HRM and Staff Appraisal

1. HRM and Staff Appraisal http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/bola/appraisal/

2. Staff Performance Appraisal Systems … the number one American management problem. It takes the average employee (manager or non-manager) six months to recover from it. (Peters, 1989; p. 495) • Most large businesses have staff appraisal schemes. • Even with no formal scheme, judgments are made • benign, beneficial or insidious • about continuity of employment, promotion, reward, redundancy, inclusion/exclusion. • formal policy for systematic, job-related feedback • boss/subordinate appraisal encounters • potential for problems and frustration • Yet companies and participants say that benefit stems from the process.

3. Purposes of Staff Appraisal • Review past performance and give feedback • Define expectations, directions and objectives to improve performance • Assess and support training & development needs (learning, job/career change) • Discuss and encourage potential/promotability • Communicate review and assessment of additional rewards • Make retention decisions (probationary period)

4. Types of Staff Appraisal Scheme • Informal and unsystematic • Formal schemes: policy (fabric and process) • Rating scales/forms • Trait (X has these personal qualities) • Behaviour (X demonstrates these behaviours) • Competencies (X performs with this level of competence) • MbO - Results-oriented appraisal (delivers against "agreed" targets) • 360 o appraisal (stakeholder feedback to the manager) • Self-appraisal

5. Job Factor Rating and Comments • 1. Quantity of Work • Manages work load • No. of contracts & staff • Job plans: complete accurate & up-to-date • Staff records: complete, accurate & up-to-date High 6 5 4……....3 2 1 Low Comments • 2. Quality of Work • Quality standards achieved? • Efforts directed towards contract profit and cost targets? • Reliable information, analysis and reports? High 6 5 4……....3 2 1 Low Comments 3. Job Ability ----- etc 4. Relationships & Values ----- etc 5. Problem-solving ----- etc 6. Appearance, manner and attendance Rating Approach (Traits/behaviour) Criteria and culture imperatives Weighting Forced choice Semantic differential Appraiser knowledge Interpretation for advancement

6. Results oriented, MbO Tenets? • Standards/targets • Focus and channel effort. • Evaluate progress and performance “quality “ • MbO discussions involve • structured, mutual and challenging process • What is expected of me? • realistic, attainable targets (not exploitative demands) • trust and sharing • analysis, problem-solving + 2-way feedback (experiential learning) • Theory Y: balancing individual needs with organisational situation • openings for personal growth/learning in the "job plan" • delegating responsibility - empowering (scope, authority + resources to handle matters). • Identify internal & external barriers

7. Actual Experience Testing & experimenting LEARNING CYCLE Reflective Observation Abstracting & Theorising Learning from Experience and MbO A model for personal awareness and development D Kolb, Rubin & McIntyre Organisational Psychology, Addison Wesley

8. The enormity of MbO principles and imperatives • MbO oozes "common-sense" • Humble's method (early 1970's) posed problems • Decomposing objectives - corporate to individual • Atomistic vs. "the whole", detailed, time-consuming • skill in articulating "objectives" • time/skill to engage in ‘ideal’ ways. • lip-service, inconsistency, bureaucracy, meetings & records • 80/20 principle - 4/5 key job areas where results really matter. • Assumptions: • We comprehend what we are trying to achieve, what is wanted. • We are trained, competent and "as one" • We both need and give recognition/credit + room to perform.

9. MbO Tenets for Maintenance and Innovation • MbO useful for defining expectations - targeting. • new staff • As a review process for "self”, the manager and "the team" • MAINTENANCE Objectives/targets • rolling review OF key matters - creative, planned maintenance • avoid slippage and entropy (tiredness, complacency, wear-and-tear) • potential for Kaizen/CQI • discourse on corporate values • NEW INNOVATION - PROJECT • significant job change - re-assign to new project • formal delegation of new "areas” - responsibility, authority, resources • manage challenge, ambiguity and risk • avoid overload - too many new projects at once

10. Defining SMART Objectives Objectives should be: • Specific (not general and vague, or activity focused with an unclear purpose) • Measurable • Achievable (not over optimistic/pessimistic) • Realistic (not too numerous and unbalanced) • Time specific (not indeterminate) - focus on milestones - Is responsibility balanced with authority and resources? - Are start and end points well defined? - Is progress/monitoring data available? Visibility? - Targets linked to plans - how the standard/target will be achieved? - Focusing individual standards and targets in a team setting? - Possibility of ethical dilemmas?

