
jobs. The items tend to be quite general.

That’s the first problem. Because the items are so general, a rating doesn’t give
the employee enough specific information to improve. How does it help an
employee to know that he or she is a “two”? It doesn’t. In fact, it’s likely to insult
the employee, since nobody believes he or she is a two on a five-point scale.

Ratings are not usually tied to specific behaviours, so the ratings are
exceedingly subjective. The numbers may make things seem objective (we’re
suckers for numbers), but they aren’t. When these numbers / ratings are used
to make personnel decisions, the subjectivity involved creates a huge conflict
point.

Can you minimize these and other problems associated with ratings? Yes.

In a performance appraisal, never begin discussing a topic with the rating.
Discuss the performance first. Once that’s done, then negotiate a rating. For
example, for “being on time,” discuss instances where the employee has been
on time or not, using any data you have. Identify the causes of any late arrivals.
Only once you and the employee have done that should you choose a rating.

Page 26 of 76

Here are three ways to minimize rating problems:

Be open about limitations:

Employees understand the limitations of rating. They still need to hear that you
understand the limitations. Explain that you realize ratings are a very vague
way of evaluating. Treat them as fallible-and let the employee know that’s your
stance.

Negotiate ratings:

Since ratings have very little objective meaning, negotiate the final rating for
each item; don’t just tell your rating. Don’t get picky. Whether an employee gets
a “three” or a “four” is not very important. Arguing over small differences
creates bad feelings that affect future performance.

Don’t sum ratings:
Adding up the ratings to obtain a total overall rating of performance is
meaningless. Don’t do it. It’s like adding up the numbers on football jerseys to
determine which team is better. For a number of reasons-some simple, some
statistical-adding up the items is unfair and inaccurate.

“Always clarify the meaning of each rating item before doing the rating. Discuss
your idea of its meaning and ask the employee about how he or she understands it.”

Page 27 of 76

DON’T RANK EMPLOYEES

Ranking employees as a measure of their productivity is not common. Where
ranking is used, it’s almost always misused and it should be eliminated.

That’s a bit counterintuitive. You’d think it would be possible to look at 10
employees doing the same job and determine which is the best, then next best,
and so on, all the way down to the worst. But you can’t do this meaningfully and
you can’t eliminate ranking perils.

Is ranking ever appropriate? Yes. Where employees are expected to create one
or two very specific results and they can be measured accurately, ratings can
be used. A real estate agent could be evaluated in terms of a very few criteria-
number of sales, dollar value, number of new clients secured. If that’s all you
care about, ranking can work. But what about the agent who interferes with
other agents through cutthroat practices? May be you expect the agent to do
more than sell, to contribute in other ways to the success of the company.
Ranking then becomes a problem.

Ranking creates a win-lose situation among employees. There can be only one
“best performer”, only one “second best”, and one “worst performer”. So, for an
employee to be the best, he or she can either become more productive … or
work to bring down the performance of everyone else. You do not want to
create that kind of unpleasant competition, unless there is simply no need for
employees to work together.

Finally, using ranking to make decisions about which employees keep their jobs
is bad business. If you hire the right people, everyone should be performing
well… even the worst in your rankings. If you were to replace the bottom 20%
each year, the chances are the people you hired to replace them would be
worse.

Page 28 of 76

There’s no way to eliminate the problems with ranking systems, but here are
three things to keep in mind:

Understand the faults:
Ranking shows only relative contributions, at best. Rankings do not tell you the
actual value of an employee. A low rank, when a person is performing well,
may lower future performance.

Lobby for change:

If you’re required to use ranking, consider trying to get the requirement
changed. Ranking ties your hands and your ability to make managerial
decisions. It rarely succeeds. Companies that appeal to succeed using
employee ranking are succeeding for reasons completely unrelated to rankings.

Augment:

If you must use rankings, augment them with elements that make performance
management work. Plan performance and set clear objectives. Communicate
all year long and problem-solve. Help everyone succeed.

“In the short run, ranking systems can encourage some people to work
harder…But they can also encourage people to passively or actively interfere with
the work of others.”

Page 29 of 76

PREPARE FOR THE APPRAISAL
There are few things worse than being involved in a performance review
meeting when one or both parties don’t know why they are there, don’t
understand the point, and haven’t done any thinking or background work. Your
goal is to limit the length of the actual appraisal meeting to about an hour, tops.
If you go longer than that, fatigue sets in. Along with fatigue comes aggravation.
So, you need to lay the groundwork beforehand.

There are two aspects to appraisal preparation. You prepare to play a lead role
during the meeting in a way that encourages the employee to participate
actively. The employee prepares so he or she can participate actively.

Preparation begins at the time you schedule the review meeting. Explain the
purpose of the appraisal discussion and what to expect and outline any
decisions that need to be made by the end of the meeting. You can discuss
specific steps to help the employee prepare. You might ask him or he to review
relevant documents-job descriptions, performance planning documents, and
strategic planning and relevant documentation created throughout the year. Ask
the employee to go through his or her objectives and make notes about
whether he or she has achieved them or not.

It is good to provide some reassurance at this time. “I promise there won’t be
any surprises during the meeting” is a good phrase. What’s important is that the
employee begin to think about the things the two of you are going to discuss.
Make sure you ask if the employee has any questions about the meeting.

Your preparation depends on a number of factors, including the forms you have
to complete, your style, and the particular details of your performance
management system. Review the employee’s job description, job
responsibilities, performance plans, and relevant documentation. Be sure to
review the form you’re expected to use. Make sure you understand it and think
about how you’ll use it to stimulate discussion. It’s also a good idea to write a
quick informal agenda outlining the critical steps you want to complete. You can
share this with the employee at the start of the review.

