Exploring employee perception of performance appraisal tools and testing a model of job outcomes within a South African government department

Abstract

Introduction: Performance appraisal is the key function in the management of performance in the workplace. Many organisations strive to perfect the process of performance appraisals. Both private and public sector organisations are faced with the same challenge of dealing with and making performance appraisal effective. For this to happen organisations need to pay attention to their performance appraisal instrument which is the determining factor of the efficacy of the performance appraisal process. Problem statement: Past research studies have identified a number of factors that hamper the effectiveness of the performance appraisal instrument. These factors, amongst others, are human resource practices, rater error, application of the instrument and the performance appraisal processes etc. This study aimed at exploring the perceptions of employees in the public sector in South Africa regarding the effectiveness of the implementation of the performance appraisal instrument. The underlying principles against which the current appraisal instruments used by the public sector organisation were measured, were the following: relevance, reliability, discriminability/sensitivity, freedom from contamination, practicability, and acceptability. The public sector organisation is faced with enormous non-compliance with the performance appraisal evaluations. In terms of its Performance Management and Development System, employees are expected to undergo two formal performance appraisal evaluations. The appraisal reports are expected to be submitted to the human resource unit responsible for performance management at the end of the first semester and the last semester of the performance year. The unit is tasked with the responsibility to establish a moderation committee whose task will be to finalise the process; the timelines for this process are reflected in the performance management procedure guidelines of the organisation. However, it seems challenging to line managers in the organisation to get the process completed.

This study aimed at exploring the extent to which the implementation of the performance instrument affects employee perceptions of the instrument and how it affects the job outcomes (motivation, job satisfaction, commitment and work engagement). Research methods: To explore the employee perceptions, the study opted to apply the qualitative research methods with an interpretivist approach which allowed the employees to describe the implementation of the performance appraisal instrument in their own individualistic manner. Thus a qualitative descriptive study was found to be plausible for gathering relevant information for the purpose of this study. A combination of convenience and purposive sampling was decided on to identify the sample of N=16 which represented the 4 districts which make up the province. The sample was subjected to semi-structured telephonic interviews and a qualitative survey to explore their perceptions of the implementation of the instrument. Also, the experiences of the participants on how the job outcomes were affected by the implementation of the instrument were explored. Thematic analysis was performed to interpret the information gathered. Findings: Generally, employees reflected knowledge in respect of the performance management process as a whole. Only a few participants indicated that the current instrument is fair and dependable. The majority found the instrument to be not fair, unable to measure that which it is meant to, takes up too much of their time, lacks inclusivity, lacks consistency (objectivity), not effective due to the application of the instrument simply to comply, and that the ability of the employee to write will earn them good performance ratings. However, some employees indicated portraying high levels of motivation as a result of the implementation of the instrument, but others on the same note were not motivated. Commitment was negatively affected, whereas job commitment was never mentioned by any of the employees. However, the performance management process induced some level of work engagement on the side of the employees. Recommendations: It was recommended that the public sector organisation develop a training programme to train all relevant role-players in the performance appraisal; to develop and enhance the current appraisal instrument by introducing technology; or to develop an instrument that is electronically available. In the process of developing a better instrument all relevant stakeholders should be consulted so that the new instrument can be legitimate to employees. Recommendations were made for future research studies so as to circumvent the shortcomings faced by this study.