How to Conduct a Performance Appraisal: Step-by-step Method. Under the Competency Model

By Sebastián Navarro R.

"How to Conduct a Performance Appraisal: Step-by-Step Method Under the Competency Model", will teach and guide you with concrete steps, the complete process of designing, implementing, and qualifying the performance evaluation of an organization.
If you are from the Human Resources area or simply work with Human Capital, it has probably happened to you like many, that you have studied, looked for books, and even enrolled in courses on some subject, but after finishing them you still have the question of how what you have learned is put into practice. And even worse is the feeling when you are forced to implement it and do not know how to do it, or how to improve what already exists. Perhaps many times you asked yourself anxiously, "How the hell do I do it?" This book will give you concrete guidelines, step by step, action by action, that will guide you in the complete management of a project to improve the performance of people and organizations. Not theoretical terms, but purely practical ones.
For the same reason, it is rather a tutorial or manual to develop this complex process. In this way, this book will allow you to:
- Generate the design and planning of the process.
- Know which formats to use.
- Know the optimal order of implementation of certain actions.
- Understand how and with whom to work.
- Know how to train, who, and in what.
- Understand what times to consider.
- Know what skills or profiles to use.
- Improve or change what already exists.
- Choose which associated consequences to implement.
- Know ways to overcome common difficulties.
- And so on.
You will have access to real implementation steps that implicitly synthesize the teachings of Dave Ulrich on how to generate value from people management (with result indicators or KPIs), change methodologies by Jhonn P. Kotter, the Competency management system promoted by Martha Alles, the Human Resources structures proposed by Idalberto Chiavenato,  among other authors. All systematized ensure a better result since the proposed methodology harmoniously complements their positions and techniques. Again, not explained in conceptual terms, but exemplified with application exercises that you can extrapolate to the reality of your organization.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Mar 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9789564145181

Book preview

Step 1: Define the Planning and Implementation Team

One of the first considerations you should take into account when carrying out an important project is the need to define a team that will lead this process. Or at least, to clarify the responsibilities of the different people involved.

There is a step that could be even before, or just after the team definition, which relates to the organization's job profiles.

I suggest you check if these profiles are well elaborated according to the Competency Model; at least the qualitative assessment, as you will see, is based on this model.

If the profiles are well developed, as summarized in Steps 6 and 7, you can continue with peace of mind. If not, or if doubts arise, evaluate whether you need to develop them well beforehand, or if you decide to work with the ones the organization already has, to adapt them later.

At the web address on the cover of the book, check the status of other guides such as this e-book on How to Design and Build Job Profiles, so you can be sure if your profiles have what you need to move forward in the process.

Action 1.- Plan and generate an initial meeting with the main promoter or mobilizer of the process.

Chances are that someone has asked you to develop the Performance Appraisal; if so, the first thing you should do is meet with that person. This may be a manager or even the CEO, or another figure who assumes the leadership of the organization.

Request a meeting with one or both of them (ideally the top management should be present). In this meeting, they will make clear - explicitly - the following:

Performance Appraisal Objectives.

It may seem obvious, but it is not always the case; for example, it may be the case that you want to implement the assessment for terminations.

According to your position within the organization, evaluate whether it is prudent to change the focus of the process concerning the objectives of the process.

The objectives for the implementation of the Assessment are very relevant since they allow us to know where to place the emphasis, and even whether to accelerate or prioritize some processes over others.

Some reasons for this may be: to boost performance, to fire people, to train in a more objective way (with a well-implemented process for choosing courses and not only the perception of the management), to retake a forgotten process that has generated a bad environment in the organization, etc. There can be several at the same time and -as I mentioned before- knowing them will allow you to prioritize.

These objectives can be reformulated after Step 2 when reviewing the organization's strategy.

From this point on, you should prospect what you will consider a successful implementation. Some examples might be:

Increased productivity.

Increase in profits.

Improved customer or user perception.

Improvement of the work environment.

