There are many criteria for
performance evaluation; and according to Armstrong (2006), performance
evaluation should be centered or balanced between:-
- Achievement in relation to objectives
- The level of knowledge and skills possessed and applied (competences)
- Behaviour in the job as it affects performance ( competences)
- The degree to which behaviour upholds the core values of the organization
- Day-to-day effectiveness.
The criteria should not be
limited to a few quantified objectives, as has often been the case in
traditional appraisal scheme. In many cases the most important consideration
will be job holder’s day-to-day effectiveness in meeting the continuing
performance standards associated with their key tasks. Equal attention should
be paid to the behaviour that produced an acceptable result.
Selecting an effective measure
for performance evaluation is a critical part of planning a performance
management system. Criteria that determine the effectiveness of performance
measure include each measure’s fit with the organization’s strategy, its
validity, reliability, the degree to which it is acceptable to the
organization, and the extent to which it gives employees specific feedback.
Noe et:al (2004): opined that performance management
system should aim at achieving employee behaviour and attitudes that support
the organization’s strategy, goals and
culture.
For an organization that
emphasizes customer services, its performance evaluation criteria should define
the kind of behaviour that contributes to good customer services. In the issue
of performance measure, retailability describes the consistency of results when
more than one person measures performance. Performance measure should specifically
tell employee what is expected of them and how they can meet those
expectations. If a measure does not specify what an employee must do to help
the organization achieve its goals, it does not support the strategy.
Fig
5: Criteria for Effective Performance Measures
Source: Neo et: al (2004):Fundamentals of HRM.
The choice of what to evaluate is
one of the major decisions facing management in the process of choosing the
criteria for measurement of employee’s performance. However, Robbins and Judge
(2007) posit that there are two popular criteria for performance evaluation
namely:
·
Individual Tasks Outcome: According to them, if
ends count, rather than means, then management should evaluate an employee’s
tasks outcomes”. Using task outcome, a plant manager could be judged on
criteria such as quantity produced, scrap generated and cost per-unit of
production, a sales person could be assessed on overall sales volume in the
territory, naira increase in sales and a number of other yardsticks.
·
Behaviour: Using the example above, the
behaviour of the manager that could be used for performance evaluation purposes
might include promptness in submitting monthly reports, the leadership style
that the manager exhibits.
The US Audit Commission and the Improvement and Development
Agency (2006: 15) stated that individual performance measures should be:
·
Relevant to what the organization is aiming to
achieve
·
Able to avoid perverse incentives-not
encouraging unwanted or wasteful behaviour
·
Attributable- the measured activity is linked to
the actions of an organization or an individual, and it is clear where
accountability lies.
·
Well defined –clear and unambiguous, so data
will be collected consistently and the measures is easy to understand and use
·
Timely: producing information regularly enough
to track progress and quickly enough for all the data to still be useful.
·
Reliable: accurate enough for its intended use
and responsive to change.
·
Comparable- with either past period or similar
activity elsewhere
·
Verifiable- documented so that the process of
data collection can be validated and others can test or audit that this is an
accurate measure of performance.
Ivancevich, James, and James
(2005: 531), agree with the US Audit Commission, as they stated that whatever
would serve as a standard measure should be relevant to both the individual and
the organization.
In determining what is relevant,
some person or group must make a judgment about what constitutes relevant. They
went further to state as follows:
·
“The standard must be “stable or reliable”. This
involves agreement of different evaluations at different point in time. If the
results from two different evaluation diverge greatly; the standard would be
adjudged unreliable:
·
Performance standard must discriminate between
good, average, and poor performance.
·
The standard must be practical. It must mean
something to the rater and the rate.
A research survey by the US
Chartered Institute for Personnel Development on Performance Management in
(2003), and another by Armstrong and Baron (2004: 40) all revealed in order of
importance that proper criteria for evaluation are:
·
Achievement of objectives
·
Competence
·
Quality
·
Contribution to team
·
Customer care
·
Working relationships
·
Productivity
·
Flexibility
·
Skills/Learning targets
·
Aligning personal objectives with organizational
goals
·
Business awareness and
·
Financial awareness
Measurement is an important
feature in performance management as it enables the manager to properly rank
the employees based on their performance, as to determine their suitability for
promotion, transfer, salary increase, discharge etc.
It is the basis for providing and
generating feedback, as well as identifying where things are going well to
provide foundations for building further success, and the areas of lapses for
corrective measures to be taken.