Performance appraisal, is an evaluation process that is used for assessing the work of employees within an organisation. These appraisals are directed by the manager of an employee and is conducted annually or more frequently. They are often communicated through performance reviews and involve the assigning of performance ratings. Some may support the elimination of performance appraisals entirely due to its misconceptions and intentional inflation or deflation of performance ratings based on various motives by management. Despite performance appraisals being met with apprehension, they do serve several purposes, including employee training and development, organisational reward allocation, record-keeping for legal reasons, and employee retention or termination must be made, requiring managers to have insights into employee performance (Sockbeson, 2018).
Broader outcomes such as trust in top management and affective commitment is linked to employees’ perceptions of organisational practices and leaders. On the other hand, performance appraisals are recognised for shaping the social and psychological environment of an organisation in which core job responsibilities are fulfilled in order to contribute uniquely to overall performance (Zheng et al, 2012). Van Woerkom and Kroon (2020), identified the self-determination theory (SDT) which suggests that using strengths-based performance appraisals can make employees feel supported by their supervisors, in essence enhancing the fulfilment in their psychological need for connection. This satisfaction of the connectedness enhances their motivation to learn and improve.
The need satisfaction of employees differs between individuals where the fulfillment of psychological needs is influenced by organisational changes, and since organisational views are dynamic rather than stagnant, it is likely that the experience of need satisfaction fluctuates within individuals over time (Coxen et al., 2021). A strengths-based performance appraisal, under the SDT, acts as a social context where the manager supports the employees need satisfaction meanwhile the SDT outlines three basic psychological needs as follows:
Autonomy – need to make free choices
Competence – need to master tasks
Relatedness/Connectedness – need to connect with others (Deci and Ryan, 2000).
Performance ratings serves as a significant indicator of an employee’s value in relation to organisational standards. A higher performance rating sends a strong message to the employee, signaling that they are valued and appreciated. Equally, a lower rating may lead to self-protective psychological processes, such as distancing from the manager. Managers are able to convey positive competence information by empowering employees to cope with disappointing ratings and to manage negative their emotions effectively by focusing the appraisal interview on situations where employees excel. This approach encourages employees to place less emphasis on their relative organisational value and more on the support provided by their supervisor to enhance their personal strengths (Van Woerkom and Kroon, 2020).
Employees who perceive a need for behavioural changes, trust that change is possible, and react positively to the performance feedback will result in future performance improvements. While a lower rating may signal the need for behaviour change, a strengths-based performance appraisal promotes a positive feedback orientation, instilling the belief that change is achievable through an action plan based on an employee’s unique qualities (DeNisi and Murphy, 2017).
References
Coxen, L., Van Der Vaart, L., Van Den Broeck, A., & Rothmann, S. (2021, October). Basic psychological needs in the work context: A systematic literature review of diary studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(698526), 1-18. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.698526
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. (2000). The “what” and “why” of gial pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behaviour. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268. doi:https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
DeNisi, A. S., & Murphy, K. R. (2017). Performance appraisal and performance management: 100 Years of progress? Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 421-433. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000085
Fletcher, C. (2002). Appraisal: An individual psychological perspective. In S. Sonnentag, Psychological Management of Individual Performance. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.za/books?id=IK8fzhtPpeAC&lpg=PA115&ots=uFJs_gKChH&dq=performance%20appraisals%20process%20a%20psychological%20approach%20pdf&lr&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q&f=false
Sockbeson, C. (2018, May 24). Performance appraisal. doi:10.1093/OBO/9780199828340-0213
Van Woerkom, M., & Kroon, B. (2020, July). The effect of strengths-based performance appraisal on perceived supervisor support and the motivation to improve performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1883), 1-12. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01883
Zheng, W., Zhang, M., & Li, H. (2012). Performance appraisal process and organisational citizenship behaviour. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 27(7), 732-752. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02683941211259548
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