Performance Evaluation

Definitions Performance Appraisal Systematic description of job relevant strengths and weaknesses within and between employees and groups. Performance appraisal should accurately describe job performance behavior (not effectiveness)

Uses for PA Information Development Identifies training needs Helps employees do their jobs better Administrative Assigns people to the work they do best Maintains fairness in personnel decisions Research Appraisals can serve as criteria for test validation Appraisals can serve as predictors for promotion

Types of Evaluation Data Objective (Quantitative) Production Information Dollar Volume of Sales Number of Passing Yards Personnel Data Absenteeism Turnover Accidents Subjective (Judgmental) Data Ratings of performance

Errors in Performance Ratings Three types of error Halo errors Leniency errors negative - “hard grader” positive - “easy grader” Central tendency errors

Legal Issues Properties of a legally sound appraisal system Barrett & Kernan (1987) Based on job analysis Focuses on behaviors as opposed to traits Evaluators are trained to use the system Results are reviewed with employee Appeal mechanisms are available to employees Evaluations are documented Poor performers receive corrective guidance

Performance Appraisal Methods Relative (employee) comparisons Order employees in terms of overall performance rank order alteration ranking paired comparisons forced distributions

Forced Distributions The rater must normally distribute performance ratings across employees Controls leniency, severity, and central tendency biases Employees at bottom may not be “bad” performers

Forced Distributions (Example) Excellent Good Average Poor Bad Number of employees

Utility of Relative Comparisons Advantages Helpful in making personnel decisions Effectively control: leniency/severity and central tendency errors Disadvantages Employees compared on a global “suitability” criterion Halo error is obscured not eliminated Difficult to compare rankings across work groups

Performance Appraisal Methods Using Absolute Standards Behavioral Checklists and Scales Critical Incidents Weighted Checklist Behavioral Observation Scale Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)

Exercise: Evaluate Your Boss Think of your boss and the things he or she does at work On a blank piece of paper, choose one or two dimensions of work performance from the following list: Training others Planning work for others Assigning tasks to others Scheduling people Observing others’ work

Exercise: Evaluate Your Boss Next, for each area/dimension you have chosen, write three sentences Sentence A: Give an example of very poor performance in this area Sentence B: Give an example of acceptable performance in this area Sentence C: Give an example of excellent performance in this area Make a rating scale from 1 to 5, where 1 corresponds to sentence A, 3 to sentence B, and 5 to sentence C

Example: Scheduling People 1 - “Often forgets to tell people when he has made changes to the shift schedule.” 2 - 3 - “Gives people a choice of shifts, whenever possible.” 4 - 5 - “Plans shifts so that no one person always ends up working the bad shift.”

Exercise: Make your rating Using your example statements as a guide, make a rating of your boss on the scale you designed. In actual work settings, I/O psychologists would spend much time and effort with workers and supervisors to make sure that: All of the performance areas made sense for the job being rated All of the example statements fit the areas All of the scale values were fair

Rater Training Can minimize error Can be used to “calibrate” ratings leniency/severity and central tendency Can be used to “calibrate” ratings provide all raters with common points of reference

Performance Feedback Identify tasks performed of the job Develop performance standards Train raters Communicate frequently Evaluate own performance first Encourage subordinate preparation/participation Evaluate performance (not personality) Provide specific, behavioral, constructive criticism Be an active listener Set mutually agreeable goals Make rewards contingent on performance

Conclusions Performance evaluation is an important issue both for companies and for workers With careful design and appropriate use, performance evaluations can support productivity and fair allocation of rewards Industrial-organizational psychologists specialize in making sure that performance evaluations are designed correctly