Page 30 of 76

Here are three simple activities that can help:

Get the participatory mindset:

A few minutes before the meeting, remind yourself that you’re three to create a
dialogue. Commit to asking questions. Plan to foster self-evaluation. Promise
yourself not to get into the blame game.

Touch base:

A day or so before the meeting, confirm the appointment with the employee.
Answer any questions. Verify that both you and the employee will be ready.

Prepare in person:

Reduce anxiety about the performance review by preparing face to face. Don’t
do it by memo. That’s far too impersonal and very intimidating for the
employee. Schedule and explain in person.

“Arrange not to be interrupted. Have your phone calls held. This is the employee’s
time. Make it quality time.”

Page 31 of 76

RECOGNIZE SUCCESS

Some managers who consider themselves “hardnosed” believe it’s not
necessary to praise employees and acknowledge their successes. They believe
that salary is enough and “coddling” employees is unnecessary. They are dead
wrong.

All of us need to know that our work and our successes are noticed,
recognized, and appreciated. Salaries don’t convey that sense to employees. If
your employees feel you do not recognize their contributions, they won’t go to
the wall for you.

Recognizing success can take many forms-perks, awards, and bonuses are
examples. The most practical forms of praise don’t have to cost a cent, though.
Look for instances where an employee is doing a good job. Then, when you
find them, tell him or her.

Don’t limit recognition to any time, place, or situation. You can recognize
contributions over coffee, in team meetings, and in one-to-one-meetings. You
can show your appreciation during all the phases of performance management:
during performance planning, any time during the year, and, of course, during
the performance review meetings.

There’s no limit on praise, but be sincere and specific and accurate when you
recognize performance. Sincerity is critical, since research suggests to
manipulate him or her into higher performance, performance tends to drop, not
rise.

Congratulate employees on special accomplishments, dealing with tough
situations, and even regular run-of-the-mill success. But keep in mind that if you
praise everything, employees will devalue your praise. Make sure you
demonstrate an accurate understanding about the particular accomplishment.
For example, if you congratulate an employee on always getting to work on
time, but the employee has actually been late five times during the past month,
you look like a fool who doesn’t know what’s going on.

Page 32 of 76

Here are three pillars of employee recognition:

Explain the good:

Acknowledging success in a general way is a good thing. It’s even better if you
explain exactly what the employee did well and why it was valuable. That
accomplishes two things. It tells the employee what to continue to do and it
provides a little motivational lift.

Catch employees doing good:

Get out of your office to see what’s going on and talk to staff. Look actively for
successes rather than for problems. When you find an employee doing
something good, comment and recognize that accomplishment on the spot.

Recognize with small rewards:

When acknowledging accomplishments with some sort of tangible reward, use
rewards of token value. Small rewards (ex, certificate, plaque, small gift
certificate, congratulatory coffee mug) don’t result in bad feelings or destructive
competition for rewards. Recognition rewards are best served in a context of
fun and goodwill.

“Celebrate success as they occur.”

Page 33 of 76

USE COOPERATIVE COMMUNICATION
Some managers believe that the best way to “motivate” employees is to get in
their faces or “read the riot act.” That’s not true. Fear is not a good motivator.
The harder you lean, the more likely the employee will resent you and resist
you. Aggressive talk breeds aggression.

By using cooperative language, you’ll reduce conflict and send the message
that you and the employee are “on the same side.”

Avoid comments and criticism that can be construed as personal attacks. For
example, “You aren’t listening” and “You don’t know what you are talking about”
are personal attacks. Replace these kinds of statements with more cooperative
language. For example, “Let’s slow down a bit so we make sure we understand
what each of us is saying” or “I ‘m not understanding your thinking here. Could
you explain a bit more?”

Eliminate focusing on the past and using past-centered comments. For
example, “For years, you’ve been late in getting your work done” is a past-
centered comment that’s likely to create an argument. Why? Because it’s in the
past and can’t be changed. It’s OK to refer to past event in passing, but not to
focus on the past. For example, “I can recall a few instances where projects
have been delayed. Let’s talk about how we can prevent that in the future” is
much more constructive and less likely to start fights.

Eliminate guilt-inducing phrases, comments that are meant to make an
employee feel guilty, such as “If you really cared about this team, you would
work harder” or I guess you don’t care much about this project.” If you use
these kinds of phrases, employees will fight you tooth and nail because they
are interferences on your part and far too vague.

Page 34 of 76

Here are three more tips on improving your communication:

Reduce unsolicited advice:

There are times to offer advice and times to to. You have a right to make
suggestions, but it’s best to ask first. For example, I have some suggestions
about [topic]. Can we talk about them?”

Reduce commands:

You also have a right to order or command that an employee do what you want.
However, overuse tends to foster resistance and rebellion. Usually you can
send the same message without being overbearing. “Get this on my desk
today” is a command, while “I need this today; does that work for you?” is not.

Don’t overstate:

If you use words like “always,” “never,” every time,” and “all the time,” you’re
overstating your point. People tend to fight overstatements. Overstatements are
almost always inaccurate and intended to “win.”

“Ask your staff, ‘Are there things that I do or say that make you feel
uncomfortable talking to me?”

Page 35 of 76

BE SPECIFIC ABOUT PERFORMANCE

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that people need specific information
about their job performance to improve. When that information is missing,
performance tends to drop over time, even for better performers.
What kind of information do employees need?

