Taking Performance Appraisals positively can help!

Performance is a key factor in any industry to evaluate their workforce and appraise them for their inputs for the benefit of both employees and the organization as well. Every organization carries out certain kinds of strategies or plans for Employee Performance Appraisal based upon their needs and requirements criteria. Also, the size and type of the business area do matters.

Employee Performance Appraisal is one of the Performance Management Tools that is being implemented in the business strategies for an effective management and evaluation of staff working in that company. Such assessments actually help individuals to develop and improve their organizational behavior and make them compatible to fit into the business planning strategies and to reach the assigned goals and objectives. These are generally conducted annually for all staff including the managers in an organization. Each individual in an organization is appraised by their supervisor and they are as well by their seniors. Directors are also appraised by the CEO, who is appraised by the chairman or company owners, depending on the size and structure of the organization. However the chain follows up till the end.

Nevertheless, not all the individuals are much satisfied with the Employee Performance Appraisal criteria and each view it differently as per their mindset. Some of the many reasons why most of the employees/managers are reluctant about the concept are as follows:

·         It is a time consuming job and takes much of an effort. The appraiser has to review an employee's performance, contribution, actions and attitudes for an annual period. This can be a strenuous process at times.

·         The manager may not have taken detailed notes about the working individual and his conduct during the year or has not interacted much with them to correctly evaluate their conduct. Without proper knowledge about an individual they may not be able to take appropriate decisions regarding their conduct.

·         The manager or a supervisor may not be able to deliver negative information in an intellectual way and thus end up hurting an employee’s emotion. The workers may become visibly upset and even cry, and the boss may feel embarrassed or not know how to effectively deal with the situation. This can also both discourage the worker and as well make his perspective unfavorable towards the concept of such appraisals.

·         The feedback may be negative for an individual in any way the manager’s showcase. The managers may feel uneasy and not want to hurt the other person's feelings by simply putting front their negative traits.

·         Some of the workers may protest or argue with the boss and object for some of the ways he has done evaluation or implications. This can make the boss uncomfortable or feel threatened. Many managers try to maintain positive coordination with the crew.

However, Employee Performance Appraisal must be a positive experience for both the ends. The appraisal process is the best among the Performance Management Tools needed for development and motivation, so organizations should foster a feeling that working assessments are positive opportunities, in order to get the best out of the people and the processes they deploy in their business strategies.

Such positive aims and actions may require training or coaching or other support to equally both accept the facts associated with the kind of assessments and as well to take it supportively for the future benefit of them and as well the organization they are working for. Being positive and thinking positive can help. If there are problems also expressing them as opportunities to develop or improve, and if possible suggesting or recommending how these improvements can be made is the responsibility of both the manager and the workers. For further details visit http://www.bullseyeevaluation.com/appraisal-software-articles.aspx

Key Performance Indicators in the business strategies

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are a set of agreed measures that are set by an organization for the Employee Performance Management purpose to drive high engagement from the employees and as well for company's progress. Hence an assessment through the KPI’s reflects the progress and achievement of the overall business objectives and goals.

Key performance indicators provide an organization with a portfolio showcasing the entire operations of the business. Precisely selected KPI’s provide a strong association between the current organizational behavior and the factors that can drive future competitiveness of the company. Evaluation criteria set against each of the KPI’S provides a comprehensive measurement tool to evaluate the strategic issues of the company. However, business needs differ with each company and different area of business. So, designing and deploying an appropriate Management system and strategy is very important.

Measuring the business strategies is not just the only thing that can provide effective results for an organizational success. Many other important components like converting the strategic measures into operational parameters and communicating the way of how each of an operational measure contributes to the fulfillment of the corporate objectives of a company and can deliver beneficial outputs also plays a major role. Nevertheless, an offset focus of any organization is its objectives and goals. Each objective reflects factors of the working conduct that have to be accomplished in order to reach the set targets. The factors that are considered in evaluating the Employee Performance Management should be a combination of both current and future strategies that are planned for driving the work of the company and for the effective accomplishment of the business objectives.

The Key Performance Indicators can be utilized as the driving tools or as the drivers for improving the revenues and as well reaching the set goals of the company. These drivers of work attainment along with their metrics represent KPI as the best Performance Management tool for an organization. These tools can be assigned to all the levels of the management in an organization to identify the important factors that would drive the progress of the company to achieve overall organizational success. Seemingly, any set of factors can be used as the measures in an Employee Performance Management plan depending on the type and the requirements of the company. However, KPI’s are now customizable and can be changed as per the business needs and requirement. Businesses must identify the needs and get a tool for their operations and evaluations.

The key performance indicators of the organization can be deployed along three to four levels of management by considering the business needs and employee management criteria of the company. However, the individual responsible for each of the KPI’s at all levels must be identified prior to the construction of the management tool, which may enable employees to see their role in the implementation of the company strategy. Once the KPI’s are designed as per the requirement and need the measures can be identified that need immediate attention. All the factors then can be focused upon in order to get a smooth flow of the business operations that can drive assured success.

Thus KPIs clearly identifies what is important at each level and what can be done to avoid the negative effect of engagement on the company’s progress. The KPI’s also provide an improved visibility of the operations in an organization and their effect on the Employee Performance Management strategy, which helps an organization to keep focus on the areas that need attention. They provide a basis for measurement, comparison and review of implementation of a company's strategy and assure the company's overall success by keeping all the threads linked and focused. For further details visit http://www.bullseyeevaluation.com/key-performance-indicators-kpi-dashboard-software.aspx

Optimizing Performance Management process

In today's workplace, performance improvement through integration of effective Performance Management Systems is very much in demand. Pressure on business is increasing rapidly and organizations are now forced to become more effective and efficient by executing better business strategies to remain competitive. However for bringing out such changes a right Performance Management Solution is essential.

