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I. Contents of getting performance appraisal review comments

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Almost everyone hates performance reviews! Managers dislike giving them, and employees
dread receiving them. Although a well-conducted appraisal discussion can actually be a pleasant
and informative experience (see Conducting a Motivational Performance Review), many of them
do go horribly wrong.
If you are a manager, here are six mistakes that can turn a review discussion into a disaster. If
you're an employee, we offer some suggestions for tactfully responding to these management
blunders.
1. Providing invisible feedback.
Some managers are so fearful of offending employees that they mask constructive feedback in a
cloak of invisibility. How do they do this? By putting such a positive spin on problems that they
hardly sound like problems at all! One manager who felt that an employee was deviating too
frequently from standard policies and procedures described the issue like this: "Nancy takes a
very creative and innovative approach to helping others." The employee, of course, thought this
was a terrific compliment. (Yes, this really is a true story.)
Solution: When offering constructive feedback, objectively describe what you have observed and
indicate why it's a problem. Do not sugarcoat the issue into oblivion. For example, the above
manager might say "Nancy sometimes makes exceptions to policies without sufficient
justification. This can result in unequal treatment for customers."

If your boss does this: Although receiving a 100% positive review is great, you want to be sure
that there are no hidden critiques. If your boss seems to be a bit of a wimp when it comes to
giving feedback, simply say "I'm always trying to improve, so do you have any suggestions for
how I might be more effective next year?'
2. Springing a surprise.
Effective managers provide just-in-time feedback: they express appreciation when something
good happens and address problems as they arise. But some bosses are like a squirrel storing up
nuts for the winter. They hoard all their comments until appraisal time rolls around. If you're
planning to chastise an employee in December for a project delay that occurred last June, you
can expect that person to be justifiably irritated.
Solution: If you failed to give feedback when a problem occurred, you need to acknowledge your
error: "I know that I should have mentioned this at the time, and I'll try to give more immediate
feedback in the future. However, we do need to talk about the project delay that occurred last
summer."
If your boss does this: If your review contains some comments that are long overdue, don't
become visibly annoyed or angry. Instead, calmly request a different approach next time. For
example: "I'll be glad to talk about the project delay now. In the future, though, it would really
help me if we could discuss these problems when they occur.
3. Becoming a psychologist.
Managers often think about employee problems in terms of personality traits. Someone is overly
obsessive or lacks initiative or has a negative attitude. But when you are talking about
performance, you need to forget the diagnostic labels and focus on what the person is actually
doing (or not doing). You're never going to change someone's personality, but you do have every
right to request the behavior that you need. After all, that's what employees are being paid for.
Solution: Convert your conclusions about personality traits into a specific description of problem
behaviors. So instead of telling an employee, "You need to start showing more initiative", you
might say "When you finish one project, I need for you to come and ask me what else needs to
be done instead of just waiting for another assignment."
If your boss does this: If your boss hits you up with a personality diagnosis, ask for an
explanation of what you need to do differently. For example: "Can you tell me what I could do to
show you that my attitude is improving? What behaviors would you like me to change?" Unless
you clearly understand your manager's expectations, it will be difficult to meet them.
4. Putting the spotlight on flaws.

If you believe that doing a performance review means providing employees with a
comprehensive list of all their faults, then you are a dreadful manager. Appraisals which focus
only criticism are not only demoralizing, but also useless, because employees quickly learn that
no matter what they do, they can never please the boss. Remember that if a person is good
enough to keep on the payroll, their strengths must outweigh their weaknesses. Therefore, their
appraisal should show the same balance.
Solution: Being more attuned to problems than positives is just human nature, so you must make
a special effort to see all the things that your employees do well. Unless the person is so bad that
they're about to be fired, a review should contain at least twice as many positive comments as
negative ones. And be sure to use as much detail when describing accomplishments as you do
when describing problems.
If your boss does this: If everyone in your group receives highly negative reviews, then don't
take it personally. It's not about you, it's about your boss's dysfunctional leadership style. To try
to balance things out, ask for some positive feedback. For example: "I think I understand what I
need to improve. However, I would also like to know what seems to be going well, so that I will
continue to do those things correctly."
5. Delivering a lecture.
If you drone on and on and on, employees are going to tune you out. Although they may smile
and nod, they won't absorb much of what you say after the first five minutes. To be effective,
appraisals need to include two-way communication about previous performance, future goals,
and development needs. While employees do need to understand your perspective, you can also
benefit by understanding theirs.
Solution: Ask questions! After introducing every major topic in the performance review, solicit
the employee's input. Have trouble thinking of questions? You can find a list of them at
Conducting a Motivational Performance Review.
If your boss does this: If your manager seems determined to do all the talking, you have to look
for an appropriate point to offer an opinion or provide information. When there's a pause in the
monologue (even a short one), hop in with "You know, there's something I'd like to say about
that." Then speak your piece. Some managers intentionally try to dominate the meeting, but
many others simply don't know how to carry on a two-way appraisal discussion.
6. Arguing about examples.
Many managers logically assume that the best way to help employees understand a problem is to
offer specific examples from the past. Examples are indeed helpful, but unfortunately they also
contain an unexpected pitfall, because bringing up old issues often brings up old arguments.