• Specific information about what they are doing well and should continue
doing

• Specific information about what they should not do

• Specific information about what they should do-instead of what they
should not do

How specific does the information need to be? Here are examples of comments
too vague to help an employee learn and improve: “You aren’t selling enough,”
“You’re too argumentative during team meetings,” and “You need to work
harder.”

Here are examples of comments that are specific: You might be able to
improve your sales if you qualify your customers by…, “ “I think you seem
argumentative in team meetings because you tend to interrupt others,” and “I’ve
noticed that you get into work late about once a week and that prevents
customers from contracting you in the morning.”

The vague comments may in fact be true, but by themselves they are simply
too inaccurate to improve performance, while the more specific ones are clear
about what’s needed-try this qualifying technique, stop interrupting, and arrive
on time.

Page 36 of 76

Here are three techniques to help you keep appraisal discussions concrete and
specific:

Rely on specific examples:

Use specific examples of behavior when talking about performance. For
example, “In June I received three calls from customers unable to get in touch
with you because you hadn’t arrived by 9 o’clock” or “In the last team meeting,
you interrupted Jane three times.”

Stick to observations and facts, not inferences’:

Observations are things you see. Facts are about things you know, based on
data (e.g., sale figures, customer comments). Inferences are conclusions,
usually about an employee’s attitude or personality. Avoid inferences and
statements like “You’re lazy,” “You need to work harder,” and “You’re not a
team player.”

Make and use informal notes:

You can’t always talk about a performance issue immediately. When you do
see things about an employee’s performance that you want to mention later,
make some short notes so you can be specific during the discussion. Use them
to jog your memory.

“Employees need regular, specific feedback on their job performances. They need to
know where they are excelling and where they could improve. If they don’t
know…, how can they get better?”

Page 37 of 76

USE PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE
Although It’s not among the main reasons for managing performance,
performance management is an important tool for disciplining an employee.
Discipline is not quite the same as punishment. Punishment has an “I will hurt
you” quality, while discipline is the process of holding an employee accountable
for his or her actions by specifying consequences that will be applied under
some very specific circumstances. And, of course, discipline is applying those
consequences when needed.

There are times when employee actions are so extreme or unacceptable that
they require immediate action (e.g., assault, theft, gross safety violations).
However, most disciplinary action related to performance does not require that
immediacy. Enter progressive discipline.

There are several components to progressive discipline. First, you identify
aspects of performance that must change. Second, you determine what will
happen if that change does not happen by a specific time- the consequences
(e.g., probation, demotion, suspension). Third, you communicate (and
document) the information to the employee. Fourth, you reevaluate at the
identified time. Fifth, you apply the consequence.

Usually the consequences themselves are progressive: you start with the most
gentle consequences and then, if those are not sufficient to help solve the
problem, you escalate. You may go through the cycle several times, depending
on the value of the employee, the severity of the problem, and other factors that
fit the situation.

Page 38 of 76

Here are three suggestions to help you make progressive discipline work:

Problem-solve first:

Discipline of any sort should be considered a last resort. You have an
investment in each employee, an investment that you do not want to lose.
Before you move to discipline, work with the employee to identify why the
problem is occurring and try to help him or her overcome it. If that fails,
discipline may be appropriate.

Weigh the consequences:

Disciplining an employee means crossing a bridge that you may never be able
to uncross. Disciplinary action can destroy any chance of a positive relationship
between you and the employee. Also, before you decide to proceed, consider
the costs of disciplinary action-the cost of replacement and the effect on other
staff.

Identify, communicate, provide opportunity, and help:

Give employees reasonable time to improve, except in very severe situations.
Be clear about what they need to change and take an active role in helping
them improve. First, be a “teacher/helper.” Then, if helping doesn’t work, be a
boss.

“Any disciplinary action must be documented completely, in detail – the actual
performance gap, how it was identified, how it was communicated to the employee,
and steps taken to resolve the problem.

Page 39 of 76

DEVEVELOP EMPLOYEES
Consider that you already have a significant investment in your employees. It
took time and money to hire them and get them up to speed. It makes sense to
invest further by helping them develop and to improve their skills and, therefore,
their ability to contribute over the long term.

Skill development is appropriate when you believe performance can be
improved if the employee acquires or refreshes job-related skills. Skill
development can also be used in cases where an employee might be suitable
for increased responsibility or a promotion. Some managers use development
opportunities, such as going to conferences and seminars as rewards for good
performance.

How does this fit with performance management? Performance management
provides you with the tools for determining whether employee development is
indicated and what kind of development best fits the situation.

For example, use performance planning to identify possible barriers to goal
achievement and identify what an employee needs to learn to achieve the
goals. Performance appraisals can highlight gaps between where an employee
is and where he or she needs to go.

Employee development need not be costly. You can use seminars and training
workshops, but there are other alternatives. For example, you can pair up a
less skilled employee with a willing, more skilled employee. You can coach the
employee yourself if you have the required knowledge and skills. You can
arrange for job rotations so the employee learns new skills and becomes a
more adaptable part of your organization. Don’t restrict yourself to just the more
formal learning opportunities, such as training seminars. Informal ways of
learning are often more effective and less costly.

Page 40 of 76

Below are three suggestions to help you optimize staff development:

Follow up:

Learning happens best when there is follow-up. If an employee goes to training,
suggest reporting to other staff members what he or she has learned or
meeting with you. Talking about learning reinforces the learning.

