PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL-AN OVERVIEW

It is a systematic process of evaluating the performance of an employee on the job in terms of job requirement to see if he can perform better in future.

Performance appraisal also popularly known as merit rating or employee appraisal is a systematic evaluation of employees’ present contribution in the organization in order to discover how he is presently performing on the job and how he can perform better in the near future so that it benefits the individual as well as the organization as a whole. The process not only evaluates the qualities but also the deficiencies to provide overall development to individual.

NEED OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL:

Performance appraisal, being an important function of HRM is needed in an organization due to the following reasons:

1. To evaluate employees performance in terms of job requirement.
2. To assess the problems faced by employees.
3. To provide aid in wage and salary administration.
4. To plan and organize suitable training and development programs.
5. To plan future recruitment and selection needs.

PROCESS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL:

The performance appraisal is done on the basis of some standards set or fixed criterion and the employees should also be known, as on what basis their performance is being evaluated. Unless a series of steps is followed, the process of evaluation will not give positive results.

1. SETTING STANDARDS:

It is the first and foremost important step in the process of performance appraisal. These standards should be set on the basis of some quality or quantity of production, new innovation or personality traits etc. It is important as it will provide a base of evaluating performance.

2. COMMUNICATING STANDARDS TO EMPLOYEES:

It is also important because setting standards just is not enough until the employees know that on what basis their performance is going to be evaluated or what is to be expected from them. 

3. MEASURING PERFORMANCE:

In this step, the actual performance of the employees is measured either by his immediate superior or by hiring special person for this process. It can be done through personal observation and making report out of it. 

4. COMPARING PERFORMANCE WITH STANDARDS SET:

In this process the actual performance of the employees is compared with the standards set to know where an employee actually stands in the performance scale. It will helps in knowing the potentials as well as weak points of an individual. 

5. ASSESSMENT REPORTS:

In this, the good as well as the weak points of an individual are discussed so as to help them to improve their performance in the future. Assessment reports can greatly influence an individual’s performance. 

6. CORRECTIVE ACTION:

The whole process of evaluation is successful only if the corrective action is taken to remove out the deviations in performance. It can be done in the form of additional training, special action, and delegation of authority or simply through counseling and advice etc. these actions can help improving their performance in future.

IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL:

Performance appraisal is a significant function of HRM, as it will help in assigning work to the individuals on the basis of their skill, ability and capacity. Following points bring out its advantage to the enterprise:

1. When the employees came to know what actually is expected from them, they will try to improve their performance and to give their best.
2. It will help the employees to know about their potentials as well as the weak points and can also get superior’s opinion on how they can perform better.
3. It helps in understanding the present worth of employees as well as the future workforce requirement.
4. It provides a base to various other function of HRM such as recruitment and selection, training and development as well as salary administration etc.