IO PSYCH CHAPTER 7 EVALUATING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE

STEP 1: DETERMINE THE REASON FOR EVALUATING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE.

• The first step in the performance appraisal process is to determine the reasons your organization wants to evaluate employee performance

Forced-choice rating scale

• A method of performance appraisal in which a supervisor is given several behaviors and is forced to choose which of them is most typical of the employee.

• Effective for decisions related to salary increases or bonuses due to its objectivity and consistency.

Providing Employee Training and Feedback

• The main purpose of performance evaluations is to help employees do better at their jobs. This is done by giving feedback about what they are doing well and where they can improve.
  

Performance appraisal review

• A meeting between a supervisor and a subordinate for the purpose of discussing performance appraisal results.

• A performance appraisal review is a meeting where a supervisor and an employee get together to talk about the employee's performance. They discuss the results of the performance evaluation, including what the employee is doing well and where they can improve.

Determining Salary Increases

• one important reason for evaluating employee performance is to provide a fair basis on which to determine an employee’s salary increase. If performance appraisal results are to be used to determine salary increases, a numerical rather than narrative format is probably needed.

Making Promotion Decisions

• One reason for doing performance evaluations is to decide who gets promoted

Peter Principle

• —the promotion of employees until they reach their highest level of incompetence.

Making Termination Decisions

• Providing, feedback,, counseling, and training does not always increase performance or reduce discipline problems

• the performance review might indicate that the best option is to fire the employee.

Conducting Personnel Research

• A final reason for evaluating employees is for personnel research.

• Another reason for evaluating employees is to do personnel research. This involves checking if employment tests or training programs are effective. For example, if a company wants to know if a test predicts job success, they need to compare test scores with job performance

STEP 2: IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL LIMITATIONS

• The second step in the performance appraisal process is to identify the environmental and cultural factors that could affect the system
  
  For examples:

• If supervisors are too busy, a complicated appraisal system won’t work because they won’t have time for it.

• If there’s no budget for raises, using a detailed numerical system might feel pointless, and people might not take it seriously.

• If employees are very close-knit, using peer ratings could harm their relationships and reduce teamwork.

STEP 3: DETERMINE WHO WILL EVALUATE PERFORMANCE

• Supervisors see only certain aspects of an employee’s behavior.

360-degree feedback

• A performance appraisal system in which feedback is obtained from multiple sources such as supervisors, subordinates, and peers

• is primarily used as a source of training and employee development and is seldom used in the appraisal process to determine salary increases or to make promotion and termination decisions

Multiple-source feedback

• A performance appraisal strategy in which an employee receives feedback from sources (e.g., clients, subordinates, peers) other than just his or her supervisor.

Supervisors

• the most common source of performance appraisal

• Even though supervisors don’t see every single thing an employee does, they do see the end results

FOR EXAMPLE:

• A bank supervisor may not watch a teller sign up customers for credit cards, but they can check the sales numbers at the end of the day.

• A professor doesn’t watch a student research or write their paper, but they judge the quality by reading the finished paper.

Peers

• often see the actual behavior

• Research has shown that peer rating are fairly reliable ONLY WHEN the peers who make the rarings are similar to and well acquainted with the employee being ratedd.

• average or lower-performing employees might see their peers as more impressive.

note: One downside is that employees usually take negative feedback from peers more personally than criticism from a boss

High performers

• evaluate their peers more strictly than do low performers.because they compare others to their own high standard

Subordinates

• Subordinate feedback (also called upward feedback) is an important component of 360-degree feedback, as subordinates can provide a very different view about a super visor’s behavior.

• Subordinate feedback, also known as upward feedback, is when employees rate their supervisors

• One reason it’s rare is that employees often fear backlash if they give negative feedback, especially if their supervisor knows who they are.

Customers

• Informally, customers provide feedback on employee performance by filling complaints or complimenting a manager about one of her employees.

• Formally,customers provide feedback by completing evaluation cards

Secret shoppers

• current customers who have been enlisted by a company to periodically evaluate the service they receiveservice

Self Appraisal

• when employees evaluate their own performance.

• Research shows that people tend to rate themselves more generously than others would. These self-ratings don’t always match actual performance or the ratings given by subordinates and managers.

• One issue is that employees may react poorly if their peers rate them lower than they rate themselves, often questioning the fairness of the feedback.

