Performance appraisal systems are implemented in an organization in order to improve or sustain the performance of the employees. If performance appraisals are not effective they are a waste of time and money for an organization. According to Milkovich et al. (2017, p. 384), there are four ways to improve the accuracy of performance appraisals including “Improving appraisal formats, selecting the right raters, understanding how raters process information and training raters to rate more accurately.” It is important for business owners to select a performance appraisal method that evaluates the employees’ contribution to an organization and identify ways in which they can improve in their jobs. Therefore, if a company lacks effective approaches to rate the employees’ performance, it is challenging to provide solutions to the existing problems. Out of the four strategies that have been outlined in the text, selecting the right raters is the most important way that an organization can use to improve the accuracy of performance appraisal methods.
Selecting the right raters will enhance the accuracy of a performance appraisal by ensuring that the employees within an organization are appraised using the appropriate measures. An organization can select its raters from different individuals within an organization such as the supervisors, managers, peers, customers, subordinates or the ratee (Milkovich, Newman & Gerhhart, 2017, pp. 398-400). These groups of people will ensure that specific circumstances that influence the performance of the employees are taken into account during the appraisal process. However, when selecting a rater it is crucial to evaluate the underlying causes that may negatively or positively affect the outcome of the appraisal process. For instance, a rater’s attitude towards an organization or the employee could make them be biased towards specific employees. Thus, the tendency to be critical or lenient during the appraisal process can be affected by the rater’s personality.
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Choosing the right rater with the appropriate skills is the most vital strategy when improving the accuracy of an appraisal process. This way the organization can avoid the challenges that arise due to bias. Bernardin et al. (2016), asserts that the rater’s personality has significant impacts on their ability to be lenient or critical of a situation or the employees in an organization. Therefore, if the rater is too lenient or harsh as a result of their personal characteristics, the effectiveness of the other strategies cannot contribute to improving the appraisal strategies. This means that if a company or a business selects a rater that is incompetent the other three strategies become null and void in improving the accuracy of the appraisal performance strategy. Furthermore, the performance appraisals strategies will be effective and have a positive impact on the employees and overall organization if the company begins by selecting the appropriate raters first.
Selecting the right rater will ensure that the company has achieved the primary goals of performance appraisal. Performance appraisal strategies focus on designing an assessment measure that accurately evaluates the level of an employee’s job performance and to develop an evaluation approach that will improve one or more areas of the operational functions within a business. Therefore, by selecting the right rater, a business will ensure that the assessment measures focus on evaluating the human resource, aligning their contribution in an organization with the overall goals of a company and the purpose of the performance appraisal strategies.
References
Bernardin, J., Thomason, S., Buckley, R. & Kane, J. (2016). Rater Rating-Level Bias and Accuracy in Performance Appraisals: The Impact of Rater Personality, Performance Management Competence, and Rater Accountability. Human Resource Management . Retrieved from: http://jandmparker.net/college/Rater%20rating-level%20bias%20and%20accuracy%20in%20performance%20appraisals%20-%20The%20impact%20of%20rater%20personality.pdf
Milkovich, G. T., Newman, J. M., & Gerhart, B. A. (2017). Compensation (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9781259991851.
