APPRAISAL An evaluation into the progress and work of an employee over a period of time. Appraisal is part of the job for any person who is responsible for the work of other people In theory it takes place each time a manager checks the work of an employee Carried out by your line manager Some businesses now have more formal systems, involving an appraisal form and interview There are also SELF-APPRAISALS and PEER APPRASIALS Appraisals are used to: To improve personal job performance Reward and identify good work and progress To identify training / development needs Provide employees with feedback about their efforts and work Increase motivation (looking where employees can develop) Provide evidence for Performance Related Pay Identify potential for promotion Evaluate the efficiency of recruitment and selection techniques

APPRAISAL METHODS Ranking Simple and crude method. Rank employees in order of ‘best’ and ‘worst’. Advantages are that it is easy to do and reasonably accurate. But it doesn’t provide much information. What is the difference between the best and the worst? What training is required? How much should they be paid etc. None of these are answered. 2) Grading Several key job criteria are chosen for a particular group of staff, e.g. planning, relationships, attendances etc. Then each worker is graded along a 4 or 5 point dimension. This can however be very subjective. Grading may indicate some training needs and some of the staff who deserve higher wages BUT there are still problems quantifying how much the best is better than the worst. 3) Rating Most common. Appraiser chooses 1 of 5 statements relating to job criteria. Allows appraiser to be more definite in the assessment of each criterion. This method should provide more information to answer the 3 questions relating to performance, pay and prospects.

CRITICISMS OF APPRAISAL The problem with all these aims is that they can be CONFLICTING If it is used to improve performance and to award extra pay- workers will not discuss problems as this may effect pay, and the appraiser finds it difficult to be impartial on both areas. So you must be clear about what is the purpose of the Appraisal and make sure that it doesn’t have any hidden agendas. Other problems Workers can become resentful if their work is criticised- leading to de-motivation and productivity problems. People don’t know how to appraise properly and the form is badly designed. Person appraising doesn’t fully understand the job of the worker. The worker must feel that they are having an input into their appraisal. Some jobs are difficult to appraise especially if discussing performance. The appraisal is not followed up with any action.