• Interestingly, cultural differences play a role in self-ratings. In the U.S., people tend to be more lenient on themselves, while in countries like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, modesty is more common, leading to lower self-ratings. In contrast, workers in China, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong also tend to be lenient, similar to the U.S.

note: Self-appraisals are usually more accurate when:

• They aren’t tied to raises or promotions.

• Employees understand how the evaluation system works.

• Employees know that their self-ratings can be compared with objective performance records.

STEP 4: SELECT THE BEST APPRAISAL METHODS TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS

• The next step in the performance appraisal process is to select the performance criteria and appraisal methods that will best accomplish your goals for the system.

Criteria

• are ways of describing employee success.

Decision 1: Focus of the Appraisal Dimensions

Trait-Focused Performance Dimensions

• A trait-focused system evaluates employees based on personal qualities like dependability, honesty, and courtesy.

• trait-focused performance appraisal instruments ARE NOT GOOD IDEA ideas because they provide poor feedback and thus will not result in employee development and growth.

Competency-Focused Performance Dimension

• Competency-focused systems evaluate employees based on their knowledge, skills, and abilities rather than personal traits.

• The advantage to organizing dimensions by competencies is that it is easy to provide feedback and suggest the steps necessary to correct deficiencies.

Task-Focused Performance Dimensions

• Task-focused systems evaluate employees based on groups of related tasks they perform

• The advantage of this approach is that supervisors can easily picture the tasks and how well the employee performs them, making evaluation simpler.

• The downside is that if an employee scores low, it’s harder to pinpoint the exact problem.

Goal-Focused Performance Dimension

• Goal-focused performance dimensions evaluate employees based on specific goals they need to achieve

• The advantage of a goal-focused approach is that it makes it easier for an employee to understand why certain behaviors are expected.

Contextual Performance

• the effort an employee makes to get along with peers, improve the organization, and perform tasks that are needed but are not necessarily an official part of the employee’s job description.

• Contextual performance is important because it applies across different jobs, whereas technical tasks vary by role. Additionally, the qualities needed for contextual performance, like integrity and positive personality traits, are different from those needed for technical skills, which rely more on cognitive abilities and job knowledge.

Decision 2: Should Dimensions Be Weighted?

• Once the type of performance dimension is chosen, the next decision is whether some dimensions should be weighted more heavily than others.

• This is similar to how grading systems work in classes. For example, a final exam might be worth more than other exams, or a particular project might carry more weight than others.

• An added benefit of weighting dimensions differently is that it can help reduce biases, like racial biases, in performance evaluations.

• For example, if the most important aspects of the job are weighted more heavily, they might help ensure that evaluations focus on relevant skills rather than irrelevant traits that could be affected by bias.

Decision 3: Use of Employee Comparisons, Objective Measures, or Ratings

• Once the types of dimensions have been considered, the next decision is whether to evaluate performance by comparing employees with one another (ranking), using objective measures such as attendance and number of units sold, or having
  

Employee Comparison

Rank Order

• A method of performance appraisal in which employees are ranked from best to worst

• Rank orders are easily used when there are only a few employees to rank, but they become difficult to use with larger numbers.

Paired comparison

• involves comparing each employee with every other employee, one pair at a time, and determining which is the better performer.

• This method is more manageable than rank order when dealing with many employees because you only need to compare pairs instead of ranking everyone at once.

Forced Distribution

• require a predetermined percentage of employees to be placed into categories such as "top performers," "average," and "poor performers."

• This system is often used by large companies, including in the "rank-and-yank" approach where, for example, 10% of employees are rated as bottom performers and are let go.

• Forced distribution systems are much easier to use than the other two employee comparison methods, but they also have a drawback.

Issue: Many employees might perform well, but the forced distribution requires some employees to be ranked poorly, even if they're doing a good job. This can lead to feelings of unfairness, and some employees may see the system as biased.

• Lack of Clarity: These systems focus on comparing employees rather than assessing their actual performance. For example, an employee who performs well might be ranked poorly just because others are doing exceptionally well.

• Potential Unfairness: In a "rank-and-yank" system, employees may feel the evaluation is arbitrary and demotivating, particularly if their performance is still good compared to peers. Similarly, the forced distribution might not reflect the reality of most employees performing well, leading to dissatisfaction.

