Performance Appraisal

What is performance appraisal?

Performance appraisal is a regular, planned way to judge how well a person does their job and to agree what happens next. Aims: give feedback, set goals, decide training, support pay or promotion choices and spot problems early.

Can all work be evaluated?

Some results are easy to measure: units sold, errors, deadlines met. Other parts are hard: care for customers, helping colleagues, creativity. Firms use both quantitative measures (numbers) and qualitative ones (observed behaviour with examples). Only numbers can push people to chase the number and forget quality.

Ways to appraise staff

• Manager rating: the line manager scores the person against set criteria.
• Self-appraisal: the person rates their own work first; it starts a better talk.
• Management by objectives (MBO): targets are agreed at the start and checked at the end.
• 360-degree feedback: peers, juniors and sometimes customers also give views, so the picture has many sides.
• Rating scales and checklists: simple 1 to 5 scores with written descriptions of each level.

A good method is clear, relevant to the job, fair, and known to staff beforehand.

Annual and professional reviews

The annual review is a meeting once a year. Before it: self-appraisal and manager notes. In it: look back at goals, discuss strengths and weak points, agree new goals. After it: a short written record signed by both. Many firms add a mid-year check so there are no surprises.

A professional (career) review is different. It happens every one or two years and looks forward: what training does the person want or need, what role next, any change of work? It is separate from pay talks, and it often keeps a record of training taken.

Skills assessment

Skills assessment lists the skills a job needs and checks the level of each person. The difference is the skills gap.

1. List the skills the job needs and the level needed (say 1 to 5).
2. Assess the person: test, observation, work samples, or the manager's rating.
3. Gap = needed level − current level.
4. Plan training for gaps; give new tasks where the person is above the level.

Example: Excel needs 4, person has 2, so the gap is 2 and a course is planned.

Fair appraisal and common bias

• Recency bias: the last few weeks count too much.
• Halo effect: one good trait colours the whole score.
• Leniency or strictness: the manager always gives high or low marks.
• Similar-to-me bias: people like us get better scores.

Fixes: written criteria, notes taken through the year, more than one rater, training for managers, and a right for the person to answer or appeal.

Try it: appraise a school week

Choose four criteria for a student helper, such as punctuality, quality, teamwork and initiative. Give each a weight (for example 40, 20, 20, 20). Score a friend (with their permission) from 1 to 5 on each, then work out the weighted total. Then ask them to score themselves and compare. In the 3D, the last step does the sum for you.

Key formulas and definitions

• Skills gap = required level − current level
• Weighted score = Σ (score × weight %)
• Appraisal methods: manager rating, self-appraisal, MBO, 360-degree feedback
• Annual review looks back; career (professional) review looks forward

Worked examples

Common mistakes

• Using appraisal only to punish. It is also for feedback, goals and training.
• Mixing up the annual review (looks back at results) and the career review (looks forward at training and roles).
• Using only numbers and ignoring things that are hard to count.
• Letting one recent event or one strong trait decide the whole score.