Performance Appraisal

Applicable to Nursing
Administration
Bivin Jose
Department of Psychiatric Nursing
MB CN, Kothamangalam

Introduction
An important function of the managerial
staffing
Performance appraisal (PA)= staff
evaluation
It was first used during the first world war
History roots in the 20th century
It is the process of determining how the
nurse employees are performing/degrees
of performance standards

Definitions

Continues

Objectives of PA
1. To determine job competence
2. To select qualified individuals for promotion or
transfer
3. To establish and improve
Communication between supervisors and
subordinates
Staff performance
4. To determine
Training and developmental needs of staff
Salary standards and to award merit

Continues
5. To discover the aspirations and talents of
staff
6. To check the efficacy of staff development
programmes
7. To identify unsatisfactory staff for demotion
or termination
8. To aid the manager in coaching and
counselling
9. To provide feedback to enhance staff
development and motivate personnel
towards heights of achievement

Continues..
10.To identify and remove distracters,
dissatisfies and obstacles as well as
ineffective behaviours
11.To identify areas of growth for employees
and organizations
12.To serve as a check on hiring and recruiting
practices and as validation of employment
tests
13.To provide the staff with recognition for
achievement

Main Purposes of PE
Individual Rewards (Base and Incentive)
Feedback for Sub-Ordinate (Plus and
Minus)
Recognition of Superior Performance
Documentation of Weak Performance
Personnel Decision-Making
Future Goal Commitments (Planned
Achievements)

Reasons for /importance

of PA

Compensation "Pay for Performance"

Job Performance Improvements
Feedback to Subordinates
Documentation for Decisions
Goal Setting - Later Evaluation
Promotion Decisions
Identify Training Needs
HR Planning

Principles of PA
(General)
Objectives & results of appraisal should be
identified/known to all parties
The appraisal process & tools are developed
with input from all levels of employees
affected by job responsibilities
The supervisor has received education &
training in the use of appraisal process &
tool
The appraisal process is valued by
organization
The appraisal process occurs consistently

Principles of PA
(Nursing)
Assess performance in relation to
behaviourally stated work goals.
Observe a representative sample of
employees total work activities.
Compare supervisors evaluation with
employees self-evaluation

Continues
Cite specific examples of satisfactory
and unsatisfactory performance
Indicate which job areas have highest
priority for improvements
Purpose of evaluation is to improve work
performance and job satisfaction
Evaluation interview should be
scheduled in proper time & environment

Who Performs the

Appraisal?

Immediate Supervisor
Higher Management
Self-Appraisals
Peers (Co-Workers)
Evaluation Teams
Customers
360 Appraisals

The 360 Appraisal

Interview
Supervisor
Other
Superiors

Peers

Other
Superiors
Individual
Staf

Customers

Self-Assessment

Teams

Teams

Sub-

Characteristics of a good
PA
Based on the philosophy, purpose and
objectives of the organisation
Job description are written in such a
manner that standards of job performance
can be identified for each job
The appraisal tool used is suited to the
purposes for which it will be utilized and is
accompanied by clear instructions for its
use

Continues
Evaluators are trained
in the use of tool
Plans for policing the
appraisal has the full
support of top
management
Performance appraisal
is considered to be fair
and productive by all
who participate in it

A good PA is

Supported by the Administrative setup

Related to job description
stated the criteria of evaluation clearly
Applies procedures of appraisal
consistently
Performed by the person who is
trained/experienced with

Process of PA

Areas of appraisal
Performance quality: Quantity and
quality of work, neatness, orderliness,
reliability, accuracy, knowledge of work
execution etc..
Mental abilities: The ability to learn,
adaptability, reasoning power,
judgement, memory etc
Supervisory qualities: leadership
and organizational ability,
communication skill, cooperation etc.

Continues..
Personal qualities: honesty, selfcontrol, self-confidence, initiative,
attitude towards others, team work,
appearance etc...
Capacity for further
development: Intelligence,
acceptance of responsibility and
other features, inherent in leadership.

Tools & Techniques of

Performance Appraisal

Narrative/Essay
technique
Free form review
Writes a paragraph outlining an
employees strengths, weaknesses,
and potential.
Write a Behavioral Statement
Strengths versus Weaknesses
Describe Selected Traits
Evaluate Performance

Advantages &
Disadvantages
Provide an indepth review of
an employees
performance
Identify problem
areas and areas
on which to
focus on further
development

Time consuming
Length and content
vary
Depends on
evaluators ability
to write
Narrative
evaluations are
difficult to compare

Rating scale
Set of behaviours or characteristics to
be rated on a scale of measurement
Types: Numerical rating scale, lettered
rating scale, graphic rating scale,
descriptive graphic rating scale
Trait rating scales: Rating a person
against a set standard, which may be
the job description, desired behaviours
or personal traits

Job dimension scale

Rating scale for each
job classification
Rating factors are
taken from context of
written job description
Mainly focus on job
requirements

Behaviorally Anchored
Rating Scale (BARS)
A behavioral approach
to performance
appraisal
Consists of a series of
vertical scales, one for
each important
dimension of job
performance.

Advantages &
Disadvantages
Reduce the amount
of personal
judgement needed
by the rater
Focuses on specific
behaviours and
allows employees to
know exactly what
is expected of them
Reduces rating error
Many scales can be
purchased

Time consuming
and expensive
Applicable only to
physically
observable skills
not to conceptual
skills
Separate BARS are
needed for each job

Example of BARS

Graphic Rating-Scale
Method
Performance appraisal
whereby each employee is
rated according to a scale of
pre-defined characteristics
that are job performance
related

Behavior observation
scales
It also uses critical incidents of worker
behaviour.
Evaluator lists a number of critical
incidents for each performance
dimension and rates the extend to
which the behaviour has been observed
A five point scale ranging from almost
never to almost always used.