Objective Measures

• A second way to evaluate performance is to use what are commonly called objective, or hard, criteria. Common types of objective measures include quantity of work, qual ity of work, attendance, and safety.

Quantity of Work

• Evaluationofaworker’sperformance in terms of quantity is obtained by simply counting the number of relevant job behaviors that take place.

Quantity

• A type of objective criterion used to measure job performance by counting the number of relevant job behaviors that occur.
  

note: while quantity-based measures seem straightforward, they may not provide a full or accurate picture of performance, especially in jobs where factors outside of the employee’s control affect the outcome. Thus, it’s often necessary to complement quantity measures with other performance indicators like quality, effectiveness, and context.

Quality of Work

• To evaluate quality, there needs to be a clear benchmark or "model" that defines what constitutes acceptable performance.

Quality

• A type of objective criterion used to measure job performance by comparing a job behavior with a standard.

Errors

• Deviation from a standard of quality; also a type of re sponse to communication over load that involves processing all information but processing some of it incorrectly.

• Note that the definition of an error is any deviation from a standard. Thus, errors can even be work quality that is higher than a standard.

Attendance

• A common method for objectively measuring one aspect of an employee’s performance is by evaluating attendance

• Attendance can be separated into three distinct criteria: absenteeism, tardiness, and tenure

Absenteeism

• Refers to the frequency and duration of an employee's absence from work. High absenteeism can disrupt workflow and productivity, impacting overall team performance.

Tardiness

• Involves arriving late to work or returning late from breaks, which can reflect on an employee's reliability and time management skills.

Tenure

• Refers to the length of time an employee remains with an organization. Unlike absenteeism and tardiness, tenure is mainly used for research purposes to evaluate the effectiveness of selection decisions and employee retention strategies.

Safety

• Another method used to evaluate the success of an employee is safety. Employees who consistently follow safety rules and avoid occupational accidents contribute less to an organization’s costs, as they help reduce the risk of workplace injuries, equipment damage, and potential liability issues.

• In some organizations, safety records are used for research purposes to understand patterns of workplace accidents and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, safety performance may be considered when making employment decisions, such as promotions

Ratings of Performance

• The most commonly used option in evaluating performance is to have supervisors rate how well the employee performed on each dimension.

Graphic Rating Scale

• A graphic rating scale is a method of performance appraisal where employee performance is rated on an interval or ratio scale.

• Typically, these scales include 5 to 10 dimensions relevant to job performance, with descriptive anchors like "excellent" and "poor" at the ends.

Advantages:

• : Ease of Construction and Use: Graphic rating scales are straightforward to create and simple for supervisors to use, making them a popular choice for performance evaluations.

• Versatility: They can be adapted to evaluate various dimensions, such as productivity, teamwork, communication skills, and dependability.

Disadvantages:

• Susceptibility to Rating Errors: These scales are prone to common rating biases, including:

  • Halo Effect: Where an overall positive impression of an employee influences ratings on all dimensions, regardless of actual performance.

  • Leniency or Severity Bias: When a rater consistently gives overly high or low scores to all employees, reducing the accuracy of the evaluation.

Behavioral Checklist

• Behavioral checklists are a performance appraisal tool used to evaluate employees by listing specific behaviors, expectations, or results for each performance dimension. This approach compels supervisors to focus on relevant job-related behaviors rather than subjective impressions.

• Contamination occurs when external factors, unrelated to the employee's actions, affect performance outcomes.

Comparison with other Employee

• Supervisors can rate an employee's performance by comparing it to how others are doing. They use labels like "below average," "average," and "above average" to show where each employee stands compared to their coworkers.

• This method can be unfair because it forces the supervisor to rank someone low, even if all employees did a good job. It also risks hurting morale, as employees might feel discouraged if they’re compared to top performers instead of being evaluated on their own improvement.

Frequency of Desired Behavior

• Supervisors can rate an employee's behavior by observing how often they do certain things. For example, if safety is important at work, a supervisor might check how often an employee follows safety rules.

The extent to which Organizational Expectations Are Met

• One way to rate employees is to check if their behavior meets the company's expectations. This method is helpful because it gives clear feedback and can be used for most types of behaviors.

Evaluation of Performance Appraisal Methods

Comparison of Methods:

• Complex Methods (e.g., BARS, forced-choice scales, mixed-standard scales): These are detailed and structured but only occasionally better than simpler methods.

