An analysis of the performance evaluation process is carried out, where the essential elements to be taken into account for the consistent application of this management instrument are valued, so that the permanent increase in the skills of the workers is achieved, thus taxing the scope of the general objectives of the organization, the goal.
Introduction
Currently, the interest of organizations and professionals in improving Human Resources Management (HRM) is increasing, as this factor has become one of the most important assets of entities. That is why they are forced to make a qualitative leap aimed at improving their competitiveness, causing a change in the importance given to HRM, forcing the Human Resources areas to modify their policies and the application of management techniques in this sphere.
The Performance Evaluation constitutes one of the subsystems of Human Resources Management, being a process of vital importance for the organization, since through this the deficiencies that limit the individual results that contribute to the achievement of the general objectives of the organization and in the same way to the achievement of the goal.
From this information is obtained that is useful for planning training, developing personnel policies, providing feedback to the worker so that he can evaluate the way he is working, articulate the company's remuneration policy, among others.
Therefore, it is necessary to control or evaluate the behavior of human resources, which serves as a starting point to determine where the deficiencies and needs are, so it cannot be a formal process established by the functional levels, but must be carried out in a systematic, it must be a continuous and at the same time periodic process, which obviously will have a significant impact on the achievement of organizational effectiveness.
Development
Human Resources Management has become the backbone of today's companies, man being the fundamental asset of them. In order to increase the performance of workers and stimulate their actions, the need has arisen to evaluate their performance, creating mechanisms that compliment this activity.
The definitions issued to conceptualize the Performance Evaluation are diverse, evidencing in the same different approaches, which causes the researchers of the subject difficulty in their study.
By performance various meanings are understood: the level of work performance, personal contribution to the assigned work, individual productivity, precise observance of current labor standards, as well as dedication, commitment, diligence and other attributes of a dedicated and scrupulous individual work in accordance with the standards and tasks defined for the person or their position.
Performance evaluation has been the subject of analysis by several authors, considering various definitions, some of which are analyzed below:
“Technique or procedure that tends 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 work carried out, the objectives set, the responsibilities assumed and personal characteristics. All this with a view to planning and projecting future actions with a view to further development of the individual, the group and the organization ”according to Harper & Lynch (1992).
"Process in which the degree to which each worker maintains his suitability and meets the objectives of the job or job he performs (effectiveness), as well as how he uses his resources to achieve these objectives (efficiency)" according to Martínez Carlos (1998)
“System of appreciation of the performance of the individual in office and their potential for development. Process to estimate or judge the value, excellence, qualities or status of some object or person ”according to Chiavenato (2004).
"Key process or activity of human resources management consisting of a procedure that seeks to assess, in the most systematic and objective way possible, the performance or performance of the organization's employees" according to Cuesta Santos (2005)
"The systematic measurement the degree of effectiveness and efficiency with which the 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 ”according to NC 3000 (2007).
“Systematic process of evaluating the mastery of the required competences and the degree of effectiveness and efficiency of the results of the work, developed by the immediate boss considering the established competencies and objectives of the position, the process and the organization, in addition to the criteria of the worker and other related persons ”according to Sánchez Augier (2008).
All the concepts analyzed approach this topic from different perspectives, reaching conceptions that differ from each other, but at the same time coincide in some important elements that are recognized below:
• It is a process, subsystem within Human Resources Management, which guarantees the measurement of the performance of workers, which in turn due to its characteristics can be considered as a system for analysis.
• It is a systematic, periodic and objective process, in a way that shows how efficiently and effectively the activities are being carried out.
• They consider it a key activity for the organization and link it directly with other subsystems of human resource management, its outputs being important inputs to other processes.
• It was also developed in order to guarantee an increasing increase in the performance of workers, currently linked to the trend of competency management.
• It is oriented towards improving the objectives of workers, groups and organizations.
• Its realization is the responsibility of each direct boss of the worker.
This analysis shows the importance of achieving with intellectual activity to make this process less subjective, to guarantee that there are various evaluation criteria and that work competences are taken into account to develop this process, being necessary the dynamic interaction of the profiles that determine the dimensions of performance with the performance evaluation system.
To develop the performance evaluation several aspects must be taken into account:
1- How or by what criteria will the evaluation be carried out?
2- Who are in charge of carrying out the evaluation?
3- What methods to use to carry out the evaluation?
4- What to do with the results obtained in the evaluation?
How or by what criteria will the evaluation be carried out?
At the time of the evaluation, the integration of the results, the behavior and the competences that the worker possesses or does not materialize, for this it is mandatory to define the indicators, criteria or competences to be used to carry out the evaluation, which must conform to the demands and characteristics of the job and the results that are expected to be achieved individually, making it pay proportionally to the objectives of the organization. In addition, the evaluation categories for the indicators are established in such a way that they describe a behavior and show differences between the behavior of each worker.
Who are in charge of carrying out the evaluation?
Defining those responsible for the performance evaluation system is essential for it to be effective, since it holds those involved accountable and commits them to the system; those responsible for carrying out the performance evaluation of workers are the direct managers of this.