Link learning to goals:

People learn best when they understand the purpose. Regardless of the
learning methods, make sure employees understand how they’ll use what
they’ve learned. Tie development to specific goals or career enhancement.

Incorporate a development plan:

The best times to plan for skill development occur during performance planning
and performance appraisal. During both phases, discuss skill development
goals and how to reach them. Document any agreements and commitments for
the employee and yourself.

“In a constantly changing workplace, the skills needed for employee success
change over time.”

Page 41 of 76

SOME MODEL
PERFORMANCE
APPRAISALS
“Performance
“Performance management is about people, communication, dialogue, and
working together, not about forms or forcing employees to produce.”

Page 42 of 76

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
For : STAFF

Name of Appraise: ________________________Designation: _______

Department: _____________________________ Service Start Date: _________

Appraisal Period From: ___________ to ________Purpose of Review:
Confirmation
Annual Review

Name and Designation of Appraiser: _________________________________________

Nature of Relationship: ________________________________________

XYZ Company seeks corporate value of higher significance, pursuing innovative
quality in the areas of Customers, Employees, Society, Products, Technology,
Management and Fairness

When completing the form, you are required to support your rating with comments in the
spaces provided for each category. For statements that do not apply to the person being
evaluated, please mark “Not Applicable” (NA). Comments should be specific (including
examples) and explanatory. If your evaluation and recommendations cannot be adequately
covered in the space provided, you should prepare an attachment to this appraisal form.

Performance for each category is graded into the following:

Outstanding 5 points Performance is exceptional and far exceeds
expectations. Consistently demonstrates
excellent standards.
Very Good 4 points Performance is consistent and exceeds expectations.

Good 3 points Performance is consistent. Clearly meets job requirements.

Fair 2 points Performance is satisfactory. Meets minimum
requirements of the job.
Needs
Improvement 1 point Performance is inconsistent. Meets requirements of the job
occasionally.

Unsatisfactory 0 point Performance does not meet minimum requirements of the job.

Page 43 of 76

Outstanding Very Good Fair Needs Unsatis Not
Good Improve factory Applicable
PART I CUSTOMERS ment

1. Follows instructions to the 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Customer

satisfaction of superiors
Focus

2. Aims to develop good relations 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
with internal and external
customers

PART II EMPLOYEES
Teamwork

3. Able and willing to work 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
effectively with others in a
team
Communication

4. Communicates effectively to 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
share information and/or skills
Skills

with colleagues

PART III SOCIETY
Consciousness

5. Uses practices that save company 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
resources and minimize wastage
Cost

Comments

Page 44 of 76

PART IV PRODUCTS AND ment
SERVICES

6. Possesses knowledge of 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
work procedures and
Job Knowledge/
Technical Skills

requirements of job

7. Shows technical 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
competence/skill in area of
specialization

8. Displays commitment to 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
work
9. Plans and organizes work 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
effectively
Work Attitude

10. Is proactive and displays 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
initiative

11. Has a sense of urgency in acting
on work matters 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA

12. Displays a willingness to learn 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
of Work
Quality

13. Is accurate, thorough and careful 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
with work performed
Quantity
of Work

14. Is able to handle a 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
reasonable volume of work
Safety

15. Ensures careful work habits that 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
comply with safety requirements

Comments

Page 45 of 76

ment
Improvement

16. Seeks to continually 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Process

improve processes and
work methods

PART VI MANAGEMENT ( to be completed for staff with supervisory duties only)
Problem Solving

17. Helps resolve staff 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
problems on work-related
matters

18. Handles problem situations 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
effectively
Motivation of
Supervision/

19. Is a positive role model for other 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
staff
Staff

20. Effectively supervises work 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
of subordinates

PART VII FAIRNESS
Attendance/

21. Has good attendance
Punctuality

5 4 3 2 1 0 NA

22. Is punctual
5 4 3 2 1 0 NA

23. Is able to work with limited 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
supervision
Dependability/
Responsibility

24. Is trustworthy, responsible 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
and reliable

25. Is adaptable and willing to 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
accept new responsibilities

Comments

Page 46 of 76

Evaluation

Formula Score
Total Score
Total Scores X 100 %
Number of Questions Answered X 5

Grading

90%- 100% Outstanding
Performance is exceptional and far exceeds expectations.
Consistently demonstrates excellent standards in all job
requirements.

76%-89% Very Good
Performance is consistent, and exceeds expectations in all situations.

60%-75% Good
Performance is consistent. Clearly meets essential requirements of
job.

45%-59% Fair
Performance is satisfactory. Meets requirements of the job.

31%-44% Needs Improvement
Performance is inconsistent. Meets requirements of the job
occasionally. Supervision and training is required for most problem
areas.

0%-30% Unsatisfactory
Performance does not meet the minimum requirements of the job.