• Graphic Rating Scales: These are easy to use and cost-effective but may not be as precise.

• Behavioral Checklists: These are slightly better than graphic rating scales because employees help create them, leading to a greater sense of fairness and satisfaction. They also make giving feedback easier.

Importance of Fairness and Administration:

Even if different methods give similar results, how the performance appraisal system is managed can influence employee trust and satisfaction.

• If employees feel the system is fair, they are more satisfied and committed to the organization.

Subjective vs. Objective Ratings:

• Objective Ratings are based on measurable facts (e.g., sales numbers).

• Subjective Ratings rely on a supervisor’s opinion (e.g., rating communication skills).

• Studies show that these two types of ratings don’t always match. They align more for quantity (like the number of products sold) than for quality (like the effectiveness of customer service).

Legal Considerations:

Courts focus more on the fairness of the performance appraisal process than on technical details.
To avoid legal issues:

• Base evaluations on a clear job analysis.

• Train raters and provide clear instructions.

• Ensure raters observe employee performance firsthand.

• Communicate performance standards clearly to employees.

• Allow employees to review and comment on their appraisals.

• Warn employees about performance issues and give them a chance to improve.

• Use ratings from multiple raters for consistency.

STEP 5: TRAIN RATERS

• training supervisors to properly evaluate employee performance is very important, but many companies don’t invest enough time and resources into this. Research shows that when supervisors are trained to rate performance effectively, it helps in several ways:

  1. Why Training Supervisors Matters:

  • Improves Accuracy: Supervisors learn about common mistakes (like being too easy or too harsh when rating), which leads to more accurate evaluations of employees.

  • More Reliable Results: When supervisors are trained to rate well, performance tests tied to their ratings (such as skills or tests for promotion) become more trustworthy.

  • Employee Satisfaction: When employees feel the evaluation system is fair, they’re more satisfied with their ratings.

Frame-of-reference training

• A method of training raters in which the rater is provided with job-related information, a chance to practice ratings, examples of ratings made by experts, and the rationale behind the expert ratings

• This kind of training helps supervisors understand the exact standards of performance that the company expects. It gives them examples of how top-performing employees are rated and explains why. This makes supervisors better at focusing on what matters when they rate employees.

STEP 6: OBSERVE AND DOCUMENT PERFORMANCE

Critical Incidents

• A method of performance appraisal in which the supervisor records employee behaviors that were observed on the job and rates the employee on the basis of that record

• a way for supervisors to evaluate an employee's performance based on specific, noteworthy events or behaviors they observe on the job

• Behavior Tracking: The supervisor keeps a record of key behaviors or actions that stand out—whether they are positive or negative. These are "critical incidents" that had a significant impact on the employee's performance.

Employee Performance Record

• this method consists of a two-color form

• Half of the sheet is used to record examples of good behaviors, and the other half to record examples of poor behaviors.

• The advantage of this format is that supervisors are allowed to record only job-relevant behaviors. At the end of the performance appraisal period (every six months), the supervisor has a record of job-relevant behaviors recorded in an organized fash ion.

STEP 7: EVALUATE PERFORMANCE

Obtaining and Reviewing Objective Data

• When it’s time to evaluate an employee’s performance, supervisors should begin by gathering objective data that reflects the employee’s actual behaviour and performance

• When reviewing objective data, it is essential for the supervisor to consider factors that might "contaminate" or skew the data, which may not accurately reflect the employee's performance
  

Reading Critical-Incident Logs

• After gathering the objective data, the supervisor should carefully review all the critical incidents that have been recorded for the employee. Critical incidents are detailed descriptions of specific behaviors—either positive or negative—that have occurred during the employee's performance.

Completing the Rating Form

Distribution Error

• Rating errors in which a rater will use only a certain part of a rating scale when evaluating employee performance.

Leniency error

• A type of rating error in which a rater consistently gives all employees high ratings, regardless of their actual levels of performance.

Central tendency error

• A type of rating error in which a rater consistently rates all em ployees in the middle of the scale, regardless of their actual levels of performance.

Strictness error

• A type of rating error in which a rater consistently gives all employees low ratings, regardless of their actual levels of performance.

Halo errors

• Halo Error occurs when a rater lets a single positive trait or an overall impression of someone influence how they rate other aspects of that person’s performance. This can lead to ratings that are biased and inaccurate across different job dimensions.

