Employee Assessment, Appraisal and Counselling, Essay Example

Work Performance

One of the main roles that managers perform is managing the performance of an employee.  The role is as important as managing organization finances or program outcome. It is because the degree of employees performance affects the both the financial and programmatic components of any company.  A typical employee performance assessment is designed to document the expectation for organization and individuals as well as provide a meaningful process by which employees are rewarded for their exemplary performance. Moreover, an employee performance assessment provides directions to improve the organization success at all levels. According to successful, assess the performance of employee’s managers need first to identify and communicate the organizational goals that need to be accomplished. Secondly, they need to monitor and evaluate the performance. Third, the manager should use the performances results to determine the appropriate personnel actions that may include rewarding the good performance and taking remedial actions against the underperformance. Admittedly, assessing and managing employee performance is not a simple undertaking. It involves a great deal of continuous and complex processes.  Nonetheless, if it is correctly done, it has a potential of enhancing operation, encourage professional development, reward the high performance and provide an employee with recommendations for improvement. Most importantly, it has the potential of increasing the productivity of a company. This report highlights some of the factors involved in employee performance monitoring and appraisal.

The process of employee performance management includes five crucial components. That is planning, monitoring, developing, assessing and rewarding. Each of these five components has its subcomponent attained that must be properly carried for a successful performance assessment to be attained.

Planning is the first step of any performance management process.  During this step managers or supervisors set goals and standard that guides employees toward achieving the-the bigger organization goals. It is essential that manager engage the employee in the planning process. An engaging employee at this stage let them realize that they will be evaluated based on pre-set standards. It helps the employee understand the organizational goals, what they need to do, why they need to do it and how it needs to be done. In other words, they realize what is expected of them.  At the end of this step managers or supervisor, produce a performance plan. One important thing that managers should ensure is that the employee performance expectations are simple, measurable, verifiable, equitable and achievable. Also, managers should ensure that the expectations are flexible.

The second element of an effective employee performance management process is monitoring. Monitoring is a continuous process that requires managers to monitor the organizational assignment and projects. The process involves measuring the employees performance and providing them with feedback on their progress toward achieving the main goal. This is the stage where managers carry out informal progress review with the employee to compare their performance against set goals.  The benefit of the state is that it provides early feedback to an employee as well as show progress. It is during this stage that unrealistic expectation is reviewed. Monitoring the performance will enable the managers to identify areas of weakness and address them early.

The third element of the employee performance management is known as developing. This stage is concerned with developmental needs of workers. The main objective of the developing element is to raise performance level through training, providing additional task or providing a higher level of responsibilities. The main benefit of providing training to employees is that it strengthens skill and competence and thus improves performance and productivity. Besides, this element enables an employee to keep up with workplace changes such as new technology.

The fourth employee performance element is known as assessing. This element requires the manager to appraise the employee performance. Staff appraisals are normally face-to-face discussions between an employee and their supervisor. The appraisal is normally initiated by the manager and is done on pre-set dates, preferably once per year.  Some of the guidelines for staff appraisal include, it should be carried out within working hours,  it should be confidential among many others. The key outcome of an employee appraisal procedure the overall rating that is must be included in the lower section. The supervisor does the rating or the assessing manager based on set guidelines.  Employee performance appraisal enables the supervisor to compare the performance of an employee’s overtime as well as compare it with the performance of other employees in the team. Through assessing, the supervisor can determine those employees that performed exemplary well and those who underperformed.   According to Hunt, (164) an organization should have a clear method for addressing underperformance. Failure to do this negatively affects the performance of the whole organization. It is because, if underperformer is not punished the employees who perfume well are likely to lose morale since they are faced to carry the burden of their underperforming colleagues.  To reduce the cases of underperformance managers should exercise effective leadership, set and clearly communicate performance expectations, monitor performance effectively encourage teamwork among many others.

