Seeking Guidance on Performance Appraisals: Do They Differ Across Departments and How to Calculate Ratings?

Hi, could anyone please guide me in preparing a performance appraisal? I have undergone a short course on the topic but only learned the basic concept, which is to analyze performance based on assigned roles. However, I want to understand exactly what performance appraisal is.

Does performance appraisal vary by department?
1) Does performance appraisal vary from one department to another, or is it common to all departments?

How to calculate the rating factor
2) How should the rating factor be calculated?

Time period for circulating the appraisal
3) What is the time period for circulating the appraisal?

Measuring performance from day one
4) Should performance be measured from the day an employee joins, or can it be documented at the time of an increment?

It would be very helpful if anyone could share an exact worked-out employee performance format with evaluated percentages.

Regards,
Deepa

1. Who are the participants whose performance you want to measure?

2. What kind of job do they do?

3. How do you measure their performance?

Performance Appraisal Process

Irrespective of the department, the process of Performance Appraisal (PA) remains the same. What changes are the measurement criteria or measures of performance.

It appears that you do not have a proper policy on Performance Appraisal (PA) well in place. When employees join the company, during induction itself, they should be informed when their appraisal will take place. The salient features of the policy could be as follows:

a) Appraisal may be done quarterly or half-yearly. An appraisal cycle of one year is too long. Nevertheless, a salary hike may be done on 1st April or 1st October.

b) For employees who join in between, when their first PA will take place can be decided in the policy.

c) The percentage of salary hike should be linked to the score of the PA.

Beyond Individual Performance

The important point is that PA concentrates only on individual performance. We need to go beyond and measure business performance. For this, you need to have a well-designed policy on the Performance Management System (PMS). There was a query in this forum on PMS. I have given a reply to this post. Click the following link to refer to the reply: https://www.citehr.com/511936-pms-company.html. Though the heading is for IT companies, the reply is applicable to all types of industries. In the above link, you will find several other links. Go through all the links patiently. It will improve your awareness of the subject. For further doubts, you may call me on my mobile number.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Dear Deepa, as you requested for a performance evaluation, here are some points to consider:

1. The evaluation can be conducted once an employee completes his/her probation period or as per your company's policy, which may vary, such as quarterly or semi-annually. However, waiting a whole year for an evaluation is too long.

2. The score is determined based on the evaluation results, which can be set by the HR department.

3. Performance appraisal may not vary greatly across departments in my opinion, but it may differ based on the hierarchy, influenced by the Head of Department's concerns.

I hope this information is helpful for you.

Best regards.

Understanding Performance Management Systems (PMS)

Many people, especially young MBA HR graduates, hold misconceptions about various HR activities. One such area is Performance Management Systems (PMS). Please remember, PMS is entirely based on organizational needs. If an organization wants to grow, improve its performance and profitability, and scale its turnover year after year, it should empower senior employees to run each department as a profit center through motivation, training, and other means. Therefore, your PMS should be top-driven, with clear-cut policies, KPIs, KRAs, proper job descriptions, and organizational charts in place. All these elements are interconnected, and the process should be promoted from the top to the bottom-most supervisor in the organization.

Key Result Areas and Key Performance Indicators

For each job role, Key Result Areas (KRAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be identified and understood by the job holder. For senior personnel, their focus areas should include people development and business growth to move the business forward.

Case Study: HR Auditing in Doha

In October last year, my HR colleague and I visited Doha, Qatar, to conduct an HR audit for a leading logistics firm with over 400 employees. Our audit revealed several deficiencies in the organization. For instance, there was no manpower budget, and recruitment was happening haphazardly. We provided the organization with a roadmap, identified champions, and they proposed to launch a Performance Management System from January 1st. From India, we have been monitoring progress, reviewing, and correcting their approach. Next month, we will visit for three weeks to conduct a roadshow and audit other HR aspects to ensure things are on the right track. The first visit focused on transformational activities, and the next will focus on transactional activities. If interested, please contact me. Best wishes.