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Relevance of the performance assessment for companies and employees
- In case of piece work, the performance of an employee is appraised by measuring the generated quantities (number of units) or the elapsed time, in any other case, especially among white-collar employees, by the performance assessment given by the line manager.
- Performance assessment is an important, generally accepted management tool according to the saying "Don't judge people by their ancestry, judge them by their accomplishments." (Perikles, ca 500-429 B.C.). However, the performance assessment has to meet certain quality criteria in order to be acceptable to the assessee.
- The performance assessment includes significant information for the employee:
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- positioning: "knowing how I'm doing"
- interpersonal perception: "knowing how the supervisor assesses me"
- future performance: "knowing where I could perform better"
- development prospect: "knowing where and how I could improve"
Overview of ISPA consulting focuses
Design of the performance assessment system
- assessment criteria: According to which criteria should the performance of an employee over a specific period (e.g. one calendar year) be assessed?
- grade of target achievement (with preceding target agreements)
- traditional list of criteria such as "work quality and quantity", "ability to work under pressure", "accuracy and reliability", etc. according to collective agreement (e.g. collective wage agreement for the metal and electrical industry, sector benchmarks or company-specific criteria selection)
- behaviour- and customer-oriented criteria according to recent research results
- levels of assessment: How many levels of assessment are intended for each criteria and how are they to be defined? There has to be an acceptable proportion between an all-too rough and an extremely subtle differentiation. The precise and doubtless definition of each level of assessment is of high importance.
- criteria weighting: How is each of the assessment criteria to be weight regarding its significance for the company? In case of imbalance, the weighting factors for the specific criteria or, where required, for the agreed goals have to be determined.
Note: Also in sectors with performance assessment regulated by the collective agreement, each company has a discretionary decision about which system of performance assessment is to be used for which target group. In that case, the companies can engage external consulting support, if required.
ISPA consulting focus: execution of a performance assessment
- reviewer training in the run-up to the performance assessment
- core aims: qualification of the reviewers (executives) regarding the appropriate handling of the performance assessment system and the professional interviewing during the assessment discussion with the employee
- practical-organisational preparation of the assessment discussion (date, duration, location, etc.)
- discussion preparation of the reviewer and the reviewee, by the use of a guideline for the response to standard questions, if required, e.g.
- Who is the responsible reviewer?
- What is the aim of the assessment discussion, for which purposes and follow-up action are the assessment results to be used?
- Which documents and forms should be available at the beginning of the discussion and how should they be designed?
- How can the course of discussion be reasonably structured in order to be of use to both parties?
- Which results are expected, how should they be documented, who is to be informed about them and when?
- What happens if the reviewee objects and does not accept the supervisor's assessment?
- decision, whether and how the assessment discussion should be connected with other important appraisal interviews (e.g. objectives, individual development measures, bonus provision) or whether separate meetings should be arranged
Follow-up action
- individual bonus provision depending on the results of the performance assessment considering the regulations of the collective agreement (e.g. the collective wage agreements of the metal and electrical industry)
- conjunction of the performance assessment with individual personnel development
Target agreements
- agreement on goals for the following assessment period directly subsequent to the assessment discussion or in a separate target agreement discussion between the supervisor and the employee
- elaboration of binding rules for target agreement discussions analogue to the assessment discussion
- preparation/training of the concerned persons for the target agreement discussion
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