• The rater allows one characteristic or impression to shape their judgment about unrelated characteristics.

Proximity error

• occur when a rating made on one dimension affects the rating made on the dimension that immediately follows it on the rating scale

How It Differs from Halo Error:

• Halo Error: An overall impression of the person (e.g., thinking the employee is generally great) influences ratings on all dimensions.

• Proximity Error: Only the dimensions that are physically close to each other on the form are affected, due to their layout, not because of an overall impression of the person.

Contrast error

• occurs when a person’s performance rating is influenced by the performance of someone evaluated just before them, rather than being judged against an objective standard.

Assimilation

• This is a related concept where a rater sticks to a past evaluation even if current performance is different.

Low Reliability Across Raters

• Low Reliability Across Raters refers to the inconsistency that occurs when different people evaluate the same employee but come up with significantly different ratings. This inconsistency can undermine the credibility and fairness of performance evaluations.
  

Three major reasons for the lack of validity

1. Rating Errors:

   • Raters often make different types of rating errors, such as:

     • Halo Error: One rater’s overall impression influences all ratings.

     • Contrast Error: Another rater’s evaluation is influenced by comparing the employee to others.

   • Since different raters are prone to different biases, their evaluations naturally diverge.

2. Different Standards and Ideals:

   • Raters might have different mental models of the “ideal employee,” leading to different evaluations of the same performance.

   • Example:

     • In a police department workshop, two sergeants watched the same video of an officer responding to a disturbance:

       • One rated the officer as excellent because he valued aggressiveness and authority.

       • The other rated the officer as terrible because he prioritized citizen-oriented behavior.

     • This discrepancy occurred because each sergeant had a different prototype of the ideal officer.

3. Different Observations and Contexts:

   • Raters might see different aspects of an employee’s performance depending on their roles and interactions with the employee.

   • Example:

     • A desk sergeant observes more administrative and paperwork tasks, whereas a field sergeant sees more law enforcement actions.

     • Their ratings reflect the different contexts they observe, not necessarily differences in performance quality.

   note: one way to reduce the number of rating errors and increase reliability is to train the peo ple who will be making the performance evaluations

Sampling Problems

Recency Effect:

• Recent behaviors are given more weight than those from earlier in the evaluation period.

• This leads to an unbalanced appraisal where:

  • Employees who performed well early but declined later are penalized.

  • Employees who improved or performed well just before the evaluation are rewarded, even if their earlier performance was poor.

Infrequent Observation

• occurs when supervisors or managers do not have enough opportunities to observe an employee's behavior directly. This issue leads to inaccurate evaluations as the appraisals are often based on limited or indirect information.

Cognitive Processing of Observed Behavior

Observation of Behavior

• Even when employee behavior is observed, accurate recall during performance appraisals is not guaranteed. Memory biases and time delays contribute to distorted evaluations, affecting the reliability and validity of performance ratings.

Emotional State

• Supervisor stress plays a significant role in the accuracy and quality of performance appraisals. Research by Srinivas and Motowidlo (1987) indicates that raters under stress are more likely to produce ratings with higher error rates compared to those in low-stress situations.

Bias

• Raters who like the employees they are evaluating are more likely to be lenient and less accurate in their ratings

STEP 8: COMMUNICATE APPRAISAL RESULTS TO EMPLOYEES

Prior to the Interview

Allocating time

• Both the supervisor and the employee must have time to prepare for the review inter view. Both should be allowed at least an hour to prepare before an interview and at least an hour for the interview itself

Scheduling the Interview

• The interview location should be in a neutral place that ensures privacy and allows the supervisor and the employee to face one another without a desk between them as a communication barrier

• Performance appraisal review interviews should be scheduled at least once every six months for most employees and more often for new employees

• Review interviews are commonly scheduled six months after an employee begins working for the organization.

Preparing for the Interview

• While preparing for the interview, the supervisor should review the ratings she has assigned to the employee and the reasons for those ratings.

• Meanwhile, the employee should rate her own performance using the same for mat as the supervisors.

During the Interview

During the Performance Review Interview:

1. Start with Small Talk:
   Since both employees and supervisors might feel anxious about the performance review, it’s helpful to begin the conversation with some light, casual chat to ease the tension.

