Online Induction >> Performance Appraisal System
Published 29/04/2022

Guide for setting up a Performance Appraisal System

Investing in a robust performance appraisal system is very valuable to the success of any organization. This is because employees who have regular performance conversations with their managers tend to be more productive and motivated in their job positions as they know their strengths and areas of improvement. So, with the ideal performance appraisal system, you make the entire process simpler and useful. Common performance appraisal steps include design, measuring, employee involvement and feedback. See an example performance appraisal template for common components to include.

What is a performance appraisal system and why is it important as part of your induction plan?

This is a tool used by organizations to manage the performance progress of employees to evaluate the job performance of a particular team. Performance appraisal is typically the regular review of employees' work performance and the overall contribution to the organization. Performance appraisals evaluate the employee's achievements, skills, and growth.

What's the purpose of a performance appraisal system?

Generally, a performance appraisal tool is essential in the management of a particular organization's employee performance progress to evaluate the team's overall performance. This software will capture quantitative and qualitative feedback and converts them into actionable insights that you wouldn't have access to with traditional performance review methods. Thus, the quality of the team and output are improved by setting goals and monitoring them.

Organizations use performance appraisals to recognize employees with a significant contribution to the organization's growth, review their progress, and reward high-achieving employees.

Performance appraisals also promote transparency. Visibility is enhanced in the entire organization. Every staff will have a clear view of the organization's goals, feedback, and ongoing projects, given that both managers and employees have access to the appraisal tool.

Regular real-time feedback usually helps an employee to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and leverage them. Thus, this facilitates the desired self-development within your employees and organization. Additionally, performance appraisals usually give workers big-picture feedback on their jobs and justify bonuses, pay increases, and termination decisions. Job performance appraisals can be conducted anytime but are often conducted quarterly, semiannual, and annually.

Types of performance appraisals

- Management by objectives (MBO)-Involves both employees and managers to determine measurable goals and outcomes. This appraisal sets out the difference between the current and predetermined standards, which is ideal for organizations focusing on a group approach.

- Performance ranking-This involves a comparison of the employees. They are ranked from the best to the worst, making it easy to see the performers and non-performers. However, the middle ones will be challenging to rank.

- 360-degree appraisal-This is a continuous process involving everybody on the staff rather than only the manager conducting reviews. This method reduces subjectivity when conducting performance reviews and considers multiple factors involved in assessing an individual's performance, making it an inclusive and dynamic method.

- Behavior-based appraisals-These appraisals provide an objective way to assess performance. They usually focus on the employee's capacity to perform a particular task, so they can be used to assess performance on quantitative jobs and decide on who should be rewarded based on their competence in that specific task.

Key features of a performance appraisal system

The ideal performance appraisal software does a lot to your organization. It helps automate the performance appraisals and facilitates regular employee feedback. Here are the significant features to look out for when choosing a performance appraisal tool for your organization:

- Reporting and analytics-This dashboard provide the organization's metrics that can be used to compare performance appraisals across your workforce. Analytics significantly help you identify issues and trends and forecast future budgets. Whenever something strange happens or things fall out of place, the reporting function will notify you immediately.

- Configuration-Appraisal tools must be customizable to conform to your business style.

- Performance evaluation system-The system should automate the whole appraisal cycle and ensure timely completion.

- Integration-The software must easily connect to other HR tools to create a great user experience by streamlining all your software features.

- Compensation management-Appraisals usually aid in the compensation decision-making process. This software aligns employees' compensation appropriately according to the organizational goals and objectives.

- Deployment-The tool must be cloud-based; commonly referred to as SaaS (software as a service)

- Learning and development-This function is usually beneficial when one gets a negative review or seeks to further their education. It allows you to track employees' progress and build online courses, which significantly enhances personal development and ongoing coaching.

- Goal management-The tracking software and goal setting module easily helps employees understand their work expectations. There should be long-term and short-term goals as per the company's mission. When employees don't achieve these goals, the system records and reports that in the reviews.

Every organization's performance appraisal strategy is usually unique to its operational culture. Although it might be challenging to choose the perfect solution that connects seamlessly with all other HR processes and tools, investing in suitable performance appraisal software is beneficial to the entire organization.

Try our online performance appraisals builder

Create your first performance appraisal, setup roles, evaluation measures and more using our online performance appraisal system