Cultural change.

Employee participation.

Market share.

Depending on what you have defined, you will have to establish measurement criteria, since, thanks to these, you will be able to define the impact that the process had at the end.

If you define, for example, productivity, you have to establish some parameters and instrument(s) to measure it at the beginning of the process and then at the end of the process.

If you can demonstrate that productivity increased, you will be able to demonstrate the impact that the Performance Appraisal had, and even more so, if in this case the improvement is linked to other indicators that could be associated: profitability, project awarding, etc.

Keep in mind that what you define at this point must be associated with the strategic objectives of the organization; for this reason, your review is very relevant at this point.

Discussion of possible responsible parties for:

Promote and encourage people.

Design the process.

Support implementation.

Select potential suppliers.

Approve its phases.

Training.

Define estimated times (feasible to modify).

Establish different types of coordination.

Supervise the process.

The following is a list of positions that can be included to define the above:

Depending on the number of positions, people, and complexity of your organization, one person - probably yourself - can take on several or almost all of these roles and responsibilities.

The last four groups may not be included, but the reason for involving them has to do with the quality of what they can contribute, and with the fact that they have a point of view that will most likely be complementary to yours. They can help you visualize the best way to carry out the process -without losing sight of the fact that the expert is the area or the person who is carrying it out. In addition, they are also constructively and actively motivated to be part of it.

My experience has shown me that people tend to participate more willingly in what they feel they own and helped to build, as opposed to how they get involved with something they feel has been imposed on them, or does not belong to them.

Request support as a Sponsor.

A fundamental part of the success of the process is that the CEO, Director, or the equivalent of the organization, actively and evidently supports the Performance Appraisal process.

As people see your support, they will take the process more seriously, feel more committed to completing its phases, and can see that there is interest and commitment from top management in employee development.

Therefore, it is necessary to ask this person to make certain interventions -especially in the communication and chiefs meetings- showing the need and the importance of the positive contribution of everyone throughout the process. If, in addition to communicating, he/she notoriously set an example, the more powerful his/her call will be.

Another aspect where this high position can play a more active role, and in which his participation should also be made known to him very concretely, is in the discussion of the possible delivery of cash bonuses as part of the policies associated with the results of the Appraisal.

It is possible that, at this point, you can request from this moment onwards a study of the feasibility and limits to deliver this type of reward to the finance area. You can see the details of this aspect in Step 9.

Budget and resources.

As far as possible, the resources available to carry out the entire process should be made clear at this point (without considering the cash bonuses). Consider:

Money to finance the whole process.

Work team.

Tentative planning and design times for subsequent implementation.

Equipment and materials.

An important element that encompasses all these levels is the decision to hire an external person or company to carry out the process.

This e-book will provide you with enough knowledge to be able to perform the entire assessment on your own, however, it may not be enough to do it due to time and/or the capacity of you and your team to be able to do it.

If you have knowledgeable staff and enough time, you will be able to develop it internally. If not, you should evaluate the possibility of outsourcing.

Access to a software is also another important decision you can make at the beginning.

These systems have the advantage of helping considerably in time, workload, and accuracy (they have analysis, calculations, databases, communications, control, reports, etc.). However, they often have a high cost, so it is very important to consider whether to purchase them or not. In addition, to make the decision, it will be important to know the real dimensions and the level of work involved in this process.

In Step 8 we return to the choice of whether or not to contract a software, after the analysis of this and other manual assessment systems, together with the fact of having at that point more information on the real dimensions of the process as a whole.

Keep in mind that not all programs may fit your style, model, or scheduling of Performance Appraisal. This is important to consider so that you do not hire a system that is incompatible with what you have planned and designed.

Establish and conduct meetings with the potential new Planning and Implementation Team.

Preliminary Communication Step: after the initial meeting, inform the selected individuals about the process and their roles in it, ideally in person. If you cannot, by e-mail.

Remember: always send your communications by e-mail so that there is a backup. Here consider the