11. Name Job/Role Date Key Job Area Objective/Target to be Achieved Data for Monitoring Training/Learning Needs 1. 2. 3. 4. Progress Review Dates Notes on Achievements/Progress MbO Record The Bureaucracy HR Information system Direct links to PRP? Signed: (Manager) Signed: (Post-holder)

12. Evaluate these examples against the SMART principles • complete project X by mid-summer • achieve 95% deliveries within 24 hrs of order and 99% within 48 hrs. • maintain staff awareness about customer relations policy • contact all customers within 6 months and renew service contracts. • implement Key-Note promotion to secure 70 new Gold Star customers • open new shop on schedule and within budget • complete all ISO9000 documentation and secure accreditation by Christmas.

13. Conducting a staff appraisal meeting Tell and sell, 'ski instructor' approach • appraiser as judge, tells/reveals • the conclusion of his/her appraisal and • advice how to improve • obtain/field appraisee reaction (will this change the assessment?) • assumes reasonably frank, high trust exchange • when and for whom is this approach appropriate? Mentoring, Problem-solving Approach • the meeting and outcome emerge as a process of interaction • 'the answer' is not known beforehand

14. Conducting a staff appraisal meeting - 2 Preparation • Appraisee briefing and review • Appraiser review Review meeting • renew personal contact/rapport • the agenda • review events, progress & outcomes • give feedback (two-way) & encouragement • avoid blame, target standards, requirements and priorities • critical questions + reflective observation/analysis • consider job/role change and personal development • new SMART targets, agree plans/action and support • summarise • Personal closure, record and follow-up

15. Conducting a staff appraisal meeting - 3 Avoid • Lack of preparation • Lose sight of the "whole person and whole performance" • Side-lining "real" problems • Not differentiating fantasy and reality • Smoke-screens, bluster, argument • Victimisation, bullying, humiliation • Confrontation without trust & mutual understanding • Unbalanced agenda coverage • Nit-picking and missing the KRAs • Time guillotine • Over-zealous deluge and undermining confidence • Now I've got you ….. • Everyone says that …..

16. Conducting a staff appraisal meeting - 4 Skills • Situation appraisal, problem definition, objective setting and resource allocation, solution development, examination of options, potential problem analysis, planning and implementation. • Securing agreement and ownership • Genuine regard for and commitment to the other • Commitment to the process • Empathy vs. sympathy • Giving and receiving feedback • Questioning and active listening • Leading/inspiring

17. Problems for Appraisers • Prejudice and distortion of judgement: - both ways. Halo/Horns • Insufficient knowledge of appraisee • Distinguishing appraisee's work from context in which they work • Comparison with other appraisees. • Cumbersome documentation, too clever, prescriptive. • Consistent reporting by appraisers. • The formality: the encounter has a lot riding on it. • Outcomes ignored + follow-up fails to take place. • Everyone is 'just above average' • Most appraisees seek reassurance that “all is well”. • Appraising the wrong things - behaviours > actual work • Some concerns, outcomes, competencies are difficult to evaluate and articulate • Preparing, meeting and following-up AND doing your own job!

18. Personnel's Staff Appraisal Function/Role Control and development function to advise the organisation on its staff appraisal system. • Commission, maintain and evaluate "the system" • train managers and ensure that appraisals take place properly • oversee decisions (merit awards?) • staff appraisal information system • organise communication flows • analyse/ summarise appraisal records to audit "people resources/issues" • up-date staff records • follow up on individual/group training needs, employee potential and succession • handle appeals - verify managerial fairness! • Are these things done? Does the data flow around the organisation? • Do such procedures and controls justify the costs?

19. The Appraisal Prescription • Despite problems, appraisal schemes are recommended • Corporations invest time, energy and resources. • Much advice on managing the process Origins • Douglas McGregor, 1960, "The Human Side of Enterprise" (1960) • Theory Y - integrating individual and organisational needs to optimise performance. • How? • job/role definition, targeting, planning (within staff appraisal) • supportive, mutually evaluative boss-subordinate relationship • focusing employee energy on business objectives • performance-related criteria • development needs and interests

20. Theory Y and "development" ideology • Theory Y references high order "motivational" needs • Supervisors are urged to create and maintain conditions for • participative, trusting team relationships • realise employee capacity to be creative and self-managing • individual growth, stimulus, empowerment, problem-solving • Appraisal practice • a means to embed socially positive, individually beneficial and organisationally essential norms into the conduct of manager-staff relationships and work arrangements and rewards • ensures that motivational needs for security-orderliness-predictability, social acceptance and self-esteem/status are not chronically under-served. • reinforces the organisational discourse of performance, quality, commitment and membership.