When your example deteriorates into an unproductive debate, the entire review can suddenly be
thrown off track.
Solution: When you illustrate certain points by citing specific events, make every effort to keep
the discussion focused on the future instead of the past. If the employee starts to argue, be clear
about the goal of the conversation. For example: "I do understand that other factors contributed
to the problems with this project. However, I don't think we should spend time revisiting that
situation. Instead, let's talk about how we can prevent similar problems in the future."
If your boss does this: Sometimes the manager is the one who turns an example into an
argument. If this happens, you must avoid the temptation to renew an old debate about previous
problems. Instead of responding with counter-arguments of your own, simply say "What do you
think I need to learn from that situation that will help me be more effective in the future?". Your
goal is to keep looking forward, not backward.
==================

III. Performance appraisal methods

1. Essay Method
In this method the rater writes down the employee
description in detail within a number of broad categories
like, overall impression of performance, promoteability
of employee, existing capabilities and qualifications of
performing jobs, strengths and weaknesses and training
needs of the employee. Advantage It is extremely
useful in filing information gaps about the employees
that often occur in a better-structured checklist.
Disadvantages It its highly dependent upon the writing
skills of rater and most of them are not good writers.
They may get confused success depends on the memory
power of raters.

2. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales

statements of effective and ineffective behaviors

determine the points. They are said to be
behaviorally anchored. The rater is supposed to
say, which behavior describes the employee
performance. Advantages helps overcome rating
errors. Disadvantages Suffers from distortions
inherent in most rating techniques.

3. Rating Scale
Rating scales consists of several numerical scales
representing job related performance criterions such as
dependability, initiative, output, attendance, attitude etc.
Each scales ranges from excellent to poor. The total
numerical scores are computed and final conclusions are
derived. Advantages Adaptability, easy to use, low cost,
every type of job can be evaluated, large number of
employees covered, no formal training required.
Disadvantages Raters biases

4. Checklist method
Under this method, checklist of statements of traits of
employee in the form of Yes or No based questions is
prepared. Here the rater only does the reporting or
checking and HR department does the actual evaluation.
Advantages economy, ease of administration, limited
training required, standardization. Disadvantages Raters
biases, use of improper weighs by HR, does not allow
rater to give relative ratings

5.Ranking Method
The ranking system requires the rater to rank his
subordinates on overall performance. This consists in
simply putting a man in a rank order. Under this method,
the ranking of an employee in a work group is done
against that of another employee. The relative position of
each employee is tested in terms of his numerical rank. It
may also be done by ranking a person on his job
performance against another member of the competitive
group.
Advantages of Ranking Method
Employees are ranked according to their
performance levels.
It is easier to rank the best and the worst
employee.
Limitations of Ranking Method
The whole man is compared with another
whole man in this method. In practice, it is very difficult
to compare individuals possessing various individual
traits.
This method speaks only of the position where an
employee stands in his group. It does not test anything
about how much better or how much worse an employee
is when compared to another employee.
When a large number of employees are working,
ranking of individuals become a difficult issue.
There is no systematic procedure for ranking
individuals in the organization. The ranking system does
not eliminate the possibility of snap judgements.

6. Critical Incidents Method

The approach is focused on certain critical behaviors of

employee that makes all the difference in the
performance. Supervisors as and when they occur record
such incidents. Advantages Evaluations are based on
actual job behaviors, ratings are supported by
descriptions, feedback is easy, reduces recency biases,
chances of subordinate improvement are high.
Disadvantages Negative incidents can be prioritized,
forgetting incidents, overly close supervision; feedback
may be too much and may appear to be punishment.

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