Paul L. Schumann, Ph.D.Professor of Management
MGMT 440: Human Resource Management
1© 2008 by Paul L. Schumann. All rights reserved.
OutlinePerformance MeasurementFunctions of Performance AppraisalCriteria for Effective Performance Appraisal
SystemsTypes of Performance to MeasurePerformance Appraisal MethodsPerformance Raters (Evaluators)Performance Feedback
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Performance ManagementPerformance appraisal: the measurement and
assessment of an employee’s job performancePerformance management: the integration of
performance appraisal systems with other HRM systems for the purpose of aligning the employees’ work behaviors and results with the organization’s goalsExample: link an employee’s pay increase to the
employee’s job performance To do this, we have to measure the employee’s job
performanceGoal: Improve the organization by improving the
employees’ work behaviors and results3
Performance Management Cycle
Source of figure: Adapted from Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2006), Figure 10.1, p. 421
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Development Tool
Administrative Tool
Functions of Performance AppraisalEmployee Development Tool
Goal setting: Set performance goals for each employee Involve the employee in goal setting Make the goals specific, concrete, & measurable
Example goals (some of many) for a retail store manager: Sales goal for year = $2 million Customer satisfaction goal = average rating of 4.5 on
5-point customer satisfaction rating scale Make the goals difficult but achievable, challenging but
realistic Empower employees to achieve their goals
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Functions of Performance AppraisalEmployee Development Tool (more)
Provide feedback to reinforce & sustain performance Employees need to know how they are doing
Provide help & advice to improve performance Be a coach in addition to being a boss
Assist employees in achieving career progression goals
Determine training needs Do employees have job performance deficiencies for
which training would be an effective remedy?6
Functions of Performance AppraisalAdministrative Tool
Link rewards to performance Examples: pay increases, promotions, demotions,
terminations, disciplinary actions, etc. Goal: Create incentives to motivate employees to
increase their performanceEvaluate HRM policies & programs
Example: Evaluate a training program: Measure job performance before and after training to see if performance improved
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Criteria for Effective Performance Appraisal Systems1. Validity: are we measuring the right thing?
Are we really measuring job performance? We want to measure important (“relevant”) aspects of
job performance, in a way that is free from extraneous or contaminating influences, and that encompasses the whole job (i.e., our measures of job performance are not “deficient”: we aren’t leaving out important aspects of job performance)
2. Reliability: consistency of measurementExample: inter-rater reliability
If two people observe a particular employee’s job performance, do they agree in their rating of the employee’s performance?
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Criteria for Effective Performance Appraisal Systems3. Freedom from bias
It does not illegally discriminate (race, sex, age, etc.)It is free from rating errors (intentional or
unintentional): Leniency errors Severity errors Central tendency errors Halo errors
4. PracticalityThe benefits the organization gets from using it
should outweigh the costs of developing & using it Utility analysis
It should be relatively easy to useIt should be accepted by managers and employees
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Types of Performance to MeasureWhat aspects of an employee’s job
performance can we measure?We have 3 basic choices:
Results produced by the employee Example for a salesperson: Amount of sales ($) in
the past month Behaviors of the employee
Example for a salesperson: Number of sales calls in the past month
Traits of the employee Example for a salesperson: Friendliness
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Types of Performance to MeasureResults-based (results-oriented): measure the
results produced by the employeeExamples for a retail store manager (examples
of some results for which the store manager has responsibility and so should be held accountable): Sales of the store Profit per square foot Inventory shrinkage Customer satisfaction
Makes sense for most jobs Results matter (usually)
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Types of Performance to MeasureResults-based (more)
Challenges: Which results are relevant may not be obvious for
all jobs Some results are not under the employee’s control May foster a “results at all costs” mentality May interfere with teamwork May be difficult to provide effective feedback
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Types of Performance to MeasureBehavior-based (behavior-oriented): measure the
employee’s behaviorsExamples for a retail store manager:
Good attendance Completes management reports correctly & on time Monitors customers and employees for theft Coaches employees to welcome customers to the store &
offer assistance within 3 minutes, and to thank customers as they leave
Conducts regular sessions with employees to develop teamwork
Makes sense for many jobs Use it where how the employee produces results matters
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Types of Performance to MeasureBehavior-based (more)
Advantage: Makes it easier to provide effective performance feedback to employees Examples for a retail store manager:
Feedback with results-oriented performance appraisal: “You didn’t achieve your sales goal.” (Measured by sales reports)
Feedback with behavior-oriented performance appraisal: “You are allowing your employees to wait too long before offering help to customers.” (Measured by observations of a secret shopper)
Challenges: Difficult to capture the full range of relevant behaviors Different behaviors can lead to the same results
We may not always care which behaviors were used14
Types of Performance to MeasureTrait-based (trait-oriented): measure the
employee’s personal characteristicsExamples for a retail store manager:
Ability to make decisions Loyalty to the company Communication skills Level of initiative
This is usually a bad idea for several reasons: Poor reliability & validity of measures of traits Weak relationship between traits and job effectiveness Measurements of traits are more likely to be subject to
biases (sexism, racism, ageism, etc.) Hard to use traits to provide effective feedback
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Types of Performance to MeasureSo, in most cases, we want to measure the
job performance of an employee in terms of the results and behaviors of the employeeMake a list of results & behaviors that are
relevant to the job Starting point: Use the job description to identify
the essential tasks of the job Example task statement on job description for a
Retail Store Manager: “Manage inventory shrinkage.”
