The article shown below addresses the issue of performance evaluation. It is proposed to delve into the conceptualization, development and main trends of Performance Evaluation and to identify and evaluate the main approaches and tools for carrying out performance evaluations on a universal scale.
The study of the subject is of great importance, since it contributes to identifying the fundamental theoretical-methodological basis for the development of a good Performance Evaluation process. It provides the main advances and trends towards which the process is focused, and allows defining the use of tools that add value to it.
Introduction
Currently, the forms of business organization adopt different structures, making it essential to improve the activity of human resources based on the strategy of the organization. Main element, man, creator of technology and generator of knowledge, as a capital that determines the competitive level of the company.
The Human Resources Management (HRM) systems, which start with the selection process and go through the training and development of the personnel that make up the organization, require feedback from the system, and an essential tool for achieving this objective. It is the Performance Evaluation, which contributes to achieving a human potential capable of meeting the expectations set. It is about working with the capital that the organization has with a high permanence in it, seeking the ability to achieve excellent performance, with high qualification of its members. With performance evaluation, individualities within the system are enhanced with an impact at the collective level.
In HRM, performance evaluation is recognized by many authors as the heart of it, for the influence it has on other activities, as well as in achieving the organization's objectives.
Performance evaluation is an essential management technique in administrative activity. It is a means through which you can find problems of personnel supervision, integration of the employee into the organization or the position that you currently occupy, the failure to take advantage of employees with a higher potential than that required by the position, of motivation; It describes the degree to which tasks are accomplished on the job of an employee and indicates that individuals meet the requirements of their position based on the results that are achieved.
Development
Performance Evaluation as a process
For a better location on the subject, the author chronologically addresses different definitions from international and national authors on the concept of Performance Evaluation:
Zerilli, (1973): It is a systematic appreciation of the value that an individual demonstrates for his personal characteristics and / or presentation with respect to the organization of which he is a part, expressed periodically according to a precise procedure by one or more persons in charge, who get to know the individual and his work.
Sikula, (1989): It is the assignment of a value to each employee's performance, with the aim of facilitating decision-making and achieving results.
Koontz, (1990): Involves measuring and correcting the activities of subordinates to ensure that they are carrying out the plans and achieving the objectives set by senior management.
Werther & Davis, (1992): It is the process by which organizations estimate the overall performance of workers.
Harper & Lynch, (1992): It is a technique or procedure that tries to appreciate, in the most systematic and objective way possible, the performance of the employees of an organization. This evaluation is carried out on the basis of the objectives set, the responsibilities assumed and the personal characteristics.
Chiavenato, (1995): It is a system of appreciation of the performance of the individual in office and their potential for development.
Puchol, (1995): It is a continuous, systematic, organic and cascading procedure of expressing judgments about the personnel of a company, in relation to their usual work, which aims to replace occasional judgments and formulated according to the most varied criteria.
Byars & Rue, (1996): It is a process aimed at determining and communicating to employees how they are performing their work and, in principle, to prepare improvement plans.
Cuesta Santos, (1999): Consists of a procedure that aims to assess, in the most systematic and objective way possible, the performance of employees in the organization. This is done on the basis of the work carried out, the objectives set, the responsibilities assumed together with the working conditions and personal characteristics.
Mesa Espinosa, (2000): It consists of the identification and measurement of the objectives of the work carried out by an individual, the way in which he uses resources to meet those objectives and the management of human performance in organizations.
Carlos Martínez, (2002): It is measuring the degree to which each worker maintains his suitability and meets or achieves the objectives of the job or position he performs (effectiveness), as well as the way in which he uses his resources to achieve said objectives (efficiency).
Morales Cartaya, (2009): Continuous and periodic process of evaluation to all workers of compliance with the demonstrated suitability, competencies and results of work to achieve the objectives of the company, carried out by the immediate boss, based on the self-evaluation of the worker and the criteria of colleagues who work in the area. Without performance evaluation there is no individual development.
Performance appraisal procedures are not new. History records that in the 16th century, before the foundation of the company of Jesus, Saint Ignatius of Loyola used a combined system of reports and notes on the activities and potential of each of the Jesuits. In 1842, the United States Federal public service introduced the annual reporting system to evaluate the performance of officials, and in 1880, the United States Army also developed its own system. In 1918, General Motors already had an evaluation system for its executives. However, only after the Second World War performance evaluation systems were widely disseminated among companies and mainly as a result of the World Congresses of Human Resources Management, in Washington 1986, Buenos Aires 1988,Sidney and Madrid in 1992 and Hong Kong 1996 where the objectives of this system are outlined.
The "Performance Evaluation", Performance Evaluation "or Performance Evaluation" is the key activity of Human Resources Management and consists of a procedure that aims to assess the performance of the members of an organization as objectively as possible. It is a process to stimulate or judge the value, excellence, qualities of someone and in this lies its essential importance.
