Question

Developing Performance Management-Medical Centre Appraisal System

Sources: Source: Ashish Chandra and Zachary D. Frank, “Utilization of Performance Appraisal Systems in Health Care Organizations and Improvement Strategies for Supervisors,” The Health Care Manager 23, no. 1 (2004): 25–40.

This healthcare organization provides a wide array of services including in patient services, transitional care services, and outpatient treatment and testing. A few years ago, the facility changed its performance appraisal methodology. It shifted from a subjective performance appraisal system to a more objective rating system that focused on the actions and behaviors of the employee. This shift can be considered as a good move because the use of behavior-based scales tends to overcome evaluation errors that plague more subjective evaluations.
Employee evaluations in this organization were performed once a year. The performance appraisal system was instituted in this healthcare organization as a four-step process:
Step 1: The employee performs a self-appraisal first by completing an appraisal sheet and then submitting it to his or her supervisor. Employees generally welcome use of self-appraisal, and it tends to decrease defensiveness
about the process.
Step 2: The supervisor then responds to the same questions the employee had previously answered based on his or her perceptions and observations of the employee’s performance.
Step 3: Finally, the supervisor and employee meet and discuss the ratings
on the evaluation.
Step 4: The results of the evaluation are intended to then be used as a guiding tool to determine the annual raise of the employee.
The questions in the performance evaluation questionnaire were divided into two sections. The first section was based on the overall organizational standards that had been set for the entire hospital. Areas addressed in this section include professionalism, efficiency, quality of work, respect, and service. Every employee, full-time and part-time, has to complete this section of the performance appraisal. The second section of the appraisal consisted of various competencies for each individual position. These competencies were specific to the tasks required to fulfill the duties of the individual in their respective positions. The competencies, varying greatly from position to position, were based strictly on duties required for that position. This is important, as having similarly situated employees evaluated on like criteria improves the consistency of the appraisal process. In this healthcare organization, both the employee and the supervisor were instructed on the evaluation instrument to rate the employee on each of the areas on the following scale:
0 _ Not Applicable
1 _ Does Not Meet Expectations
2 _ Meets Expectations
3 _ Exceeds Expectations
This system was implemented to improve performance appraisals and make them more objective. The use of the same evaluation form throughout the organization improved the consistency in the evaluation process.
The healthcare organization also used some guidelines regarding what should be done if an employee obtained a certain score. Here is a brief description of the organization’s policies. If the person being rated received a mark of 1 or 3, then documentation had to be provided to justify that rating. Also, if the employee was given a rating of 1 by the supervisor, then some method of learning was to be designed to help the employee to achieve a level of meeting expectations. Following this, the employee was to be reevaluated in this area and was required to demonstrate abilities to meet expectations.

Questions: Do you think the new system is really more objective? Why?

Answer 1

Performance appraisal is a system of review and evaluation of an individual or team's job performance.

Yes, the new system is more objective because It includes all the employees and there is a proper evaluation system which will provide more effective results than the old method of performance appraisal.

The new system includes methods like rating scale method which involves evaluation of people on the basis of two type of factors a) job related factors like efficiency and b) personal factors like respect .

Using these kinds of methods for performance appraisal makes the evaluation more easier and behavioural.

benefits of the new system:

1) competency building

2) personal growth and development

3) promotions would be easier

4) improvement in organisation's standards

This system will also lead to make the work environment more conducive and positive for the people to work.

A good evaluation method also leads to motivation of employees as a genuine feedback by the superior compels him to work better.

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