Generally when performance management is mentioned, people think of the employee employee appraisal or a review. However, this involves much more than just that. Indeed, it is the process by which organizations align their resources, systems and employees to strategic objectives and priorities from the start to end. However, implementing an appropriate Performance Management Systems to make sure that all the processes in your organization are functioning properly you must optimize the entire process.

Here are a few ways which can help in optimizing the process that can result in a sure success for your organization:

·          Setting the goals effectively is the basis of an effective process. Firstly, the goals must be written clearly and objectively. Secondly, they must directly contribute to the achievement of business strategies in an organization. Apparently, when setting goals job expectations and responsibilities should act as the main criterion and the goals must not just address what is expected instead they must show measures of how it will be achieved.

·          Performance planning is a crucial component of this process. This planning is collaboratively carried out at the beginning of a process. In this, the employees decide upon the targets and the key achievement areas which can be worked upon over a year period within the organizational set budget. However, the plan is finalized after a mutual agreement between the manager and the employee.

·          Ensuring an Ongoing Process in the Performance Management Systems by linking the strategic business objectives with day to day activities is also very important. By doing so, all the processes will be aligned properly and will contribute to the company's success.

·          Gathering information from a variety of sources can help increase objectivity and ensures that all the factors affecting the employee's conduct are considered properly. This information should include objective data like sales reports, call records or deadline reports.

·          Documenting the entire process is also essential. The activity log is a record that the manager keeps for each employee with respect to their conduct. This documentation can be used to support achievements or ratings at future requirements.

·          Training the managers with effective Performance Management Solutions acts as a backbone to this process. Training is required to ensure that the managers understand that individuals at different levels of ability and experience need different levels of input, support and supervision. This is especially needed in case of newly promoted supervisors or managers. A manager who feels adequately prepared to provide and receive feedback, deliver a performance evaluation and conduct an employee evaluation meeting will be a major contributor to a successful functioning of the entire process.

·          Appraisals or Reviewing must be carried out twice in a year at an organization. The entire process of review requires an active participation of both the employee and the manager for analyzing the causes of loopholes in the workings and how it can be overcome.

However, more and more organizations today are relying on innovative technology solutions to implement the best practices and automate the lengthy and stressful old manual processes. A move to web based technology is making the Performance Management Systems more affordable, regardless of the size of an organization, with quick implementation schedules, no IT support requirements and automatic upgrades. Certainly, this innovation can be considered as the best Performance Management Solution ever! For further details visit http://www.bullseyeevaluation.com/performance-appraisal-services.aspx

Pro’s and con’s of Employee Self Evaluation process

Employee Self Evaluation is a process in which the individual employees are allowed to rate themselves for their work performance. This type of Performance Appraisal System usually deals with the self confidence in an employee and his perception towards the work he is contributing towards the company. Rating the work we ourselves do has its own value and importance though it is often underestimated. By rating one develops a quality of introspection, self realization and self confidence. However, this must not be limited to the fellow employees alone as the supervisors and the managers also must go through such Performance Appraisal System of self evaluation.

The Employee Self Evaluation process has six features on which it relies. They are:

·          Vision

·          External environment 

·          Artistic aims and programs 

·          Participation and engagement 

·          Organizational capacity and capability 

·          Business models

By focusing on these key points this process yields a positive impact on the entire organization’s operations and its success.

Certainly, Employee Self Evaluation is an important skill to develop for lifelong learning either in a corporate or educational organization. It is vital that every working employee must be able to critically evaluate their own performance and rate them in accordance with the entire workforce. In order to impart such capability in the employees that they must first have the skills to identify and understand the professional or industry standards expected out of them. They then will be able to critically reflect on their own performance to determine if they are meeting the required criteria or not.

Many organizations implement this type of Performance Appraisal System in their strategies and get benefited with the kind of appraisal. An evaluation which is owned, controlled, and often carried out by the internal participants, primarily for their own use, is an integral part of the organizational performance improvement.

Some of the pros of this Employee Self Evaluation process are as follows:

·          It is the foremost and a crucial step in any evaluation process.

·          It helps the employees to consider their past performance and set future targets and consider career development and training needs of themselves.

·          By evaluating themselves each employee will be clear about where he is lagging with respect to the entire crew.

·          It helps employees to write descriptive notes, evaluating various aspects of the performance indicating their strength and weakness.

·          It helps the employees to get an opportunity to think, reflect and write down the problems and constraints.

·          Employees will be able to focus on their inconsistencies and will try to bring appropriate solutions for it.

·          Employees will get a chance to predict their main targets for the coming year and think about their career advancement.

·           

Nevertheless, some view this process as just another boring step that adds more work and burden to an already long performance appraisal process.

Some of the cons of employee Self evaluation process are as follows:

·          Most employees overstate the quality of their own performance relative to others.

·          Confident employees do not wish to appear over confident and boastful.

·          They get a negative feeling about their evaluations as they feel they are less capable to carry out the following evaluation.

On the contrary, Employee Self Evaluation is a vital activity that can help make your performance appraisal process more effective. Done properly, employee self-evaluations can provide several key benefits to the organization. It provides the understanding and evidence needed to make the best possible plans for the future. The process can be enjoyable, demanding and revealing however. Whatever the experience turns out to be for you, it should help you to be beneficial for an organization, with greater clarity about what you are aiming to achieve. For further details visit http://www.bullseyeevaluation.com/web-based-employee-evaluation.aspx