2. Set the Right Expectations: The supervisor should communicate the following key points:

   • Purpose of Performance Appraisal: It’s not just about salary raises or terminations, but also about improving and understanding performance.

   • Process Overview: Explain how the appraisal was conducted and how the evaluation process was carried out.

   • Interactive Process: The supervisor should stress that the appraisal interview is a two-way conversation.

   • Goal: The goal of the interview is to understand the employee’s performance better and to figure out how it can be improved.

3. Employee’s Self-Rating: It’s best for the employee to start by sharing their own ratings and justifications. Research shows that employees are more satisfied with the review process when they’re involved early on.

4. Supervisor’s Feedback: After hearing from the employee, the supervisor shares their ratings and the reasoning behind them. Feedback should focus on specific behaviors and performance rather than on personal traits.

   • Feedback Sandwich: If negative feedback is necessary, it’s typically better to provide positive feedback first, then the negative feedback, and close with more positive feedback. This approach, called the “feedback sandwich,” helps the employee better accept the criticism and maintain morale.

   • Discuss Differences: Any significant differences between the employee’s self-ratings and the supervisor’s ratings should be openly discussed until both parties understand the reasons behind them.

5. Addressing Performance Issues: It’s important to talk about why the employee’s performance may not be perfect. The employee may lack certain skills, be overwhelmed with too many tasks, or face personal issues affecting their work.

   • Acknowledge External Factors: Supervisors should recognize that external factors (like work conditions, team dynamics, or personal struggles) can affect performance. Acknowledging these factors helps employees feel their evaluation is fair and accurate.

   • Avoid Personal Judgment: Feedback should be specific, candid, and focused on behavior, not on personal traits. Supervisors should avoid the "fundamental attribution error," which is the tendency to blame someone’s failure on their personal characteristics rather than external factors.

6. Finding Solutions Together: Discuss what can be done to solve performance issues. Solutions should come from a joint effort between the supervisor, employee, and even the organization. Performance is influenced by many factors, including skills, motivation, policies, and work environment.

7. Separate Discussions for Evaluation and Improvement: Since performance reviews and feedback for improvement are different, it’s useful to hold two separate conversations:

   • One about the evaluation results (such as the employee’s ratings).

   • A second discussion about improvement strategies and how performance can be better in the future.

8. Set Future Goals: At the end of the interview, both the supervisor and employee should set concrete, realistic goals for improving performance. These goals should be mutually agreed upon and include clear plans for how to achieve them.

STEP 9: TERMINATE EMPLOYEES

Employment-at-Will Doctrine

• in most states allows employers the freedom to fire an employee without a reason—at will ( NOT APPLICABLE IN THE PH)

Employment-at-will statements

• Statements in employment applications and company manuals reaffirming an organization’s right to hire and fire at will

Legal Reasons for Terminating Employees (4)

Probationary Period

• A probationary period is a trial period when a new employee must prove they can do the job well. During this time, employers can fire the employee more easily if they aren’t meeting expectations.

  • Typical Duration: Usually lasts 3 to 6 months for most jobs.

  • Exceptions:

    • For police officers, the probation period is typically 1 year.

    • For professors, it can be as long as 6 years (this is often related to the process of getting tenure).

  The probationary period allows employers to evaluate an employee's performance and fit for the role before fully committing to keeping them long-term.
  

Violation of Company Rules

• Existence of a Rule:

  • There must be a written rule about the behavior in question. Unwritten rules don’t hold up in court. For example, if a company doesn't have a written rule against bringing guns to work, they can't fire someone for it, even if it's "common sense."

• Employee Awareness:

  • The employee must have known about the rule. The rule should be communicated clearly, usually in handbooks or during orientation. Employees are often asked to sign a statement confirming they’ve read and understood the rule.

• Proof of Violation:

  • The employer needs evidence that the employee broke the rule. This could be witnesses, video recordings, or other concrete proof. If there’s doubt or an alternative explanation (like cough syrup mistaken for alcohol), the employee might win an appeal.

• Consistent Enforcement:

  • The rule must be applied equally to all employees. If others broke the same rule and weren’t fired, then firing someone for it could be seen as unfair and potentially illegal.

• Appropriate Punishment (Progressive Discipline):

  • The punishment should fit the violation. For minor issues, the company should try to correct the behavior first, starting with a warning and moving to more serious consequences if the behavior continues. However, for serious offenses (like theft or violence), immediate termination is usually justified.

