Performance Appraisals - Essay Example

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal refers to the process through which organizations document and evaluate the performance of their employees. Different organizations carry out Performance Appraisals in different ways. One of such strategies is discussed by Lisa Quast through her article, “How to Make Performance Reviews Relevant” on Forbes magazine. This paper aims at reviewing“How to Make Performance Reviews Relevant” by Lisa Quast.According to Lisa Quast many managers do not appreciate the importance of performance appraisal and some will only agree to it as a result of mounting pressure from the HR.

She points out that many managersdo not pay much attention to filling appraisal forms something that has some negative effect on the morale of the employees who work under them (Quast, 2013). However, she points out the importance of managers paying much attention to performanceappraisal because it is part of their work. She goes ahead andgive seven tips that can help managers in making performanceappraisal more meaningful to their organizations or groups. The first tip is paying more attentive to the preparation process.

Lack of proper preparation has often been pointed to as a major contributor to unsuccessful performance appraisal. Through preparation a manager can be able to know the exact message that they want to communicate to the employees. This means that performance appraisal should not be handled like just a one hour thing. The second tip that a manager can get from this article is always make considerations for the logistics of the discussion. For instance, a manger should hold performance appraisal in place that whatever is discussed will remain confidential.

A small conference room will be highly ideal for this purpose.The third tip that Lisa givesis that managers should always make sure that they open the discussions with the agenda. This will help in putting the employees at ease. The four primary areas that a manager should make sure that the performance appraisal cover include: the current performance of the company; the past performance of the company; the goals and objectives of the company; and the company’s development plans. The forth tip is to encourage a two way discussion whereby all the participants will be allowed to contribute.

Getting the employees’ point of view will make it easier for them to be included to the achievement of the company’s goals.The fifths tip encourages managers to give praises whenever there is any meaningful contribution by an employee (Murphy & Margulies, 2004). The appreciation should not only be verbal but also through rewards. Through this a business organization might be able to show the employees that they are appreciated for their contribution the company. Such appreciations will help in enhancing the employees’ morale and improve their performance.

The sixth tip warns managers against shying away from issues that they think that should be improved on. Lisa points out that they should make sure that the correction is done immediately the mistake is noted instead of waiting to do it later. This is the best way to do so in order to get the best results. The final tip warns manager against concluding the review before making sure that they are all on the same page. This means that by the time the review is done the manager would have understood the employees’ view and the employees would have understood the manger’s views.

ReferencesMurphy, T. H., & Margulies, J. (2004, March). Performance appraisals.In Presentation, ABA Labor and Employment Law Section, Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, Mid-Winter Meeting.Quast, L. (2013, January 21). How To Make Performance Reviews Relevant. Forbes.