Page 47 of 76

Growth and Development

(i) List the appraisee’s strengths

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

(ii) List the areas for improvement

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

(iii) What specific plans of action, including training, will be taken to help the
appraisee in their current job or for possible advancement in the company?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Achievement

(i) Describe the appraisee’s areas of additional responsibilities and/or other work-
related achievements

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Page 48 of 76

Recommendations

θ Termination θ Consider for merit increment
θ Extension of probation θ Transfer to other types of work
θ Suitable for confirmation θ Ready for promotion
(w.e.f. _______________) θ Has potential for promotion, but not
ready now
θ Normal increment of S$________ θ Others: ________________________
θ No salary increment_____________________________________

Other Remarks:

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

________________________
Signature of Appraiser Date

Review by Countersigning Authority

Comments by countersigning authority (if any):
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Name of countersigning Designation of Signature Date
authority countersigning authority

Page 49 of 76

HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT’S USE

Present Salary:____________________Date of Last Increment: ______________

New Salary: ____________________Effective Date:_____________

Comments:

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________

____________________________
Signature of Director / Vice-President Date

Page 50 of 76

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
MANAGER

Name of Appraisee:__________________ Designation: __________________

Department: ___________________ Service Start Date: ________________________

Appraisal Period From: ___________ to ___________ Purpose of Review:
Confirmation
Annual Review

Name and Designation of Appraiser: ______________________________________

Nature of Relationship: ______________________________________________________

XYZ Copmany seeks corporate value of higher significance, pursuing innovative quality in the
areas of Customers, Employees, Society, Products, Technology, Management and Fairness

The purpose of this evaluation is to communicate clearly to the individual evaluated how well
he/she is meeting expectations for a person at his/her level. *You are required to support your
rating with comments in the spaces provided for each category. For statements that do not
apply to the person being evaluated, please mark, “Not Applicable” (NA). Comments should
be specific (including examples) and explanatory. If your evaluation and recommendations
cannot be adequately covered in the space provided, you should prepare an attachment to this
appraisal form. This form should be reviewed by the next level of authority, before discussion
with the person being evaluated.

*Please refer to the goals set during the previous appraisal period, as you conduct your
assessment.

Performance for each category is graded into the following:

Outstanding 5 points Performance is exceptional and far exceeds expectations.
Consistently demonstrates excellent standards.

Very Good 4 points Performance is consistent and exceeds expectations.

Good 3 points Performance is consistent. Clearly meets job requirements.

Fair 2 points Performance is satisfactory. Meets minimum requirements
of the job.
Needs
Improvement 1 point Performance is inconsistent. Meets requirements of the job
occasionally.

Unsatisfactory 0 point Performance does not meet minimum requirements of the job.

Page 51 of 76

Outstandi Very Good Fair Needs Unsat Not
PART I- CUSTOMERS ng Goo Improv isfact Applicab
d ement ory le

26. Places high priority on achieving 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
customer satisfaction (both
Customer

internal and external customers)
Focus

27. Displays effective negotiation 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
skills with both suppliers,
customers and internal staff

PART II- EMPLOYEES
Staff Training and

28. Demonstrates an interest in the 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
career development of staff
Welfare

within the department

29. Is pro-active in training new hires 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
and less experienced staff
Interpersonal/ Facilitation

30. Strives to develop good relations 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
with other departments
of Teamwork

31. Ensures teamwork and co- 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
operation amongst staff

32. Displays effective interpersonal 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
skills

Comments

Page 52 of 76

ng Goo Improv isfact Applicab
d ement ory le
Communication

33. Communicates and presents 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
information effectively
Skills

PART III SOCIETY
Consciousness

34. Actively promotes practices that 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
save company resources and
Cost

minimize wastage

PART IV PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Job Knowledge/
Technical Skills

35. Keeps current about industry 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
developments

36. Displays a high level of technical 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
competence in job area

37. Displays commitment to personal 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
and career development
Work Attitude

38. Plans and organises work 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
effectively

39. Is proactive and displays 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
initiative

Comments

Page 53 of 76

ng Goo Improv isfact Applicab
d ement ory le
Mindset
Quality

40. Ensures that work performed in 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
the department is accurate and of
high quality

41. Ensures careful work habits that 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Safety

comply with safety requirements
in his department

PART V TECHNOLOGY
Improvement

42. Seeks to continually improve 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Process

processes and work methods

PART VI MANAGEMENT

43. Exhibits sound judgement when 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Decision
Making

making decisions

5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
44. Helps resolve staff problems on
Problem
Solving

work-related matters

45. Handles problem situations 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
effectively

Comments

Page 54 of 76

Outstandi Very Good Fai Needs Unsati Not
ng Goo r Impro sfactor Applicab
d vemen y le
t
Orientation

46. Sets realistic goals and is 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Goal

responsible for meeting them
Leadership /Motivation of Staff

47. Is a positive role model for 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
subordinates

48. Motivates staff to perform better 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
in all areas

49. Delegates responsibilities to 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
subordinates effectively

50. Ensures staff receive timely 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
feedback

PART VII FAIRNESS

51. Demonstrates integrity and good 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Integrity

work ethics in the company’s best
interest

52. Demonstrates ability to assume 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
Dependability/
Responsibility

and discharge responsibility

53. Is adaptable and willing to accept 5 4 3 2 1 0 NA
new responsibilities

Comments

Page 55 of 76

Evaluation

Formula Score
Total Score

Grading

90%- 100% Outstanding
Performance is exceptional and far exceeds expectations. Consistently
demonstrates excellent standards in all job requirements.

76%-89% Very Good

60%-75% Good
Performance is consistent. Clearly meets essential requirements of job.

45%-59% Fair

31%-44% Needs Improvement
Performance is inconsistent. Meets requirements of the job occasionally.
Supervision and training is required for most problem areas.

0%-30% Unsatisfactory

Page 56 of 76


(i) List the appraisee’s strengths

_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

(ii) List the areas for improvement

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

(iii) What specific plans of action, including training, will be taken to help the
appraisee in their current job or for possible advancement in the company?

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Achievement

(i) Describe the appraisee’s areas of additional responsibilities and/or other work-
related achievements

_______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Page 57 of 76

Review with Staff

My immediate superior and I have discussed my performance review.