Translate the tasks into results & behaviors Example (continued): Measure the amount of
inventory shrinkage in the store (a result)
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Performance Appraisal MethodsOnce we decide which results & behaviors
we want to measure, we next need to decide how to measure those results & behaviorsWe have 3 categories of choices:
Objective measures of performance Subjective measures of performance Management By Objectives
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Performance Appraisal MethodsObjective measures: measure an employee’s
job performance in terms of things we can see and count with no (or minimal) use of opinionProduction measures: count units produced by an
employeeSales measures: count the sales ($) of an
employeePersonnel data: count things in the employee’s
personnel file Examples:
Number of times late to work Number of times absent Number of disciplinary actions taken
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Performance Appraisal MethodsObjective measures (more):
Performance tests: for an employee, evaluate work samples or simulations under standardized conditions Example: for an airline pilot, program a flight simulator with
specific flight conditions to test if the pilot handles it correctly
Business unit performance measures: for managers who are responsible for a business unit, measure their performance by measuring the performance of the business unit they lead Examples:
Market share of the business unit Profit measures for the business unit: profits & profit rates
(return on sales, return on assets, return on equity) Stock price
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures: measure an employee’s job
performance using human judgmentRanking: subjectively rank employees from best to worst
Example:1. Bob2. Carol3. Ted4. Alice
Note carefully that the ranking is in terms of subjective opinion (e.g., who is your best salesperson overall?), not objective factors (e.g., which salesperson sold the most?)
Note the ranking requires you to compare one employee to another
Problem: it can be hard to determine the subjective ranking position of employees who are in the middle (it all blurs together)
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
Paired comparisons: for all possible pairs of employees, subjectively decide which employee is better # of paired comparisons = (N2 − N)/2 Example: N = 4 (42 − 4)/2 = 6 paired comparisons:
Bob > Carol; Bob > Ted; Bob > Alice Carol > Ted; Carol > Alice Ted > Alice
Example: N = 12 (122 − 12)/2 = 66 paired comparisons Note that you are comparing one employee to another Problem: inconsistent subjective comparisons: Bob >
Carol; Carol > Ted; Ted > Bob (see the inconsistency here?)
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
Rating scale (graphic rating scale): subjectively rate the employee’s job performance on a labeled numeric measuring scale Rating scales are perhaps the most commonly used
method of subjectively evaluating an employee’s job performance
Before we use a rating scale to subjectively rate an employee’s job performance, we need to: Identify the aspects of job performance (results &
behaviors) that are to be evaluated (rated) using the rating scale
Develop the rating scale itself22
Performance Appraisal MethodsRating Scale Examples Rating Scale ExamplesExamples of a 5-point
scale:5 = Excellent
4 = Very satisfactory3 = Satisfactory2 = Unsatisfactory1 = Very unsatisfactory
5 = Greatly exceeds standards4 = Exceeds standards3 = Meets standards2 = Below standards1 = Far below standards
Example of a 7-point scale:7 = Truly exceptional
6 = Excellent5 = Very good4 = Good3 = Satisfactory2 = Unsatisfactory1 = Very unsatisfactory
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
Rating scale (more) The same rating scale can be used to rate:
Overall job performance, and Multiple specific aspects of job performance
Some aspects of job performance can be measured objectively and subjectively Example: Quality of work
Objective measure: defect rate (percentage of units produced by an employee that fail inspection)
Subjective measure: subjectively rate the quality of the employee’s work using a 5-point rating scale
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures
(more)Rating scale (more)
Example: MSU Course Evaluation Form Note how the same 5-
point rating scale is used to evaluate several different aspects of the professor’s job performance: Course as a whole Instructor’s
contribution to the course
Use of class time Etc.
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More Examples of Rating ScalesDecisions:
Use a graphic or just use words?
Label all the points on the scale, or just label some?
Odd or even number of points on the scale?
Fewer points on the scale, or more points on the scale?
Source of figure: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2006), Figure 10.6, p. 449
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
Rating scale (more) Note that rating scales do not require you to compare one
employee to another — the ratings are absolute, not comparative
Problems: No limits on leniency, severity, & central tendency errors
Example: a manager rates all of his employees at “5 = Excellent” regardless of the employees’ actual performances
Possible solution: forced distribution? The terms used in a rating scale to describe different levels
of performance tend to be short and vague Example: What does “Excellent” really mean? Possible solution: BARS?
