Why Do Some Managers Hate Performance Evaluation?
Introduction
Performance evaluation is a process of determining the actions and outcomes of an individual in an organization. It is employed to determine the employee who needs training, promotion, demotion and retention.
Many managers dislike the entire process of performance evaluation. Managers anticipate with great apprehension and fear the day of performance evaluation more than the employees. They have a feeling that no benefit will be achieved from the time and energy spent in evaluation process (Aguinis, 2011). There are several reasons why managers hate performance evaluation.
Managers do not know their employees
Most managers do not know their employees and they rely on others to monitor and know the performance of their juniors in the organization. An effective performance evaluation should be face-to-face sit down in order to formulate strategies on how to improve the efficiency at work place. Contrary, most managers are given specified and standardized formats regarding what they are required to ask and the strategies they should use to improve employee’s performance. Standardized process always assumes that all employees are the same. Additionally, most managersare notwell trained specifically on the performance evaluation.
Time consuming
Managers anticipate performance evaluation with apprehension due to the fact that they feel it is time consuming. According to Lawrence , managers dread performance appraisal due to the fact that they are given the sole purpose of collecting all the information required to carry out a performance evaluation and they need to figure out how to rate each and every employee( Lawrence, 2011). The process takes too much of their time. Lack of interest regarding performance evaluation by the managers affects the employees since it is formalized to get the required information necessary for filling forms.
It creates an atmosphere of high anxiety and stress
Organizations perform appraisals with no coaching session. Junior managers walk in and out of the meetings with no idea regarding their performance. They do not receive feedback from their seniors and therefore, being in the unknown makes the senior managers and other employees. They feel demoralized as they rate their friends and close relatives working in the same organization. According to research, performance evaluation gives direction to the employees through guidance by the managers (Bauer, 2009).Performance management should be a way of identifying employees’ rates of performance and developing strategies of improving employees’ performance in the organization. There is no research finding establishing the predictive validity and reliability of performance evaluation measures, tools and approaches toward the employees rating in an organization. Therefore, it’s important for managers to know their employees well and have more information on their performance.
Managers dislike face-to-face confrontation of appraisal interview.
Most managers will tend to distant themselves from performing a one-on-one appraisal and evaluation confrontations with the employees. However, most managers delegate the role to human resource department. Successful manager needs skill and talent in order to relate well with employees during evaluation interviews. Managers require several traits to enhance their performance evaluation process in the organization. They include:
Leadership. This is one crucial attribute that most managers lack. A true leader always inspires trust and provides direction. Successful managers take the employees he manages and make them better through performance evaluation results.
Communication skills. Successful managers require exhibiting strong communication skills so that employees can understand what they tell them. Communication of appraisal feedback is a channel to improve the employees’ ratings. Lastly, successful mangers in an organization show adaptability, building relationship and developing other people.
Managers are not adept in rating employees
Most company and organization managers lack the required skill to conduct a performance appraisal. They are trained in management profession and therefore, they are not effective in rating employees as per their actual performance. Since they lack the required skill, they free themselves from conducting the activity.
In developing a successful performance evaluation process, mangers requires to execute the following element. (1) Clear appraisal process and consistency. Managers need to implement a consistent method of reviewing employee performance. This could mean having regular short term intervals. (2) Training people. Managers should inform employees the reason for the evaluation and the roles they play during the process. Managers can give review forms of earlier appraisal to employees. (3) Objective standard. Performance standard should the same for all levels of employees. (4) Follow up. It’s imperative for managers to do what they say. Managers should schedule appointments for following up the employees’ performance.
Developing an effective appraisal form and program enhances performance standards. The criterion of development of performance standards is inclusive of strategic relevance whereby individual standards directly relate to organization goals, reliability and reduced criterion contamination where by performance of an employee in one department is not reduced by external factors. For example, an employee in human resource department should not be better than an employee is sale department.
Conclusion
Managers seem to hate performance evaluation. They assume that it’s done once and there is no follow up thus it’s time and resource wastage. Successful management requires designing an effective appraisal program through performance standards and calibration. Managers conducting appraisal must be observant of the behavior they are rating.
References
Aguinis, H., Joo, H. & Gottfredson, R. K. (2011). Why we hate performance management— And why we should love it. Business Horizons, 54(6), 503-507.
Carpenter, M. A., Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (2009). Principles of management. Washington, DC: Flat World Knowledge.