Aspects of employee development include performance appraisal, which measures employees’ behaviors and drives a decision or develops a performance plan to reach a goal. Another aspect is performance management, which is intended after the appraisal and used to guide employees’ behaviors by setting goals and providing helpful feedback.
Performance Appraisal vs. Performance Management
Several researchers have developed performance appraisals out of necessity throughout the years. Performance appraisals are helpful for many reasons, such as discussing employees’ strengths and weaknesses, salary increase considerations, and job promotions. Research on performance appraisals began in the 1920s. Critical concepts of performance appraisal include rating scales, which required more rigorous processes of the rating behavior and was developed by assessing the reliability, validity, and accuracy of data. Dimensions of appraisals include traits, competencies, tasks, and goals.
Another critical component is the reaction to appraisals. When appraisers identified goals, conducted consistent and constant evaluations, and had rater knowledge, they contributed to the ratings’ accuracy and how fair the ratings were. The same sense of importance also applies to the rater consistency. The organization should identify the appraiser. Most of the time, the supervisor is the appraiser, but it is common for co-workers to be involved in the appraisal processes. Peer appraisals are reliable and positively contribute to the appraisal process. However, employees tend to have an adverse reaction to appraisals conducted by their co-workers. Other appraisers include subordinates, customers, and self-appraisers. Level of employee engagement affected the perceived fairness of the appraisal. The more employees were engaged, the better their appraisal was perceived.
Performance management includes performance appraisals and aims to improve the performance of employees through consistent and effective management. Feedback and setting goals are two essential components of performance management. Reviewers should note adjustments in the performance of the employees and the organization throughout the process.
Training and Performance Management
Training is a critical component that requires the rater to collect accurate and valuable data to conduct performance appraisals and manage performance successfully. The rater should also be cognizant of the various errors like the halo error and distribution errors when looking at data. Frame-of-reference training helps the rater by providing information about the job roles and the expectations and goals of the company. This method helps ensure that the rating is more appropriate and relevant to the employee.
Another aspect of training includes the dimensions of performance included in the rating. This factor focuses on the cognitive process of information in raters. The aim is to understand how raters rate information in evaluations and build a good training strategy around that. The raters’ risk is creating judgments as they observe behavior instead of afterward when the rating is needed. If raters can recognize the correct dimensions, their evaluations will be more relevant and just.
In addition to frame-of-reference training, another training is needed, like behavioral observation training. A frequency of behavior scale measures observational accuracy. The differences between observation and judgment should be known for performance appraisals. The process of judgment includes combining, bucketing, and assessing material, and the observation process includes discovery, recollection, acknowledgment, and insight of behaviors and events. The lack of distinction between the two concepts can lead to rating errors like halo and leniency.
Training helps implement new policies by giving employees information and communicating the reasons behind the policies. It also helps guide the implementation of the new policies. Training can be successful if it is created and funded to help with gap closure and completing goals. Generally, the purpose of training is to equip employees with the skills necessary to improve all aspects of the business. Trained employees can impact the quality of service and products. Employees’ self-worth increases when they feel the company invests time and money into making them better. They tend to be more loyal and work harder and longer to contribute to the company’s success. Equipping employees with feedback and skills can also empower them, impacting their desire and willingness to get significant tasks done.
Training does come at a disadvantage. Employees might struggle with a new training program or curriculum and can take some time to learn a new skill or process. It is especially true in the introduction of a new system or software platform. The resistance to change is another issue that organizations face, leading to negative behavior and resistance to training. Training, in some cases and especially in the cases of resistance, should be ongoing. Resources such as workshops, online and in-person classes, and hands-on training sessions can increase employees’ skills and work levels. Having several training types can also help accommodate different learning styles, which can help boost employee commitment to learning and decrease some resistance by letting them have a sense of control over their learning.
Training and Performance Management Impact on Performance Evaluation
Performance evaluations are necessary and done correctly when training and performance management are also done correctly. Frame-of-reference training impacts the rating results and processes. The frame-of-reference training aims to train the person rating the employee and discuss common performance ideas when conducting evaluations. Trained raters typically provide more accurate and reliable ratings. The rating depends on memory, and when the rater does not have good memory recall, then the rating can be less accurate. Training raters on efficiently categorizing different performance examples on different dimensions can help memory recall. Adequately trained raters avoid problems with rating accuracy and rating errors.
Conclusion
There are significant differences between performance management and performance appraisal. Performance appraisals are necessary because they drive decisions and help determine goals. They also include documentation and provide good data on performance. Performance management helps shape performance by setting goals based on the performance appraisal or specific behaviors and provides valuable and consistent feedback to employees that motivate ideal performance. For performance appraisals and performance management to be successful, the initial training must be conducted and done correctly. Training can influence performance management, which can critically impact employees. Initial training and performance management impact evaluations because they are the outcome of good or bad performance management.