Forced-Choice Method
A trait approach to performance
appraisal
Requires the rater to choose from
statements designed to distinguish
between successful and unsuccessful
performance

Checklists
A series of descriptive statement in
behavioural terms about the
standard of nursing performance of
the job expected of the individual
nurse
Supervisor has to check individuals
behaviour against a set criteria

Simple checklist
Composed of numerous words or
phrases describing various employee
behaviours or traits.
These descriptions are often clustered
to represent different aspects of one
dimension of behaviour such as
assertiveness or inter personal skills.
The rater is asked to check all those
that describe the employee on each
checklist.

Supervisor Appraisal
Performance
appraisal done by
an employees
manager and often
reviewed by a
manager one level
higher.

Self-Appraisal
Performance appraisal done by the
employee being evaluated, generally
on an appraisal form completed by
the employee prior to the
performance review.

Advantages &
Disadvantages
Promotes dignity and
self respect
Introspection and self
awareness result in
growth of person
Employees look
forward to their annual
performance review in
an anticipation of
positive feedback
Promotes acceptance
of plans for
improvement

May rate self low to

prevent disagreement
with the boss
May evaluate self high to
influence the manager
May undervalue own
achievements
May feel uncomfortable
giving self high ratings
Even mature personnel
require external feedback
and performance
validation

Subordinate Appraisal
Performance appraisal of a superior
by an employee, which is more
appropriate for developmental than
for administrative purposes

Peer Appraisal
Performance appraisal done by ones
fellow employees, generally on forms
that are complied into a single profile
for use in the performance interview
conducted by the employees
manager

Team Appraisal
Performance appraisal, based on
TQM concepts, that recognizes team
accomplishment rather than
individual performance.

Field review method

Allows the ratings of several
supervisors to be completed for the
same employee
A small group of raters is identified for
each supervisory unit and each rates
an employee
A member of the administrative staff
then meets with the raters and
identifies areas of agreement

Critical incident
technique
Supervisor observe, collect and
record specific instances of the
employee carrying out
responsibilities critical to the job.
These observations are used to
prepare the evaluation.
Usually associated to healthcare
related performance appraisal

Management by Objectives
(Peter Drucker)
Integrates performance and goal
setting
Frequent intervals
Record maintenance
Objective review jointly
Mutual buy-in

Advantages of MBO
Employees Can Measure
Performance
Quantifiable Goals
Joint Effort
Employee Satisfaction in
Participation

Disadvantages of MBO
Success Not Validates by Research
Studies
Easy to Set Unrealistic Goals
Hard to Get Full Commitment to
Process
Difficult to Define Some Goals

Appraisal Interviews
Schedule the interview 10 to 14 days in
advance.
Provide subordinates with a guide to
follow in planning for the interview.
Consider which of the following
approaches to use:
Tell-and-sell method
Tell-and-listen method
Problem-solving method (generally
preferable)

Tell-and-Sell Interviews

Supervisor persuades employee to

change in a prescribed way.
Employees sees how changed
behavior will be of great benefit

Tell-and-Listen
Interviews

Supervisor covers
strengths/weaknesses for first half
Solicits employees feelings about
comments
Deal with disagreement, nondefensively
Negotiate future concrete
objectives

The Problem Solving

Interview

Discuss strengths &weaknesses since last

review
Explore feelings of sub-ordinate
Listening, accepting &responding are essential
Stimulate growth (performance) job
Discuss problems, needs, innovations,
satisfactions & dissatisfactions since last
review
Listen & respond with goal of helping person &
productivity.

Problems in
Performance Appraisal

General Errors in PA

Popularity Contest
Punitive Implications
Control Relinquishment
Stereotypes
Poor Training of Raters

Rating Errors Issues

Error of Central Tendency
Performance-rating error in which all
employees are rated about average

Leniency or Strictness Error

Performance-rating error in which the
appraiser tends to give employees
either unusually high or unusually low
ratings

Continues..
Recency Error
Performance-rating error in which
the appraisal is based largely on
the employees most recent
behavior rather than on behavior
throughout the appraisal period.

Continues..
Similar-To-Me Error
Performance-rating error in which
an appraiser inflates the evaluation
of an employee because of a
mutual personal connection.

Obstacles to efective PA
Lack of support from the management
Evaluate biases and rating errors ,which
result in unreliable and invalid ratings
Lack of clear & objective standards of
performance
Failure to communicate purposes and
result of performance appraisal to
employees
Lack of suitable appraisal tool
Failure to practice the appraisal
procedure effectively

Continues..
Resistance on the part of evaluators
because;
Demands too much of supervisors effort
in terms of time, paper work & periodic
observation of subordinates performance
Supervisors are reluctant to play God by
judging others
Purpose & procedures of performance
appraisal is not known
Lack skill in appraisal techniques

Overcoming these
obstacles
Appraisal should be based on standards
Employee must know the standards in
advance
Employee must know the sources of data
gathered for appraisal
Employee should have input in to
development of standards
Appraiser should be someone who has
observed employees work
Appraiser should be someone who the
employ trust and respects

References
1. Jogindra Vati (2013). Principles & practice of
nursing management and administration, I
ed., New Delhi, Jaypee Brothers Medical
publishes (P) Ltd. Chapter 42
2. Sullivan EJ & Decker JP (2010). Effective
leadership & management in nursing 6th
ed., Newjersy, Pearson Prentice Hall. 278284
3. Deepak K, Chandran S & Kumar M (2013), A
comprehensive textbook on nursing
management, I ed., Bangalore, Emmess
Medical Publishers. 473-489