Performance Appraisal Key Terms

Performance appraisal key terms aid in composing effective instruments for rating and motivating employees

By Stella Stewart

Performance appraisals are usually an important part in the life of every employee and the managers tasked with the job. A performance appraisal is often a perfunctory ritual without much benefit to the employee or the company. However, effective performance appraisals can motivate, educate and inspire people to work harder, better and more enthusiastically. Fortunately, for the managers in charge of performance appraisals and their employees, research by experts has improved these tools for the benefit of organizations that take them seriously.

360 degree reviews

Traditionally, a performance appraisal has been between a supervisor and an employee. Researchers and managers devoted to making the performance appraisal more useful and beneficial to a company and employees have provided excellent information on the best practices for using the performance appraisal. The 360-degree review is a system for a better appraisal as the input and discussion comes from many sources including peers and other colleagues rather than the just supervisor and employee.
Try: Success Factors provides detailed information on designing an effective performance appraisal package.

Drive on a two-way street

If you drive on a two-way street for your next performance appraisal, you will probably be most pleased as a supervisor or as an employee. Experts provide great advice to improve performance appraisals including a thoughtful self-evaluation solicited from each employee. Savvy supervisors provide guidance to employees so they come prepared and focused on providing this input.
Try: Experts at Carnegie Mellon University provide many ideas for making performance appraisals more meaningful and beneficial.

Rater reliability and calibration

Performance appraisals should be good for the morale of an organization. Rater reliability and calibration, if deficient, could destroy the camaraderie and collegiality. Employees discuss performance appraisals and if there is even perception that one rater is more lenient and positive than others, employees could become disgruntled or angry. Management should make every effort to ensure that all of the appraisers rate people with fairness and equality.
Try: Grote Counseling will help managers prepare fair and equitable performance appraisal instruments.

Halo effect

Supervisors who use the halo effect, or the exact opposite, the horn effect, provide flawed performance appraisals. A valuable employee usually does almost everything well, but no one is perfect. If the managers are not careful, they could provide only praise to a very good employee. This is an example of the halo effect.
Try: HRN Management Group has experts to implement or improve performance appraisals for all organizations.

SMART Goals

SMART goals, or "Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely" goals, are great for increasing the production in an organization, but these are also good for a meaningful performance appraisal. Employees and their supervisors should set goals for an outstanding performance and use these as benchmarks for performance appraisal.
Try: Suite101.com explains SMART goals that every supervisor and employee should include in a performance appraisal. Halogen Software explains smart goals and other steps to an effective performance appraisal.

Recency effect

Most organizations provide performance appraisals on a yearly basis although supervisors give feedback throughout the year. Supervisors often forget what happened in the first 50 weeks of the year so they concentrate on the last two weeks before the meeting to discuss performance with an employee. This is the recency effect, and supervisors should devise a system to avoid this problem or they will produce ineffective appraisals.
Try: Changing Minds gives an overview of the recency effect, as does a write-up in HR.com.

Performance Appraisal Key Terms