( ) I agree with the appraisal
( ) I disagree with the appraisal

Comments:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________ _______________
Signature of Employee Date

Recommendations

θ Termination θ Consider for merit increment
θ Extension of probation θ Transfer to other types of work
θ Suitable for confirmation θ Ready for promotion
(w.e.f. _______________) θ Has potential for promotion, but not
ready now
θ Normal increment of S$________ θ Others: _________________________
θ No salary increment __________________

Other Remarks:

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

__________________ ________________________
Signature of Appraiser Date

Page 58 of 76

HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT’S USE

Present Salary: ____________________ Date of Last Increment: _____________

New Salary: ____________________ Effective Date: ______________

Comments:

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________
Signature of Director /Vice-President Date

Page 59 of 76

APPRAISAL FORM

Name of the Employee: Emp.No.:
Department: Section:
Qualifications: Date of Joining:
_____________________________________________________________________

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

1. KNOWLEDGE OF WORK:
(Understanding of all phases of this work and related matters)

a) Needs instructions or guidance.
b) Has required knowledge of own and related work.
c) Has exceptional knowledge of own and related work.

2. INITIATIVE:
(Ability to originate or develop ideas and to get things started)

a) Lacks imagination.
b) Meets necessary requirements.
c) Usually resourceful.

3. APPLICATIONS:
(Attention and application to his work)

a) Wastes time, needs close supervision.
b) Steady and willing worker.
c) Exceptionally industrious.

4. QUALITY OF WORK:
(Thoroughness, neatness and accuracy of work)

a) Needs improvement.
b) Regularly meets recognized standards.
c) Consistently maintains highest quality.

5. VOLUME OF WORK:
(Quality of acceptable work)

a) Should be increased.
b) Regularly meets recognized standards.
c) Unusually high output.

6. PERSONALITY:

a) Has difficulty in getting along with others.
b) Liked and respected.
c) Highly regarded.

7. DEPENDABILITY:
(Reliability following through an assignment and instructions)

a) Required more than normal follow up.
b) Liked and respected.
c) Highly regarded.

Page 60 of 76

8. ATTENDANCE:
(Assess on punctuality and record of unauthorized absence)

a) Unsatisfactory.
b) Average.
c) Consistently regular.

9. COMMUNICATION & EXPRESSION SKILLS:

a) Unintelligible.
b) Average.
c) Very effective.

10. POSITIVE DISCIPLINE:

a) Careless.
b) Average.
c) Excellent manner.
Reviewed with employee on :
_______________.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OF THE DEPT.HEAD:

Date: Signature of the Dept.Head
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OF THE PERSONNEL & ADMN.DEPT.

Date: Signature of Manager - HR

RECOMMENDATION IN VIEW OF THIS APPRAISAL BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT (TECH):

Based on this performance on the job, what is your overall appraisal of the
Employee? [ ] Tick one only in the following:

( ) EXECLLENT ( ) GOOD ( ) AVERAGE ( ) POOR

APPROVED BY
GENERAL MANAGER

Note: The Appraiser should ( ) tick any one choose only from the points 1 to 10.

Page 61 of 76

APPRAISAL FORM

Name of the Employee: Emp.No.:
Department: Section:
Qualifications: Date of Joining:
___________________________________________________________________

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

Sl.No. Performance Factor Un-satis Average Above Outstan Additional
factory Average ding Comments

01 Proficiency and accuracy in
work.
02 Ability to organize own
work.

03 Proficiency in
communication.

04 Ability to correspond
independently.

05 Trustworthiness in handling
confidential matters and
papers.
06 Initiative in seeking out
work and undertaking
additional responsibility.
07 Attendance & Timekeeping

08 Attitude towards
Management & Superiors.

09 Physical appearance &
Tidiness in work place.

10 General assessment of
personality, intelegence,
Keenness, industry,
amenability to
discipline,trustworthyness,re
lations with fellow
employees.

….see next page 2
-2-

Page 62 of 76

Sl.No. Performance Factor Un-satis Average Above Outstan Additional
factory Average ding Comments

11. Nature of other duties, if
any, on which employed and
how he/she carried them
out?
12. Brief mention of any
outstanding or notable work,
Meriting special
commendation.
13. Employee’s record during
the assessment period.

14. Does the employee need
specific training in certain
aspects of his job ? If so,
Please specify.

Reviewed with employee on : _______________.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OF THE DEPT.HEAD:

Date: Signature of the Dept.Head
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OF THE PERSONNEL & ADMN.DEPT.

Date: Signature of Manager - HR

RECOMMENDATION IN VIEW OF THIS APPRAISAL BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT (TECH):
01. Do you consider him for any
Increment or cash award ?

02. Do you consider him
suitable for promotion ?

Based on this performance on the job, what is your overall appraisal of the
Employee? [ ] Tick one only in the following:

( ) EXECLLENT ( ) GOOD ( ) AVERAGE ( ) POOR

APPROVED BY
GENERAL MANAGER
Note: The Appraiser should ( ) tick any one choose only from the points 1 to 14.

Page 63 of 76

GUIDANCE
1. Why Performance Appraisal

1.1 Definition

The performance appraisal is part of a larger system known as the performance
management system. This system is the approach to the management of
people using performance, planned goals and objectives, measurement,
feedback and recognition to motivate people to realise their maximum
potential. Performance appraisal involves the setting of clear quantifiable goals
and objectives and assessing individual performance against these measures.