The incidences of underperforming in an organization can be reduced by following the following simple steps. The first step involves identifying, assessing and analyzing the underlying the problem that make the employee underperform.  Secondly, the supervisor should meet and discuss the problem with an underperforming employee. Thirdly, the supervisor and the employee should jointly device solutions to the problem. Fourthly, the supervisor should then closely monitor the performance of the employee. If they fail to improve, then more serious action such as suspension or termination of employment should be considered.  However, it is worth noting that employers cannot terminate the employment of their employee in circumstances that are harsh, or inconsiderate. Instead, Employees should clearly give employee reasons for dismissal and accord them time to respond to those claims. Thus, in such circumstance it is important that the employer follow the set dismissal codes of conduct.

Finally, the last step of employee performance management process is known as rewarding. Rewarding is the stage where individual and team performance are recognized and preferably rewarded.  However, it is worth noting that just like monitoring recognition and acknowledgment is an ongoing process between the supervisors and the employees.

Task two

Employee Performance Development Plan

As we have seen above, Carrying out employee performance management provide managers with an excellent opportunity of supervising their employees and providing development needs. The process provides an opportunity for managers or supervisor to understand their employees’ strengths and weaknesses. For instance, it is during the planning and monitoring process that the shortcoming of employees becomes apparent and thus can be addressed. In other words, areas that need improvement stand out and action to encourage good performers to continue perfuming even better are taken. It is crucial that an organization have an elaborate plan of how to assist the underperformances. Otherwise, an organization risk discouraging good performers by making them carry the burden of underperformers (Hunt, 124).

Once the underperformers are identified, the manager should formulate a detailed plan aimed at improving their performance. Such plan is known as employee development plan. The plan is designed first to identify areas of weakness or areas of growth for workers in their current position as well as for preparation for the future roles. An effective development plan begins by identifying the areas where a particular employee needs development; then it should devise action plans to follow. It is followed by monitoring and providing regular feedback through the year. The supervisor should update the progress of an underperforming employee on a regular basis preferably after three months. The completion of the development goals may be one year or several years depending on the nature of the goals (Edwards, Mark and Ann 356).

Some of the key skill that are essential for the development of employees performance, and which managers should possess include leadership skills. In addition, managers need to know the best style of communicating to their employees. For effectively communicate, managers need to they should know how employees learn. A person learning style affects the way they represent experiences, recalling formation and the word they choose.  Understanding their learning style can thus enable the manager to know how they can effectively teach them.

In this regard, the manager understanding of Aayat learning style is essential. From the assessment, her learning style can be identified as auditory. It is because; she retains information through hearing and speaking in most of the cases. When she is told what to do, she prefers summarizing the main points and repeats them loud for memorization. Additionally, she reads loudly when she wants to comprehend a chapter in a textbook. Furthermore, Aayat dislikes noisy environment however, she can concentrate especially with soft music playing in the background.  Understanding this information is crucial. As her supervisor it means that when discussing the problem with her she need to be in an environment where she can effectively learn well.

The Plan to Develop Aayat Performance

The first step involves identifying the underlying problem that causes underperformances. Aayat is quite unethical when dealing with her colleagues; her judgment is based on her feeling rather than on her knowledge of the company procedure. Besides, she is not a team player because she hides information when required to share it with her teammates and is often in conflict with other employees. Some of the possible cause of the above problem may include negative attitude, failure to understand the value of work being undertaken, work environment and personal issues have disillusion her.

To improve the performance of Ayat, the following step will be followed.

Prepare a face-to-face meeting with her in a confidential location.  Before the meeting the supervisor will have consulted with all other relevant authorities, carried through research and developed a plan for action.

During the meeting, the supervisor will describe in detail instance when Aayat violated the policy. It will include examples when she had a conflict with others, withheld important information to team members and an example when she was unethical to her colleagues.

Step 3: The supervisor will discuss the consequence of her failure adhere to the organization guidelines. At this stage, the supervisor will let her understand and accepts her mistakes.

