Chapter 9: Performance Appraisals

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms related to performance appraisals, their objectives, methods, obstacles, legal implications, and the role of Human Resources, based on Chapter 9 lecture notes.

Performance Appraisals

Structured opportunities for supervisors and employees to discuss progress and performance, providing a formal assessment of an employee's work.

Useful Appraisal Forms

Objective, easy to understand, brief, rate performance (not personal characteristics), aligned with position descriptions, and supported by data.

Performance Appraisal (Definition)

A regularly scheduled, structured event involving a periodic assessment of performance to ascertain how well an employee is performing relative to what is expected, recorded in a personnel file.

Primary Purpose of Appraisal

To improve employee performance in the individual's present job.

Secondary Purpose of Appraisal

To maintain employee performance at an acceptable level.

Developmental Objectives of Appraisal

Delineating an employee's progress toward advancement and greater responsibilities, and helping senior managers identify employees capable of advancement.

Essay Appraisal Method

A supervisor periodically describes employee performance at necessary length, discussed and signed by both parties.

Critical Incident Appraisal Method

Any positive or negative event that occurs outside the ordinary is written up and retained for the next formal performance discussion.

Employee Comparison Appraisal Method

Employees in a group are compared with each other and rank-ordered from best to poorest performer, or placed into predetermined distribution percentages.

Checklist Appraisal Method

An evaluating manager describes employee performance by choosing from among a number of prepared statements.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

A participative appraisal approach where an individual is evaluated on achievement of or progress toward specific objectives developed jointly with their manager.

Most Useful Appraisal Comparison

The evaluation of individual employee performance over time, comparing an employee with his or her own past performance.

Personality-Based Evaluations

Older appraisal systems that relied heavily on assessing subjective personality characteristics rather than objective performance.

Appropriate Appraisal Basis

Based on what an employee does (performance) rather than on what an employee is or knows (personality or job knowledge).

Sound Position Descriptions

Essential starting point for an effective appraisal process, providing a clear picture of what is expected of an employee.

Competencies

Mastery of applied knowledge and skills that fulfill the requirements of a position description.

Criteria

The requirements of a job or position.

Key Dimensions of Performance Measures

Productivity, quality, timeliness, and cost.

Detailed Time-Study and Methods Analysis

A source of performance standards that is time-consuming and costly, suitable for high-volume, highly repetitive activities.

Benchmarks

Indicators of productivity developed through collective experience or published by interested groups, providing readily applicable but potentially less accurate performance standards.

Standard (in Appraisal)

Conventionally used as the minimum acceptable level of performance; the floor beneath which performance should not be considered acceptable.

Average (in Appraisal)

A statistical mean; often incorrectly interchanged with 'standard,' implying half of employees are below minimum acceptable performance.

Initial Performance Appraisal Timing

Typically at the end of the probationary employment period (3 or 6 months).

Simultaneous Appraisal Approach

All employees are evaluated in the same brief time once each year, potentially improving consistency and supporting pay-for-performance.

Anniversary Date Appraisal Approach

Employees are evaluated on or near their employment anniversary dates, distributing the workload throughout the year.

Appraisal Interview

A required personal meeting between a manager and an employee to discuss the evaluation, providing an opportunity for employee input.

Self-Appraisal

A productive component of a performance appraisal system where an employee assesses their own performance, most appropriate for higher-level employees and managers.

Team Appraisals

Evaluation of groups or teams, which can be challenging as individual evaluations might undermine teamwork, but can supplement individual performance appraisals.

Legal Implications of Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisals act as a regulatory necessity in healthcare and are crucial in supporting management decisions to avoid charges of discrimination or personal bias in employment-related legal actions.

No-Fault Appraisals

Appraisals where managers rate substandard or marginal performers as satisfactory to avoid criticism, which can become problematic in legal actions and fails to help employees improve.

Role of Human Resources in Appraisal

Custodian of the appraisal system, responsible for monitoring job descriptions, designing the system, scheduling steps, providing forms, training evaluators, and filing completed evaluations.

Top Management Support

A critical element for the success of performance appraisal processes, without which there is an increased risk of appraisal becoming a meaningless routine.