1.2 Aims

Performance appraisals are a way to give feedback to staff regarding their
performance. The appraisal can be used to encourage good work as well as
point out opportunities for improvement. Appraisals can also be used to set
measurable targets and objectives to continually spur performance
improvement.

Increasing Role Clarity

Performance appraisal is a tool for communicating the skills, knowledge and
attitudes required for the different job roles. The appraisal criteria acts as a
guide to the attitudes and behaviours that XYZ COMPANY would like their
staff in their various capacities to have.

Training and Development

Performance appraisals measure an individual’s performance and can identify
opportunities for improvement or learning through training.

Compensation and Reward

As XYZ COMPANY bonuses and annual increments are linked to
performance, a system for measuring performance in an equitable way is
necessary. The performance appraisal encourages the use of objective,
quantifiable criteria to measure performance which will be known to all staff.
This system improves fair judgement and the perception of equity among staff.

Page 64 of 76

Career Planning

Performance appraisals will allow XYZ COMPANY to assess the skill set of
their existing staff to ascertain the career path for each individual.

Enhance Corporate Values

XYZ COMPANY’s corporate value is the pursuit of innovative quality in the
areas of Customers, Employees, Society, Products, Technology, Management
and Fairness. These values are translated to performance measures that are
used in the appraisal. This enhances awareness of corporate values and
promotes behaviours that are in line with XYZ COMPANY’s values.

Page 65 of 76

2. Schedule for Performance Appraisals

STAGES OF THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

1st week of July • Appraisers to schedule
Schedule interviews 1hr sessions for each
Schedule interviews employee

1st week of July • Appraisers to inform
Inform Employees employees at least one
Inform Employees week before the
scheduled interview

2nd week of July
Preparation for Review • HR Dept to identify
Preparation for Review Appraisers for each
department,
particularly for
departments with more
3rd and 4th week of July than one appraiser
• Conduct performance appraisal
interview Performance Review • HR Dept to provide
Performance Review Appraiser with
• All Execs and Managers will and
and appraisal forms
undergo the appraisal interview Agreement
Agreement
including setting performance • Appraiser to complete
targets and goals for the next time forms for respective
period staff

4th week of July
Management • Appraisers to submit
Management completed form to respective
Review
Review superiors for review and
countersigning
• Appraisers to submit form to
1st week of August HR Dept
HR Dept Review
HR Dept Review
• HR Dept to confirm
recommendations on salary
increments and promotions
with Managing Director
• HR Dept to prepare letters to
staff accordingly
• HR Dept to file appraisals in
personnel forms

Page 66 of 76

3. Conducting the Performance Appraisal

Keep good Both praise and criticism are most meaningful when supported by
records factual examples

Review Use previous goals to evaluate progress
BEFORE THE APPRAISAL

previous goals

Get input from Seek feedback from others who work with the appraisee in areas they
others will have objective knowledge of and get examples where available

Prepare Prepare in advance so that you can deliver the message that you intend
carefully to

Prepare • agree on a time - set aside at least one hour. Avoid postponing the
administrative appointment, and give the employee full attention.
details • select a location - office or conference room is best.
• ask employee to prepare - ask the employee to review his/her goals,
and come prepared with questions.

Explain the Outline what is about to happen for the session
meeting agenda

Encourage • listen
DURING THE APPRAISAL

communication • encourage two-way communication
• ask for ideas on how they can improve their performance
• ask for how they feel you can help them
• ask for feedback on the appraisal section

Stay focused Keep the session focussed on past and future performance, summarise
discussion issues often to ensure agreement

Communicating The employee expects and should know what he/she needs to improve
shortcomings

Be open Be versatile and open-minded if you hear things that cause you to
change your opinion

Evaluation • Begin with the positive things that were well done
process • Follow this with areas that need improvement and a plan on how to
DURING

address them
• Conclude with a reinforcement of your desire to help the person grow
and improve

Page 67 of 76

Making Don’t make promises you do not have control over (e.g. salary
promises increments, promotions, transfers etc)

Review goals Concentrate on a few areas- things that make a difference. Try to
encourage continuation and growth in the areas of strength. Set up
“smart” goals that will build strength in areas needing attention

Administration • Complete the paperwork required for the results of the appraisal
AFTER THE APPRAISAL

• Make sure the appraisee signs on the bottom line
• Mark the calendar on when your next appraisal session with the
person will be

Follow-up Follow-up on agreements made during the appraisal

Learning Review what you have learnt about the employee, your records and
systems, yourself, the appraisal process and your management style

Page 68 of 76

4. Common Rating Errors

Whilst completing the appraisal form, the appraiser is advised to exercise
caution, as there may be several pitfalls which may skew the assessment:

Halo Effect
A person outstanding in one area tends to receive outstanding or better than
average ratings in other areas as well, even when such a rating is undeserved

Negative Effect
A low rating in one area yields lower than deserved ratings for other
accomplishments

Central Tendency
Assigning an average rating for all qualities

Confrontation Avoidance
Discomfort with giving negative feedback

Initial Performance
Rating an employee based solely on initial impressions of performance

Recency
Rating an employee based solely on most recent performance which
overshadows the entire year’s performance

Page 69 of 76

5. Using the Appraisal Form

5.1 Elements of the Appraisal Form

The appraisal form covers the following key areas:

• Assessment of performance
• Employee’s growth and development - strengths and areas for
improvement
• Training requirements
• Achievements
• Goals and targets (for managers and executives)
• Review with staff (for managers and executives)
• Recommendations
• Management review- Review by Countersigning Authority

