Introduction
Performance evaluation is an essential component of the Human Resource Management process. It is the evaluation of an employee’s job performance in order to appraise their work and find any areas for improvement. Appraisals are used to provide personnel feedback, enhance organizational performance and serve as the foundation for remuneration and career development choices. Employers might utilize a variety of different performance assessment approaches in the line of work. Five of these strategies will be examined in this essay, together with their benefits and drawbacks. In addition, two roles, a general manager and a sales representative, will be examined and the best assessment procedures for each will be selected and discussed.
The Five Performance Appraisal Strategies
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
This performance assessment approach entails evaluating an employee’s performance on a scale according to particular behaviors. The behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) is made up of a number of performance dimensions or criteria, each of which includes particular instances of the behavior that characterize each degree of performance (Shrotryia & Dhanda, 2019). This strategy establishes a clear relationship between performance and results, allowing for more accurate and thorough employee assessments. The primary benefit of utilizing BARS is that it establishes a clear correlation between performance and results. It is simpler to correctly analyze an employee’s performance when concrete instances of behavior are included (Atatsi et al., 2019). Furthermore, since it considers many performance aspects, BARS allows for more extensive analyses. However, one downside of BARS is that it might take longer to build since each level of performance must be properly defined.
Forced Distribution Method
Employers must allocate a set proportion of workers to specified performance categories, such as “outstanding,” “excellent,” and “satisfactory” under this type of performance evaluation. This strategy is often used to assure impartiality in the evaluation process since it removes the possibility of favoritism or prejudice. The key benefit of this strategy is that it promotes impartiality in the review process by removing the possibility of favoritism or prejudice. This strategy may also be used to ensure that a particular proportion of workers is graded in each performance area. However, one problem of this strategy is that when employees are confined into a certain group, it might be difficult to effectively measure their performance.
360-Degree Feedback
This strategy to performance evaluation comprises requesting feedback from an employee’s peers, subordinates, and supervisors in order to evaluate their performance. This approach is used to provide a more detailed evaluation of an employee’s performance since it takes into account the perspectives of many stakeholders (Hamid & Shah, 2022). The main advantage of using this approach is that it provides a more complete evaluation of an employee’s performance since it takes into account the views of numerous stakeholders. This approach may also be more effective in finding areas for improvement. However, one disadvantage of this technique is that obtaining feedback from several sources may take time.
Graphic Rating Scale
This type of performance evaluation entails assessing an employee’s performance on a scale according to certain performance criteria. A visual rating scale is often made up of a list of dimensions or criteria, each with its own numerical rating scale (Hamid & Shah, 2022). Due to the fact that it explicitly states the criteria used to assess performance, this technique allows for more objective judgments. The key benefit of employing this strategy is that it enables for more objective assessments by explicitly defining the performance criteria. This strategy is also quite simple to apply and comprehend. However, one problem of this system is that when employees are graded on many categories, it might be difficult to effectively measure their performance.
MBO (Management by Objectives)
The idea behind this kind of evaluation is to have workers work toward attainable goals and then assess their performance depending on how well employees did. By using this technique, it is guaranteed that everyone in the company is working toward the same goals (Hamid & Shah, 2022). The primary benefit of this approach is that it keeps everyone on the same page and drives the business toward its stated goals. As an added bonus, this technique may be used to evaluate the extent to which an employee is successful in achieving their objectives. However, if the objectives are not reasonable or attainable, it might be hard to provide an appropriate evaluation of an employee’s performance using this technique.
The Most Appropriate Appraisal Approach
General Manager
The 360-degree feedback approach is the one that would be considered to be the most suitable way of evaluation for a General Manager. In order to evaluate the General Manager’s performance using this approach, input is gathered from their peers, subordinates, and supervisors (Hamid & Shah, 2022). This approach provides for an all-encompassing assessment of the General Manager’s performance and takes into consideration the points of view of a number of different stakeholders. In addition to this, it offers a precise evaluation of the General Manager’s performance since it takes into account the General Manager’s performance in a variety of different circumstances.
Sales Representative
The Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale is the evaluation tool that would be most suited for use with a Sales Representative (BARS). In this approach, the performance of the Sales Representative is evaluated using a scale that is linked to a set of behaviors (Mathis et al., 2016). The use of this approach enables for employee assessments that are both more precise and thorough, and it creates a clear correlation between performance and results (Shrotryia & Dhanda, 2019). Furthermore, it clarifies the standards against which performance is measured, making it possible to conduct more objective assessments.
Professor
The Management by Objectives (MBO) technique is the one that would be considered to be the best suitable for an evaluation of a Professor’s performance. With this approach, the Professor is first tasked with the establishment of a series of distinct goals and their performance is afterwards assessed according to the degree to which professor were successful in meeting those goals (Mathis et al., 2016). As a result, it guarantees that the workers are working toward the same goals, using this strategy makes it possible to conduct a performance review of the Professor that is more narrowly focused. In addition, it makes it possible to evaluate the performance of the professor throughout the course of an entire academic year or semester, rather than only for a little amount of time at the end of the course.
Conclusion
To sum up, the performance review should play a significant role in any HRM strategy. As with any tool, there are pros and cons to the many performance evaluation strategies available to businesses today. The 360-degree feedback approach is more suited for evaluating a general manager, whereas the behaviorally anchored rating scale is more suitable for evaluating a sales representative (BARS). Ultimately, the management by objectives (MBO) approach is ideal for a professor’s situation. Any of these five methods may be used to evaluate employees’ efforts, but the optimal one will depend on the nature of the position they hold and the objectives of the company.
References
Atatsi, E. A., Stoffers, J., & Kil, A. (2019). Factors affecting employee performance: A systematic literature review. Journal of Advances in Management Research, 16(3), 329–351. Web.
Hamid, Z. & Shah, S. A. (2023). Juxtaposition of traditional and modern methods of performance appraisal in organizations. In J. Santos & B. Sousa (Eds.), Promoting organizational performance through 5G and agile marketing (pp. 245-266). IGI Global.
Mathis, R. L., Meglich, P., Valentine, S. R., & Jackson, J. H. (2016). Human resource management, (15th ed). Cenage Learning.
Shrotryia, V. K., & Dhanda, U. (2019). Content validity of assessment instrument for employee engagement. SAGE Open, 9(1), 215824401882175. Web.