Performance Evaluation Interview Questions And Answers

The performance appraisal process is construed as a function of 3 interacting systems: organizational context, the appraiser's information processing system, and the behavioral system of the appraisee. It is argued that aspects of each system constrain the ability of the appraisal process to produce accurate, unbiased, and reliable assessment of individual behavior and performance.

The following characteristics of the appraisal process are discussed:
1) Observation, reward opportunities, and systemic issues such as function and expectations within the context of the organization.
2) The appraiser's automatic attention processes, categorization and memory, and information search and recall.
3) Appraisee's automatic and controlled modes of behavior.

The intention to find an optimal way of employee performance appraisal led to the development of a number of methods. Methods differ in terms of their laboriousness, time demands, costs and usability, e.g. for the purposes of reward of employees subject to the appraisal. A significant criterion for the distinction of methods and their suitability for specific situations is time or whether the method is aimed at the evaluating of work already carried out or the identification of future results.

Three groups of methods may be distinguished according to the time horizon:
☛ Methods focusing on the past that are targeted at past events.
☛ Methods focusing on the present state that evaluate the current situation.
☛ Methods focusing on the future that are oriented towards future forecasts.

Foreign specialists offer more types of method classification. Their classification is as follows:
☛ Traditional and modern methods.
☛ Objective methods or performance-oriented methods and judgmental methods.
☛ Scaling methods, narrative methods.
☛ Comparative, rating, narrative and behavioral methods.

The main purposes of employee assessment are as follows:
☛ Identify employees who are eligible for salary increase.
☛ Generate data to take personnel decisions such as promotion, transfer and lay-off or termination decision.
☛ Determine the training and development needs of the employees.
☛ Validate the selection process.
☛ To measure whether standards laid down has been achieved by the employees or not.
☛ Estimate the future requirement of work force.
☛ Helps to recognize potential of promising employees.
☛ Performance appraisal also helps in motivating employees by providing feed back about their level of performance.

Methods of performance appraisal:
☛ Narratives:
Critical Incidents
☛ Ranking Comparisons:
Ranking Method And Paired comparisons
☛ Checklists:
Simple-Weighted
☛ Rating Scales:
Graphic Rating Scales-behaviorally And Anchored Rating Scales(BARS)
☛ Objective Measures:
Goal Setting Standards
☛ 360-degree feedback

They provide an opportunity for supervisors to describe aspects of performance not thoroughly covered by an appraisal questionnaire.

The disadvantage of this method is the impossibility of result alteration. Employee performance appraisal oriented towards the future focuses on future performance.

A performance appraisal in which the supervisor keeps a record of incidents that show positive and negative ways the employee has acted; the supervisor uses this record to assess the employee's performance.

Sometimes the supervisor must write a description of the employee's performance. The essay appraisal is often used along with other types of appraisals, notably graphic rating scales.

To conduct a critical-incident appraisal, the supervisor keeps a written record of incidents that show positive and negative ways in which the employee has acted.

Example:
If there are ten employees the Best employee is given the first rank and the worst employee in the group is given the tenth rank.

It is the oldest and simplest method of performance appraisal. In this method the employee is ranked from the highest to the lowest or from best to the worst.

The main purpose of this method is to reduce the evaluator's burden of rating the employee. In this method a dichotomous questionnaire (A question with two answer choices namely `Yes' or `No') is used. A rater is required to put a tick mark against the respective column.

Methods focusing on the past have the advantage of dealing with work already done and are therefore relatively measurable.

The disadvantage of this method is that their quality depends on the supervisor's writing skills.

Ranking appraisal method is difficult to adopt, in case of evaluating large number of employees.

A performance appraisal that measures the relative performance of employees in a group. This is a method of performance evaluation that results in a rank ordering of employees to come up with a best employee. This type of approach measures the relative performance of employees in a group.

Checklist appraisal method's questionnaire is prepared and scored by the HR department. The main disadvantage of checklist appraisal method is the rater is not given the flexibility to add or delete the statements.

A performance appraisal that rates the degree to which the employee has achieved various characteristics. The graphic rating scale is the most common type of appraisal used.

Various characteristics such as job knowledge or punctuality are rated by the degree of achievement. The rate usually receives a score of 1 to 5, with 5 representing excellent performance.

In this method the employee's behavior and performance dimensions are analyzed and used for evaluating the performance of the employee. The HR department is involved in the process of preparing the BARS. Based on the Employee's performance and behavior, employees are anchored in different slots of good, average and poor. The rater is required to give corresponding ratings to the employee.

Philosophy of management that rates performance on the basis of employee achievement of goals set by mutual agreement of employee and manager. The appraisal is based on whether or not the employee has met his or her objectives.

360 degree feedback is effective for career coaching and identifying strengths and weaknesses.