360 degree of Performance Appraisal

360 degree feedback appraisal system, an employee is appraised by this supervisors, subordinates, peers and customers with whom s/he interacts in the course of his performance. All these appraisers provide information or feedback on an employee by completing survey questionnaires designed for this purpose. All information so gathered is then compiled through the computerized system to

prepare individual reports. These reports are presented to the employees being rates. Then they meet the appraiser superior, subordinates or peers and those the information they feel as pertinent and useful for developing a self-improvement plan.
 

The major human issues involved in performance appraisal are as follows:

1. Central Tendency: This occurs when the rater marks to all or an average and fails to discriminate between efficient and in inefficient persons. The raters may also cause the judgmental biasness. Awarding high rating to all people whom the rater likes and low rating whom they dislikes.
2. Leniency or Strictness: Some of the supervisors have a tendency to be easy rater and other have a tendency to be harsh in their rating. Easy rater assign consistency high values or score to their subordinates and harsh raters give consistency low rating. Both of these trends can arise from standards and perception of supervisor.
3. Halo Effect: Another human issue in performance appraisal leading to judgmental bias is “halo effect”. It occurs when the rater allows one aspect of a man’s character or performance to influence his/her entire evaluation.
4. Faulty managerial assumption: Employee performance appraisal also differs from faulty managerial assumption. That managers with to appraise their subordinates based on once set criteria. They don’t want to change an appraisal system time to time.

Taking the following measures can help to minimize the impact of appraisal problem and, in turn, make performance appraisal more effective.

1. Standard appraisal scheme: It is also known as “result-oriented schemes”. This is based on Management by Objectives (MBO) philosophy by Peter F. Drucker. According to this approach, the superior and subordinates each individuals major areas of responsibility in terms of result expected by him/her and thus becomes an active agent in the evaluation process. Finally, it enhances communication and co-ordination between superior and subordinates.
2. Performance review: The basic purpose of performance review is to analyze a job done by employee himself/herself. It enhances an employee for developing his a strength seriously and carefully handled counseling session can enable the employee to know where s/he stands, what s/he is expected to do, and what further improvement they should take.
3. Multiple appraisals: Most of the methods of performance appraisal is suffer from the problem of subjectivity. One best way to minimize this problem is to use multiple evaluation rather than single evaluation. Multiple appraisal include appraisal of the same employee by superiors, peers, subordinates and employee himself. In a sense, multiple approaches seem like 360 degrees feedback method of performance appraisal.
4. Trained appraisers: No one is born with the ability to appraise other performance accurately. Experience itself also does not prepare one to conduct performance appraisal. Rather, formal training is the most effective way to prepare managers and supervisors to conduct successful employee appraisal. Topics normally included in appraisal training are:
1. How to avoid problems like halo, bias, central tendency and so on?
2. How to conduct non-discrimination appraisers?
3. How to conduct effective appraisal interview?