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
Forced distribution: evaluator must place a fixed percentage of employees in each performance category Example:
10% must be rated 5 = Excellent25% must be rated 4 = Very satisfactory45% must be rated 3 = Satisfactory15% must be rated 2 = Unsatisfactory5% must be rated 1 = Very unsatisfactory
Note that you are comparing one employee to another Problem: what if the distribution being forced doesn’t
fit?
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS): replace the vague descriptors in a rating scale with specific examples of performance Example: Customer assistance
5 = Could be expected to volunteer to help customer and to walk with customer to location of desired product4 = Could be expected to walk with customer to location of desired product when asked for help by customer3 = Could be expected to tell and point customer to where the desired product is located when asked for help by customer2 = Could be expected to shrug shoulders and walk away when asked for assistance by customer1 = Could be expected to hide from customers in the employee break-room
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
BARS (more) Note that a different scale will be needed for each
aspect of job performance Advantages:
Job-relevant measures of performance Involves employees in developing scales
Disadvantages: More work (time & money) to develop BARS Employees may not consistently fit into one of the
BARS categories Possible solution: BOS?
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Performance Appraisal MethodsSubjective measures (more)
Behavioral Observation Scale (BOS): evaluators rate the frequency with which an employee engages in specific behaviors Example: on a list of possible employee behaviors, rate
how often the employee engages in each behavior using a rating scale where:1 = almost never 5 = almost always
Weighted checklist: from a list of possible employee behaviors, check off the ones that apply to the employee Example: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2006), Figure 10.8,
p. 452
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Performance Appraisal MethodsManagement By Objectives (MBO): evaluate
employee job performance in terms of the extent to which the employee achieved each of his or her goals during a specified period of timeGoals can be both objective and subjective
Example goals (some of many) for a retail store manager: Objective: Sales goal for year = $2 million Subjective: Customer satisfaction goal = average rating
of 4.5 on 5-point customer satisfaction rating scale
Commonly used for managers and professionals
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Performance Appraisal MethodsMBO (more)
Process: At the beginning of the review period, the employee
and the supervisor meet and they agree on a set of goals to be achieved by the employee during the review period Review period is typically one year, but could be more
often Apply the goal setting principles:
Involve the employee in goal setting Make the goals specific, concrete, & measurable Make the goals difficult but achievable, challenging
but realistic Empower employees to achieve their goals
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Performance Appraisal MethodsMBO (more)
Process (more): Throughout the review period, progress toward the
goals is monitored Employee’s supervisor should be providing coaching
to help the employee achieve his or her goals At the end of the review period, the employee and
the supervisor meet to evaluate the extent to which each goal was achieved and to set new goals for the next review period
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Performance Raters (Evaluators)Who should be asked to evaluate the job
performance of an employee?Performance evaluators need to have:
Opportunity to observe the employee’s job performance
Ability to translate observations of performance into an evaluation of performance
Motivation to do a good job of observing & evaluating
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Performance Raters (Evaluators)Options for Job Performance Evaluators
SupervisorsSelf-evaluationPeers (co-workers)SubordinatesCustomers
External customers Internal customers
360-Degree Appraisals
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Performance FeedbackEmployees need effective feedback
Allow time & eliminate distractionsOkay to cover both administrative issues (e.g.,
pay increase) & developmental issues (e.g., future goals) in one feedback session
Provide specific feedback Example:
Don’t say: “You’re always late.” Do say: “You were more than 5 minutes late on 25
occasions in the past 3 months. This is unacceptable. We need to develop (1) a specific goal concerning prompt attendance and (2) an action plan that you will follow to achieve the goal.”
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Performance FeedbackTypes of feedback sessions:
Tell-and-sell: the supervisor tells the employee the results of the performance appraisal and explains the reasons why the appraisal is correct
Tell-and-listen: the supervisor tells the employee the results of the performance appraisal and listens to the employee’s response
Problem solving: the supervisor acts as a coach to assist the employees in setting their own goals and in evaluating their own job performance
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Performance FeedbackTypes of feedback sessions (more):
Combination of tell-and-sell & problem solving: First part of feedback session: tell-and-sell
Focus on the past: Supervisor tells the employee the results of the
performance appraisal and explains the reasons why the appraisal is correct
Supervisor tells the employee about any administrative decisions that were made (e.g., pay increases, etc.)
Second part of feedback session: problem solving Focus on the future:
Supervisor acts as a coach to help the employee identify barriers to improved future job performance
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OutlinePerformance MeasurementFunctions of Performance AppraisalCriteria for Effective Performance Appraisal
SystemsTypes of Performance to MeasurePerformance Appraisal MethodsPerformance Raters (Evaluators)Performance Feedback
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