What methods to use to carry out the evaluation?
An important aspect is the study of the methods for performance evaluation. In the specialized literature, evaluation methods are described and each presents its advantages and disadvantages, there is no ideal or universal method applicable to all people, all positions., all organizations and all situations. The use of one or the other method will largely depend on the characteristics of the organization, the activity carried out, its culture, as well as the indicators to be evaluated, the types of position and the objectives pursued.. A single evaluation method should not be used, but a combination of several, taking into account the indicators defined, the level of knowledge of the evaluators, the frequency with which the evaluation will be carried out.
Cuesta Santos, (2005) states that the performance evaluation methods are based on the application of the indicators or objectives to be measured or valued. Incorporated into performance evaluation systems, their recurrences are not exclusive; Thus, for example, the objective evaluation method can be used and, at the same time, the self-evaluation method. This divides them into two groups taking into account the tangible and intangible indicators, a first group called Methods related to tangible indicators closely linked to direct observation and another group, methods related to intangible indicators that do not fail to take into account the indicators. tangible but also serve to evaluate the most complex tasks, teamwork. These are classified as described below:
Graphical scales method. It consists of determining a series of indicators (I) or traits related to job performance. The evaluator must decide to what degree the employee meets these indicators or dimensions.
Among its advantages appear that it is easy to understand and simple to apply, the evaluators require little training and can be applied to large numbers of people. Its disadvantages are involuntary distortions, feedback is impaired, the evaluated person has little opportunity to improve or reinforce poor aspects, it is routine and generalizes the results of the evaluations.
Critical Incidents Method: Consists of the evaluator's observation and subsequent recording of those employee behaviors (incidents) that lead to positive situations or the achievement of the desired objectives. This method is based on the precise determination of behaviors that lead to success, so a careful study is previously necessary for such determination. In the case of competency assessment, these "incidents" are precisely the dimensions or patterns of behavior.
Forced choice method: Consists of the presentation of a series of phrases that describe the performance of employees, preferably presented in pairs, so that the evaluator chooses the one that best fits the employee. All phrases describe positive traits or behaviors. They could also be done with negative phrases or behaviors, but positive ones are preferable.
Rank classification method: It consists of the classification, by the evaluator (s), of the employees, in such a way that a hierarchy is established in which each employee occupies a position, from the first to the last. The classification can be established on the basis of the various indicators. The final result, in short, is a list in which all the employees appear, ranked in order of efficiency.
Paired comparisons method: It is also a hierarchical classification system for employees (or managers). It consists of comparing each employee with all the others. They are compared two by two, choosing the most efficient employee of each pair. With respect to the previous method, it introduces a logic in the procedure that favors greater objectivity and systematic analysis.
Descriptive phrase method: A list of descriptive phrases is presented and the evaluator points out those that describe and characterize the employee's performance and those that really demonstrate the opposite of their performance. In the evaluation of competences, the defined dimensions constitute the essential of those sentences.
Field research method: it is based on interviews carried out by an evaluation specialist with the immediate superior, through which the performance of the subordinates is evaluated, the causes, origins and reasons for such performance are sought, through the analysis of facts and situations to issue a diagnosis of the evaluated person's performance and plan, together with the immediate superior, their development in office and in the organization. The participation of a qualified professional allows to increase reliability, one of the variants used is the knowledge and skills test.
Self-evaluation method: It is generally used as a complement or previous phase in the evaluation of professionals and managers. It is the person herself who evaluates herself, according to pre-established indicators or parameters to enable subsequent comparisons. This method is very effective in obtaining evaluations that more truthfully illustrate the performance of the worker, raises awareness of the achievements and deficiencies that arise, generates greater involvement with the process and with the objectives of the organization.
Objective evaluation method: Associated with the establishment of the administration by objectives (APO). This method is based on the prior establishment of the objectives to be met.
The objectives, the periods of fulfillment thereof and the dates for the review of the achievement of the proposed objectives are proposed.
360 ° evaluation method: It consists of recording the evaluative judgment of different people related to the evaluated person and from different “angles”. Recording the judgment of subordinates, bosses, peers or counterparts (internal clients) and external clients characterizes this method.
What to do with the results obtained in the evaluation?
The evaluation results constitute essential information for the integrated operation of human resources, for this reason it is necessary to analyze the results obtained in carrying out the evaluation in order to identify the causes and conditions that prevent the achievement of better results, because with this, training actions must be designed, reward, this can also contribute to the development of selection processes, promotion and the improvement of qualitative planning, work systems, working conditions, among other aspects. Performance evaluation is not an end in itself, but the fundamental input of decisive processes of human resource management.
Conclusions
Performance evaluation is a vital process within business management, since it constitutes the management instrument that allows knowing the attitudes and deficiencies that workers present, guaranteeing that they intensify their efforts to achieve the competencies that are analyzed as indicators within the system. performance evaluation and necessary for the organization, it evaluates the result and individual behavior, constituting these important outputs inputs to the remaining HRM process.
The performance of the organization depends and is in total correspondence with the individual performance of each of its workers, an essential link in achieving the goal.