For more tenured employees, however, the organization must make a reasonable attempt to change the person’s behavior through progressive discipline. The longer an employee has been with an organization, the greater the number of steps that must be taken to correct her behavior.

Progressive Discipline

• Providing employees with punishments of increasing severity, as needed, in order to change behavior.

Inability to Perform

• Employees can be fired if they can’t do their job well, but the company needs to prove a few things to make the termination legal:

• Clear Job Standards:

  • The company must clearly communicate the performance expectations. The employee should know exactly what’s expected of them.

• Documented Poor Performance:

  • The company needs to document instances where the employee didn’t meet the standard. This can include detailed incident logs or work samples showing mistakes or poor quality.

• Progressive Discipline:

  • The company should give the employee a chance to improve before firing them. This usually involves warnings or additional training to help them meet the required standard.

• Fair Performance Appraisal System:

  • A good performance review system is crucial for legally firing someone. For it to hold up in court, it should:

    • Be based on a job analysis (understanding what the job requires).

    • Have clear and relevant performance standards that are communicated to employees.

    • Use multiple measures of performance (not just one person’s opinion).

    • Involve several trained evaluators to avoid bias.

    • Be standardized and formal (using consistent methods for all employees).

    • Offer the employee an opportunity to appeal the evaluation.

Reduction in Force (Layoff)

• Reduction in Force (Layoff) means letting employees go to save the company money or because the company is struggling financially.

The Termination Meeting

Prior to the Meeting

The first step is to ensure that the legal process has been followed

• Confirm that all legal steps have been followed, including:

  • The existence of a rule that was violated.

  • Proof that the employee knew the rule.

  • Documented evidence of the rule violation.

  • Use of progressive discipline.

  • Consistent application of the rule for all employees.

The next step is to determine how much help, if any, the organization wants to offer the employee

• Decide on the level of support the company will offer, such as:

  • References

  • Severance pay

  • Outplacement assistance (help with job search, resume writing, etc.)

• More assistance is usually given if the employee agrees not to sue the organization.

The final step is to schedule an appropriate place and time for the meeting to occur.

• Choose a neutral, private location (not in the supervisor’s office) to reduce emotional reactions.

• Timing Matters:

  • Monday or Tuesday is recommended for the meeting.

  • Avoid Friday afternoons because:

    • The employee won't be able to seek help over the weekend.

    • The organization can't respond to gossip until Monday, giving the employee time to spread their version of events.

During the Meeting

• During the meeting, the supervisor should get to the point about terminating the employee.

• The supervisor should rationally state the reasons for the decision, express gratitude for the employee’s efforts (if sincere), and offer what ever assistance the organization intends to provide

After the Meeting

• Once the meeting is over, the natural reaction of the supervisor is to feel guilty.

STEP 10: MONITOR THE LEGALITY AND FAIRNESS OF THE APPRAISAL SYSTEM

• Performance appraisal systems, like employment tests and other personnel decisions, must comply with legal standards to ensure fairness and avoid discrimination. Monitoring the legality and fairness of the system is essential, not only to maintain compliance but also to promote a positive and equitable work environment.

• Supervisor Training:

  • Ensure training is provided to supervisors on how to:

    • Evaluate performance fairly and consistently.

    • Communicate appraisal results constructively.

    • Mentor underperforming employees.

    • Make decisions based on appraisals in a non-discriminatory manner.

• Analyzing Disparities in Ratings:

  • Regularly review gender, race/ethnicity, age, and other protected characteristics in performance ratings.

  • If disparities exist, ask:

    • Are these differences justified by actual differences in experience or performance?

    • Are the disparities the result of discrimination?

• Analyzing Personnel Decisions:

  • After performance ratings are assigned, ensure the decisions tied to those ratings (raises, promotions, discipline, etc.) do not discriminate against any group.

  • Ask:

    • Do employees with similar performance ratings receive similar outcomes in terms of raises, bonuses, promotions, training, or discipline?

    • If a low-rated Asian employee is given opportunities to improve, is a similarly-rated Hispanic employee provided the same opportunities?

• Sudden Changes in Ratings:

  • Be vigilant if employees who have historically received high ratings are suddenly given low ratings.

    • Ask:

      • Is the decrease in ratings due to an actual decline in performance, or could it be the result of discrimination?