21. Slogan: Adopt an appraisal policy and reap the benefits !! Potential outcomes • improved communication between manager and worker • better linking of business priorities with how the individual delivers their job performances • enhanced loyalty, commitment to work, personal identification and motivation to perform

22. Two Perspectives - Control and Development Staff Appraisal as a Control System • Standard procedure to regularise behaviour (appraisers & appraisees) • A rational-legal system. Conform and "appraise" to a standard. • The policy and procedure • defines and requires • communicates criteria of performance, values and expectations • requires routine meetings with staff to review roles and priorities systematically • focus on current issues being articulated by management • assumes 2-way feedback (Theory Y vs Theory X) • encourages analysis, planning, agreement and documentation by "formula". • promote " unitary and organisational commitments" through individuals • antipathy where staff do not share the same values as managers

23. Two Perspectives - Control and Development Appraisals as a Development Process • Still a standard operating procedure • Job review is diagnostic - joint problems, needs, interests • Feedback - essential for learning and adaptation • Theory X - imposed, potentially coercive, one-sided appraisal • Theory Y - requires trust and belief in the process itself with the parties getting meaningful, tangible benefit from • the activity • the continuity/follow-up events.

24. The developmental proposition? What are the costs of set up a scheme and maintaining it - year in year out? Assume a business of, say, 5,000 employees. • Resource-hungry and costly to design, implement and maintain. • Are individual and group performances significantly enhanced by the investment? • Are benefits significant and measurable compared to no formal or systematic activity? • At a participant level, appraisers and appraisees need to • find the process useful (joint benefit) and not too arduous. • get a personal return from commitment & energy

25. Participative Management Cultures • organisational commitment to • participative management • open, interactive culture • stress the humanistic, development side of staff appraisal. • The HRM, Investors in People doctrine • linked to quality, competitive business - the "Be Excellent School". • Messages of staff appraisal reflect • A focus on performance, achievement and individuality • employees are more than factors of production - they are valued in and of themselves - as people.

26. Conclusions • Staff appraisal systems are regulative, controlling methods • They reflect HRM norms and despite problems, organisations still do it. • Millions undergo formal appraisal. • Much attention & resource is invested • Practical issues. They need to be conducted well • Be quizzical about what they can or cannot achieve. • Are they an act of faith? • Is there real evidence that the "big approach" really works? • Is the promise greater than what is actually delivered? • What are the ethical and unethical angles? • Tension between control and development. • Development emphasises a supportive, constructive conversation rather than unilateral imposition & bureaucratic form-filling.

27. Seminar Questions • Is staff appraisal suitable only for managerial, professional and technical posts with a considerable discretionary element to them? Is it unsuitable for routinised, simple operative jobs? • How can we evaluate whether the benefits of both approaches to staff appraisal (control versus developmental) are satisfied and achieved in a single scheme? • Who should/should not conduct the appraisal interview? • What problems arise when an individual's actual performance is substantially affected by external and internal events over which he/she has little or no control? How best can we focus on the individual's performance in these situations?

28. Exercise • Work with a colleague - a friendly critic with whom you have a good working relationship and who knows your job (and you, theirs). Engage in a job review conversation. • As preparation, write down information relating to the following • A very important activity, priority or key area of your job • A less frequent activity (not necessarily important) which occupies a good deal of time. • An important activity unlikely to appear in your diary. You know it is important although others (including the boss) may be unclear of this. • The most important activity not so far listed Each person should lead an appraisal meeting. Through questions, discussion and summary assist the other in reviewing their performance (efforts, achievements, problems). Aim to • define actual performance - successes and gaps clearly. • pin down what must be done to maintain or improve performance • identify where you need to develop - learn more and apply more skill • Identify contradictions and points of tension - discuss how to tackle these. What steps are needed internal to the job and external (outside work). • Focus on information gathering, developing understanding and giving feedback to each other. Be supportive and give positive reinforcement - but be probing - avoid being bland and hunky-dory. • Evaluate the usefulness of discussing your work with someone who was well informed, but not your "boss".