5.2 Completing the Appraisal Form

5.2.1 Key Performance Indicators

Core Values Manager Executive Staff

Customers Customer Focus
• Maintains high priority in achieving customer satisfaction (both internal and external
customers) by quickly and accurately identifying and responding to customers actual needs
• Is effective in dealing and negotiating with internal and external customers

Employees Staff Training and Welfare
• Actively provides guidance and helps staff in their career
development

Interpersonal/ Facilitation of Teamwork
• Promotes and develops good working relationships with other staff

Communication Skill
• Speaks, listens and writes clearly and logically to share information and skills

Society Cost Consciousness
• Demonstrates concern for the society through practices that save company’s resources and
reduce wastage

Page 70 of 76

Core Values Manager Executive Staff

Products and Job Knowledge/ Technical Skills
Services • Demonstrates good knowledge and skill in job area

Work Attitude
• Displays commitment, planning and organisational skill, initiative and a sense of urgency
toward work and a willingness to learn

Quality Mindset
• Maintains high standards for how work is done in terms of accuracy and consistency

Safety
• Ensures careful work habits that comply with the safety requirements

Quantity of Work
• Ability to handle a
reasonable volume of
work

Technology Process Improvement
• Recognises the need for continuous improvement

Management Problem Solving
(to be completed • Identifies issues and problems, secures relevant information from different sources and resolves
for appraisees problems effectively
with supervisory
duties) Leadership/ Supervision & Motivation of Staff
• Sets a good example for subordinates and effectively controls and leads them

Goal Orientation
• Sets realistic challenges and acts to achieve them

Decision Making
• Takes the right action at the
right time

Fairness Integrity
• Acts ethically and honestly in line with the company’s code of conduct

Dependability / Responsibility
• Is reliable in the discharging of duties and is willing and adaptable in taking on new
responsibilities

Attendance/ Punctuality
• Has good attendance and is punctual

Page 71 of 76

5.2.2 Evaluation

(a) Total Evaluation

The final score is the average score, calculated as follows


(b) Gradings

The appraisee is then graded according to the level of his/her performance
in each category according to the final score:

Outstanding
Performance is exceptional and far exceeds expectations. Consistently demonstrates
excellent standards in all job requirements.

Very Good

Good
Performance is consistent. Clearly meets essential requirements of job.

Fair

Needs Improvement
Performance is inconsistent. Meets requirements of the job occasionally.
Supervision and training is required for most problem areas.

Unsatisfactory

Page 72 of 76


In this section, describe how the appraisee demonstrates their strengths and
areas for improvement by providing specific examples.

Specific action plans can also be developed together with the appraisee (for
Executives and Managers) to address these areas. In particular, training
requirements can be identified for the areas that can be enhanced or developed
through training. Training requirements refer to the skill set required by the
employee to either successfully fulfil current job responsibilities or to prepare
the employee for greater responsibility.

Achievement

This section allows any additional responsibilities outside of the appraisee’s job
scope (e.g. ISO 9002 Steering Committee) to be acknowledged.

Goals Achievement

Appraisals for Executives and Managers, contain a section for goal setting and
goal achievement assessment. Goals are specific and measurable objectives
that the individual wishes to achieve by the end of the following appraisal
period.

Recommendations

The appraiser provides recommendations for the career development for the
employee. These may include: confirmation, extension of probation,
promotion, increments, termination, etc.

Review by Director

The Managing Director will provide comments prior to filing with the
Administration Department.

Page 73 of 76

6. Writing Performance Targets and Goals (Managers and Executives only)

6.1 Objectives of Writing Performance Targets and Goals

• Specific and measurable targets and goals define what is expected from a
job holder
• The performance targets and goals serve as standards by which
performance can be accurately measured

6.2 Steps in Writing Performance Targets and Goals

Examples
Step 1 Begin by writing down • Source new clients
the basic nature of the • Increase sales volume
task using only a verb • Reduce rejection rates
and a noun • Complete planning phase

Step 2 Include the quantity or • Source X number of qualified
quality that must be met clients within Y months
by the person • Increase sales volume by X% by
responsible for the task June
• Reduce rejection rates by 5% by
the end of the year
• Complete the planning phase
by 30 October

Step 3 If necessary, add any • Source X number of qualified
procedures or criteria clients within Y months by
that describe the action actively advertising services to
to be taken to achieve potential clients within the
the target or goal electronics industry

Step 4 Review and refine the
target or goal if
necessary

Page 74 of 76

6.3 Checklist

“SMART” Performance Goals:

S pecific
M easurable
A chievable
R esults-oriented
T ime-bound

To ensure that the objectives are properly defined, each of the following
questions must be answered positively:-

(i) Does the statement of performance targets/goals limit the results to one
specific area?

(ii) Are the results well defined in terms of what is expected of the job
holder?

(iii) Are the objectives measurable and observable? Were objectives
quantified whenever possible?

(iv) Was a time frame specified?

(v) Are the performance targets/goals reasonable and within the reach of
the job holder?

Page 75 of 76

6.4 Example of Performance Targets

Position Performance Targets/Goals

Sales Manager Increase share of market of Product J from
15% to 20% by December 31.

Warehouse Supervisor Reduce accident rate by 10% .

Reduce response time to internal
customers by 10%.

Human Resource Manager Decrease turnover of clerical employees
from 20% to 15% by Dec 31

Complete planning and installation of
supervisory training programme.

Page 76 of 76

Performance management system

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