Performance Appraisal

Abstract

Various names are given to the formal schemes of appraising people’s performance at work including:

Staff Appraisal Performance Appraisal/Review Annual Review/Assessment/Interview

Many organisations have regular, formal reviews of performance sessions for all employees. In this chapter we will investigate how these are carried out, their purpose, and we will provide you with an idea of how to prepare for one. But before we start, we need to make it clear that there is a considerable debate about the advantages and the effectiveness of these systems. Some organisations, like the Civil Service, base much of their personnel policy on annual staff reviews while other organisations have no systems at all. Some writers on human relations at work have argued that a well-thought out system of appraisal is the right of every employee. While other authors have seen the process as doomed to failure because of the difficulty of exactly measuring performance in many occupations. They also highlight the practical problems of appraising people, such as the inability of many managers to tackle difficult personal confrontations which may occur during appraisal sessions.