Step 4: involves the development plan to improve the behavior. In this step, both Aayat and the supervisor should agree and documentation the impacts of the policy violation and the consequences.

Step5: Both Maya and the supervisor will set clear, reasonable and measurable standards for the employee to comply with in future. For instance, the supervisor will explain to her that in future, in case they have a conflict with any employee, she must call or notify the supervisor immediately and let him solve the case.  She will be warned that cases of similar violation of the organization policy will result in actions being taken against her including termination of her employment. Furthermore, it will be agreed that the standard of her performance is not to have more than three conflicts with other employees per month.

In addition, it will be agreed that Aayat needs to enroll in training to remind her of the company procedure. The training should be completed within 90 days. The company will pay tuition fees for the course.

Step 6: evaluation of the employee progress on regular basis

It is a very critical step. The supervisor should regularly meet the Aaya to provide feedback on the progress. Providing feedback gives the employee an opportunity to reinforce the good performance and in case the performance has not improved, it is an opportunity to continue correcting the performance. In a case, it is preferable that the communication between Aayat and her supervisor be maintained. Periodic and scheduled meeting to review the progress will be planned. Additionally, Aayat performance will be reviewed after every two months for the next one year. Moreover, Aayat will be warned of the consequences of the repeated violation of the organization policy and procedures.

The last step involves ensuring that the Aayat accept the stipulated action plan. At this step, the employee is required to acknowledge that she will follow the action plan that they have set.  The supervisor will require the employee to verbalize what has been covered and what the plan action will be in future.  Most importantly, Aayat will be required to sign the document if she agrees.

Task three

Evaluation of the success of assessment process

Employee’s performance evaluation is a process of assessing the productivity of workers. The process is conducted based on criteria that are in line with a company’s goals and objectives.  Typically an employee performance evaluation assesses various attributes that employees possess including their strengths, weaknesses and areas for potential improvement in future (Edwards, Mark and Ann 356).

The management of workforce plays a vital role in the success of any company. An effective performance appraisal educates the employee on the organizational goals and it a legal obligation. Carrying out a successful performance appraisal has potential of increasing employee effectiveness and performance, foster trust and enhances effective communication among employees. Additionally an effective performance appraisal encourages effective goal setting and assessment of the need for training among employees. On the other hand, ineffective performance evaluation has adversely affected the performance of an organization. In fact conducting an ineffective performance evaluation creates high turnovers as well as reduces the productivity of the workers (Cook, 678).

To effectively perform, employees appraisal, human resource manager need to collect detailed data about their employees. Some of the method that human resource managers use to collect detailed data includes objective production, judgmental evaluation, and personnel.  Each of this method has its strength and weakness. For stance, objective production method used direct data such as sale figures to evaluate the performance of employees. However, the method’s only drawbacks of the method are that variation of performance can be due to factors beyond the control of an employee.  Again, according to Employee Assessment, Appraisal, and Counselling, (12) judgmental evaluation focuses on the benchmarks to promote constructive criticism using tools such as behavior checklist scale or employee comparison methods. Moreover, human resource managers use self-assessment and peer basement to paint the clearer picture of an employee’s performances.

In conclusion, human resource managers need detailed information about their employees as possible. Therefore, the method of data collection can determine the success or failure of a performance appraisal. An effective performance appraisal is thus the one that relies on a different method to collect information.

Work cited

Employee Assessment, Appraisal and Counselling. North Ryde, N.S.W: CCH Australia Ltd, 2008. Print.

Edwards, Mark R, and Ann J. Ewen. 360° Feedback: The Powerful New Model for Employee Assessment & Performance Improvement. New York: AMACOM, 2006. Internet resource.

Hunt, Steven T. Hiring Success: The Art and Science of Staffing Assessment and Employee Selection. San Francisco: Wiley, 2007. Internet resource.

Cook, Mary F. The Ama Handbook for Employee Recruitment and Retention. New York: American Management Association, 2012. Internet resource.