Morales Cartaya (2009), includes in its definition, aspects such as suitability, competence and the results of the evaluated, linked to the objectives of the organization, gives participation to the evaluated based on their self-evaluation and the criteria of the rest of the collaborators and appreciates the importance of evaluation for the individual's development. In the organization where the present investigation is developed, the labor competencies are not defined, existing only the appointments and functions of the positions.
Cuban Standards 3000, 3001 and 3002 (2007) define Performance Evaluation as the systematic measurement of the degree of effectiveness and efficiency with which workers carry out their work activities during a certain period of time and their potential development, and constitutes the basis for preparing and executing the individual training and development plan. It includes the evaluation of the demonstrated suitability, the labor competences, the results achieved in the fulfillment of their functions, tasks and objectives, their training and individual development plan and the recommendations derived from previous evaluations.
These own regulations establish the Cuban model for the design and implementation of an Integrated Human Resources Management System, summarized in the following diagram:
- Organization of Work.
- Moral and Material Stimulation.
- Performance evaluation.
- Institutional comunication.
- Selection and Integration.
- Self-control.
- Security and health at work.
- Labor Competencies.
- Training and Development.
The place of Performance Evaluation within the current model is appreciated, also referring to the requirements related to performance evaluation:
- The organization must have the documented procedure for planning, executing and controlling the annual evaluation of the performance of the workers and their partial cuts, in accordance with the legislation on the matter.
- The senior management must designate one of its members to attend the performance evaluation.
- The senior management, in agreement with the union organization, may establish additional indicators to the fundamental indicators provided in the law, which is inscribed in the Collective Labor Agreement.
- The organization, before beginning the annual evaluation period, must inform the workers of both the fundamental indicators established in the law, as well as the additional indicators agreed with the union organization. You must prepare the document containing the recommendations derived from the annual evaluation carried out on the worker, which reflects all the actions that the worker must carry out in the next period with a view to improving their performance, including training and individual development actions.
The evaluation process must be documented in a procedure that ensures its planning, execution and control, where indicators related to jobs and job competencies are defined and must be disclosed to the members of the organization. They need to have fully verifiable measurement levels or standards. Be a systematic process, with definition of partial cuts and make recommendations to the evaluated with training and individual development actions.
In order to evolve to an efficient and effective evaluation process, it is required, in addition to perfecting and consolidating institutional procedures, will, and demand, and which causes high motivation in those who evaluate and evaluate them.
It is a future-oriented activity, it allows workers to know what their bosses think of them and it facilitates and influences their performance. Below is the description of the process as a whole using a diagram
New approaches to Performance Evaluation:
1. Indicators must be systematic (strategic planning)
2. The indicators must be chosen together.
3. Types of indicators: Financial, customer-related, internal and innovation.
4. Integrator of all HR processes
5. It is based on an unstructured process (negotiation)
6. ED must include new aspects: personal competence, technological competence, social competence.
7. You must emphasize the results.
Performance standards.
It is necessary to clearly define and communicate the standards against which employees will be evaluated. These standards must be related to the position (through the analysis, description and specification of the position), so that they can be established. There are three basic points to keep in mind:
1. Relevance: Standards must relate to the objectives of the position.
2. Freedom from contamination: performance in similar jobs under different conditions (eg equipment differences) should not be compared.
3. Reliability: stability or congruence of a standard to the extent that people maintain a certain level of performance over time.
Reasons why performance appraisal programs may fail:
- Lack of support from senior management.
- Standards not related to the position.
- Partiality of the evaluators.
- Complexity and length of the forms.
- Use of the program for purposes of conflict or opposition.
- Managers may think of " too much effort to make little profit."
- Managers do not want to confront their subordinates.
- Managers are not trained to do evaluation interviews.
- Performance evaluation is a source of friction between employees and bosses.
- Lack of active participation by employees, because they believe it is unfair or leads to nothing.
- Managers purposely raise ratings to favor employees with pay increases, or lower them to get rid of troublesome employees.
By way of summary, it is considered that the evaluation and improvement of performance is of great importance since, through this means, the staff is motivated and engaged in the consecration of their work, to achieve an improvement in their fundamental action, they feel more responsible and with much more will to guide their bow to the future and more committed to their performance.
Organizational performance indicators
Currently, different authors studying the subject of performance strive to find performance indicators that make it possible to know the performance of an organization. These indicators are important because they allow monitoring on the way to achieving your Strategic Plan. Related to this, this research assumes the indicators proposed by Medina Gómez (1996), considering that these are adequate to the conditions of the context where the research will take place.
Based on these indicators, the entity can answer a series of questions, for example: if the activities are directed towards the established priorities, if things are being done well and with quality, if sufficient resources are being raised, and others.
