Performance evaluations are the process of assessing the performance of employees in the position, as well as their potential for development within the organization.
The main methods of performance evaluation (traditional) frequently link this process with the salary increase corresponding to that specific period, hence the employees do not value other objectives that this process pursues, other than the salary increase, among the main objectives. we can stand out:
- Adequacy of the individual to the position Training Promotions Salary incentives for good performance Improvement of human relations between employees and supervisors Self-improvement of the employee Basic information for the investigation of human resources Estimation of the development potential of the employees Stimulation to achieve greater productivity Opportunity for knowledge of the organization's performance patterns Feedback of information to the evaluated individual Other personnel decisions, such as transfers, permits, licenses, cancellations, etc.
It is common in many companies that employees feel unmotivated after this process, this is because after having given their best for a year or the period chosen by the company for the evaluation, it makes the determination to increase a percentage for all, without objectively evaluating the efforts made during that period by individual employees.
Sometimes employees do not know the evaluation instrument, therefore, the factors to consider in this process, so they give the best of it in a line that may not be part of that instrument.
Frequently these evaluations are loaded with biases on the part of the evaluator, some of these being:
- Unclear responsibilities and standards (criteria). Personal prejudices (Color, age, sex, origin) Influences of recent events. Halo effect (generalize by relevant traits) Benevolence, goodness, elasticity, too soft. Severity, rigor, rigidity (too strict. Subconscious reasons fear of rejection, gaining popularity). Effect of contagion (influence of past evaluations in the present) Error of similarity (rate more positively those who perceive that it seems more like it. Leniency or indulgence (rating above performance to avoid conflict with subordinates)
Evaluations are normally carried out by supervisors, and logically human resources supporting them during this process, sometimes not conducting evaluation interviews, so that the supervisor and the employee could discuss the weaknesses and strengths present in their performance evaluation process.
Companies in general have begun to use 360 ° Feedback, which is very popular, although it is not new, it was not until recently that it started its application, it consists of providing performance feedback to the employee from the complete circle of daily contacts an employee might have, ranging from mail staff to customers, bosses, and colleagues. Allowing to promote and create the appropriate conditions so that the necessary dialogue exists between all the actors of the company (internal and external)
- Manager Supervisor Co-workers at the same level Subordinates Human resources staff Clients Others
This non-traditional method of performance cannot be applied throughout the entire organization, but it can be applied to one of the main ones, such as personnel who work directly with people (customer service or platform), because in this competitive world in which we live, sometimes what differentiates a company from another of the same nature, is the service it offers, which makes it different from the competition, which is achieved through the human factor.
360 ° evaluation, as Claude Lévy-Leboyer quotes us in his book: 360º Feedback “It differs from classic evaluation methods, since the latter usually combine a questionnaire such as individual or group interviews, with questions asked that refer fundamentally to the environment of the company, to human relations and sources of satisfaction. And the sample of people questioned must be representative of the organization, and generally the results are reserved for those who have prepared them and do not communicate it to those who have responded to them, obviously this is not the case with 360 °, where the results are communicated exclusively to the participant, ”who is the person, is supposed to correct the actions resulting from that process;The applied questionnaires include specific questions related to the functions they perform.
For the application of a 360º assessment, the following steps are required:
- Senior management communicates the need and objectives of the valuation system. Employees and managers participate in the definition of the evaluation criteria and the process itself. Employees receive training on how to give and receive information. Employees are informed of the nature of the process and the instruments of the 360º assessment. The 360º evaluation goes through a testing process in one part of the organization. Management continually reinforces the objectives of the 360º assessment and is willing to change the process when necessary. It is not related to a salary increase.
The number of evaluations collected could be as few as three or four or as many as twenty-five, the companies that apply it collect between five to ten evaluations per employee, with the participants described above.
Compared to traditional methods, it has the following strengths:
- The system is broader in the sense that responses are collected from various perspectives. The quality of the information is better (the quality of the respondents is more important than the quantity) It completes the initiatives of total quality management by emphasizing internal and external clients and teams. You can reduce bias and bias as feedback comes from more people, not just one (the supervisor). Feedback from colleagues and others may encourage employee development.
Weaknesses that could present
- The feedback could be intimidating and lead to resentment if the employee feels that the respondents colluded. To function effectively the system requires training.
Despite the weaknesses presented, 360º allows those evaluated and the organization to have more career planning, increase motivation levels, have a feedback staff, decrease staff turnover, and have a more mature human capital in terms of to the accomplishment of the tasks, allowing him to develop in an efficient way his full development, which at the same time will allow the organization to have an instrument that will allow its employees to have a perspective of their performance as appropriate as possible, by obtaining contributions from all angles, based on your skills.