It must be considered that with the application of these indicators learning is achieved, because when efforts are made to improve performance, tasks are examined and different ways are identified that lead the group to work better and produce more useful results, a process of learning. Hence, the conception that historically existed that performance evaluation was restricted to the simple unilateral judgment of the boss regarding the functional behavior of the collaborator is nullified. The factors or indicators that are valued to measure the performance of workers are:
Compliance with the objectives and tasks: The degree of compliance with the objectives set is evaluated with the required quality in the period analyzed, specifying in each case the qualitative and quantitative assessment that corresponds to each one, in the same way, it will be assessed the fulfillment, in quantity and quality, of planned and unplanned tasks in said period.
Work quality. The care, cleanliness and accuracy of the work carried out are considered, as well as the frequency of errors and implications that may result from the repetition of the assigned tasks and consequently, loss of time and inefficiency.
Knowledge and Mastery of Work. This indicator assesses the necessary knowledge that the worker possesses for the successful performance of the activity that he carries out (functions, responsibilities, systems, techniques, procedures).
Labor discipline. The use of the working day, attendance, punctuality and compliance with disciplinary and behavioral standards are evaluated.
Initiative and Creativity. The degree to which the worker is able to foresee innovative, practical, precise and well-founded solutions is evaluated, as well as their ability to carry out additional and useful work without the need for constant guidance and supervision.
Cooperation and teamwork. The degree to which the worker is able to subordinate her personal interests to those of the collective in fulfilling the objectives and tasks without skimping time or effort is evaluated; their willingness to teach or transmit knowledge and experiences and their ability to create good conditions and a comradely atmosphere, obtaining, as a result, frank and broad collaboration among the community.
Personal growth. It is assessed whether the worker, according to his possibilities and limitations in the performance of his activity, acts to obtain better results each time and progresses consistently, as well as his concern and willingness to overcome, both through training actions and in a self-taught way.
Production culture. At this point the following aspects will be valued:
- Organization and cleaning of the workplace.
- Compliance with technological discipline.
- Compliance with technical standards, industrial security, state secrecy and computer security.
- Maintenance, care, conservation and saving of the resources put at your disposal.
- Physical appearance, care in clothing and whether or not it is appropriate for the functions it performs.
- Courtesy and good treatment to internal and external customers in its most general concept.
Human relations. Their relationships are valued, both with colleagues in their workplace and outside it, and their level of acceptance in the workplace, assessing whether their attitudes provoke conflicts or if, on the contrary, their colleagues seek it and are at ease in your company.
Currently, making a correct evaluation of the performance of a job or position in an entity, becomes one of the key processes to achieve organizational success.
It is then about integrating the present and future needs of a company, with the demands and contributions of the individual, so that both evolve harmoniously and in parallel.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to visualize the performance evaluation from a methodological perspective that guides the way towards using the information received to plan, organize and control more easily, thus determining a higher performance of the human resources suitable for the Cuban company.
All workers must participate in determining the criteria, indicators and ranges of evaluation.
As a result, a transparent performance evaluation system must be achieved for the entity, whose characteristics and requirements are known to all its members and that facilitate horizontal and vertical communication.
1.3.1 Performance Evaluation Methodologies, forms and objectives.
The performance evaluation system starts from the competency profile and fulfills its evaluation function with respect to the work carried out, the objectives set and the responsibilities assumed along with the working conditions and personal characteristics.
Among the main methods of international use for performance evaluation are:
• Global Performance Analysis Method:
Global performance analysis, without going into a detailed assessment of each of the indicators. The evaluated is rated as Excellent, Very good, Good, Fair, Poor. It has the drawback of not evaluating each indicator separately, so some important aspect may be overlooked and it is prone to the evaluation being carried out by comparison between subordinates.
• Analytical Method of Factor Assessment:
It consists of analyzing each factor, the Chief decides to what degree the evaluated meets the requirements implied by each indicator. To do this, it uses a scoring scale, which can be from 1 to 5. To achieve greater effectiveness, the evaluator asks other people for criteria about the evaluated person. It has the disadvantage, like the previous one, of being prone to comparison between subordinates.
• Critical incident method:
The evaluator systematically observes and records all those behaviors (incidents) of the subordinate that imply positive or negative attitudes and events that influence the achievement of the desired objectives. In shaping the evaluation, the incidents recorded must be made to correspond to the defined indicators.
• Method of Evaluation by Comparison or Classification by Rank:
The Chief establishes a certain hierarchy in which each subordinate occupies a position, according to his criteria. Simple but very subjective method, with poor information and assessment.
• Interactive method:
It is carried out from a joint analysis between the subordinate and the Chief on the performance of the evaluated and the causes that have caused a high or low performance. It has the advantage that it allows acting directly on the causes, provides greater feedback to the evaluated and fosters a climate of communication and dialogue.
• Self-evaluation method:
It should be taken as the basis for any performance evaluation process. The subordinate is asked to evaluate himself and his evaluations are used to make the final evaluation. Due to the tendency of every person to present themselves in a positive way, it should be used only as a complement to another method.
• Evaluation Method by Objectives:
The degree of fulfillment of the proposed objectives is evaluated in the established terms, as well as the circumstances included. It should be used as a complement to other methods. It is precise and less subjective, it has the disadvantage that factors unrelated to the performance of the evaluated can intervene in achieving the Objective.
• Forced Choice Method:
The performance evaluation specialist in the Human Resources area develops a set of pairs of sentences taking into account the indicators to be evaluated. Phrases can be written positively or negatively, never combined.
The pairs of sentences are presented to the Head who is going to evaluate, in order to choose from each phrase the one that most characterizes the performance of the evaluated, without knowing the relationship that each phrase has with the indicator that it intends to evaluate.
In this way, the Chief selects only one phrase and since both are positive, he cannot give a vision of favoritism or prejudice.
After this step, the specialist relates the indicator to a positive performance of the evaluated person and proposes the evaluation to be granted.
The fundamental objectives of the performance evaluation process are:
- Allow conditions for measuring human potential in the sense of determining its full utilization.
- Allow the treatment of Human Resources as a basic resource of the organization and whose productivity can be developed indefinitely, depending on the way in which it is directed.
- Give growth opportunities and conditions of effective participation to all members of the organization, taking into account, on the one hand, the objectives of the organization and on the other the individual.
- Promote high motivation of the evaluated, with real involvement in solving problems.
- Give employees an opportunity to discuss their performance with the boss.
- Give the supervisor a way to identify an employee's strengths and weaknesses, also allowing him to recommend an improvement program.
- Make decisions about promotional strategies
- Provide a base of salary recommendations.
- Also used for decisions on promotions, transfers or descents.
Benefits of performance evaluation
a) Benefits for the evaluated
• Know the behavioral and performance aspects that the company most values in its officials.
• Know what your boss's expectations are regarding his performance and also, according to him, his strengths and weaknesses.
• Know what are the measures that the boss will take into account to improve his performance (training programs, seminars, etc.) and those that the evaluated must take on his own initiative (self-correction, dedication, attention, training, etc.).
• You have the opportunity to do self-evaluation and self-criticism for your self-development and self-control.
• It stimulates teamwork and tries to develop the pertinent actions to motivate the person and achieve their identification with the objectives of the company.
• Maintains a relationship of justice and equity with all workers.
• Encourage employees to give their best efforts to the organization and ensure that loyalty and dedication are duly rewarded.
• Promptly deal with problems and conflicts, and if necessary take disciplinary measures that are justified.
• It stimulates training among those evaluated and preparation for promotions.
b) Benefits for the boss
• The boss has an opportunity to:
• Better evaluate the performance and behavior of subordinates, based on variables and evaluation factors and, mainly, having a measurement system capable of neutralizing subjectivity.
• Take measures in order to improve the behavior of individuals.
• Achieve better communication with individuals to make them understand the mechanics of performance evaluation as an objective system and how it is developing.
• Plan and organize work so that you can organize your unit so that it works like a cog.
c) Benefits for the organization
• You have the opportunity to evaluate your human potential in the short, medium and long term and define the contribution of each individual.
• You can identify individuals who require improvement in certain areas of activity, select those who have promotion or transfer conditions.
• You can energize your Human Resources policy, offering opportunities to individuals (not only for promotions, but mainly for personal growth and development), stimulate productivity and improve human relations at work.
• Clearly indicates to individuals their obligations and what is expected of them.
• Programs the activities of the unit, directs and controls the work and establishes the norms and procedures for its execution.
• Invite individuals to participate in problem solving and ask their opinion before making any changes.
• The role of judge of the supervisor-evaluator should be considered the basis for recommending improvements.
• The Human Resources Department is responsible for developing the performance evaluation process for the other departments, using different tools and techniques, depending on the hierarchical level of the collaborator.
• Performance evaluation should be conceived as a system that stimulates communication, that achieves motivation and not as a control mechanism.
Conclusions
- The analysis of the performance of an organization is a crucial step in the organizational evaluation process. But performance measurement is one of the most problematic issues in the field of organizational theory, there are various approaches to assessing organizational performance, and there is little consensus as to what constitutes a valid set of criteria.
- There is a set of validated and scientifically argued methods from their theoretical and methodological positions that allow measuring the performance of workers in organizational contexts.
- Without a doubt, performance evaluation brings considerable benefits at the level of those involved in the organization, say, the evaluated, their immediate superior manager and the organization as a whole.
