Staff Performance Appraisal

Is a periodic formal evaluation of how well the nurse has performed her duties during a specific period.

*Basic concept of performance appraisal:

The performance appraisal is a continuous process, derived directly from the job description. It is imperative that all employees are knowledgeable exact criteria by which they will be evaluated.

*Purposes of performance appraisal:1)To enhance staff development & motivate personnel

toward higher achievement.2)To discover the employee's aspiration &to recognize

her accomplishment.3)To improve communication between supervisors&

staff.4)To improve Performance.

5)To aid supervisor's coaching &counseling.6)To determine training & development needs of

employee.7)To make inventories of talents within the organization.

8)To select qualified nurses for advancement & salary increase.

9)To identify unsatisfactory employee for demotion or termination.

*Principles of performance appraisal process:1-The appraisal must contain & this must be

communicated clearly to the worker at the time of hire.

2-The process must be able discrimination between excellent , good & poor performance to identify area of improvement & individual growth.

3-The nurse should be given a copy of her job description, performance standards& evaluation form to review before the evaluation.

4-Staff members should be aware in advance what will occurs if she doesn't meet expected standards of performance.

5-Evauation period , there is no rule for it ,most organization appraise older employees about once or twice/year .New employees are appraised about 6 weeks to 2 months after being hired.

6-Self-evaluation is an effective method of promoting further development of the employee but it should not be the only form of performance evaluation.

Components to be evaluated:*Traits/personal characteristics:

Most performance appraisal systems focus onpersonal traits and characteristics e.g. stability or the ability to handle stress. It is done by means of absolute judgment. In recent years there have been a gradual shift away from trait

-oriented systems due to their lack of -applicability to employee growth and

-development . Most trait characteristics are -somewhat ambiguous

(what precisely is meant by initiative .)?

*Results:In recent years, top management has turned to appraisal of some employee on the basis of the results they produce.

In practice it is not easily measured ,concrete objectives for most health care jobs e.g. providing high quality of patient care are not easily quantified.

In addition it is of little help in staff development.

Telling someone that she did not accomplish a goal does not tell that person how to accomplish it in the future.

*Behavioral criteria:In recent years, many health care institutions havemoved to behavior oriented performance

appraisal systems rather than focusing on vaguetraits, which may cause legal problems , or

difficult to measures results .Behavior –orientedsystems focus on what the employee actually does. This gives new employee specific information on how they are expected to behave,

is less likely to lead to legal problems and the behavior form facilitates employee development.

Its drawback it is relatively time consuming to develop ,is tied to only one job or a narrow range

of jobs .

*Combination of criteria:As institution have become more concerned with employee productivity , some has developed appraisal systems that combine all these types of

criteria .)employee have a few major objectives that she is expected to accomplish, and they are also evaluated in terms of both general personal

characteristics as well as behaviorally specific criteria .)

Factors which should be taken into consideration when conducting performance appraisals :

1-Appraisal should be done at least once yearly and it should be recorded.

2-Information should be shared with the nurse &she should be given the opportunity to respond.

3-The supervisor should have the chance

to observe nurses performance.

4-A record of critical incidents should be kept on nurses performance for the whole period of evaluation.

5-Supervisors should be trained on how to conduct the evaluation process. what is the acceptable performance ,how to complete the appraisal form, and the appraisal interview.)

6 -Performance appraisal should concentrate on behaviors rather than traits .

*Methods for appraising performance :A number of techniques are available for use&;

occasionally more than method can be used.

1 )Rating scales:The form list a number of traits ,as well as range of

performance .The evaluator make a choice from among range of options for every criteria assessed

, such options may include:Excellent- Good – Fair – Poor.Above average - average – below average.

Always – frequently – occasionally – seldom – never .

-Advantages:*Easy to construct.

*It permit to quantitative analysis & comparison.

-Disadvantages:* Unclarity of standard.

* Unless all raters agree on what terms such as good or excellent mean, then final rating cannot

be compared.* Often emphasized personality traits.

* Trait are difficult to measure & change.* Provide little value in identifying areas for

improvement.

2-Check-list method:Is similar in appearance &use to graphic rating scale. The basic difference is in the type of judgment , it gives yes or no judgment.

It is usually evaluated by the staff personnel department, not the manager doing the Check-list.

The final evaluation can be returned to the rating manager for discussion with employee.

-Advantages:*Reduce some bias.

*Useful in teaching nursing procedures.*Useful for evaluating large number.

•*Expectation of performance are clearly • identified .

• -Disadvantages:

*It does not indicate the degree with which the behavior occur.*Difficult to construct.

3-Ranking method: Rank the employee in relation to his co-workers

with respect to certain aspects of performance.

-Advantages:*Used especially when a fringe benefit are to be

given to few employees& not at all.

-Disadvantages:*There is no standard form or way to replicate

the judgment that was executed .

*It might not be easy if all workers perform identical tasks ,or the number of workers to be

ranked is high.

4-Critical incident :The rater keeps a running record of uncommonly good or undesirable incidents

for each employee. Every six months a discussion is held between the employee & the rater.

-Advantages :*Relates to performance elements of the job.*Good when the only purpose is counseling.

-Disadvantages:*Time consuming.

* Not define in the same way by the raters .

5-Essay method:The evaluator writes a paragraph or more regarding a particular employee's strengths

weaknesses.The content should reflect the employee's performance in relation to his job description.

-Advantages: *Allow depth analysis of performance.

*Suitable for identifying training & problem areas. *Easy to use for jobs that are changing.

*Meets individual differences.

-Disadvantages:*Time consuming.

*Vary in length & content.*Lack objectivity.

*Depending on the writing ability.*Difficult to qualify or expressed numerically.

6-Management by objective )MBO):

In this method the supervisor & the subordinate specify the performance goal to be attained within appropriate length of time.

-At the end of the period , evaluate the outcome -or the result .

- Advantages: *It create interest in the employee to accomplish

goals because employee are able to set their own goals.

*Minimize defensive feeling & a spirit of teamwork prevails & morale.

*Great freedom is left to subordinate to work.*Employee more fairly evaluated.

-Disadvantages:*The demotivated employee may attempt to set

easily attainable goals .

*Characteristics of good tool:Utility, simplicity ,validity, reliability, consistency ,stability & discrimination.

*Common errors in evaluation:1-Ambiguous evaluation standards:

Most appraisal form use rating scales that include words such as ))outstanding , above

average ,satisfactory, or need improvement. ))But different managers attach different meaning

to these wards.

2-Rater bias: Some managers allow their personal biases

to distort ratings. These biases may be gross prejudices regarding sex ,color, race ,or religion, as well as personal characteristics, such as age,

style of clothing.

3-Different rater patterns: Managers )like teachers( differ in their rating styles.

Some managers rate harshly, others easily.

4-Hallo error:

It is the first impression effect of a singleprominent characteristics which affect the supervisor's judgment e.g. appearance,

race ,social status, position……..etc.

How to overcome errors:1-Improve skills of the supervisor by training in

method of evaluation. 2-Formal training program help to increase

appraiser ability & designed to :- Make raters aware of the various types of

rating errors.- Improve raters observational skills.

- Training in communication skills.- Identify cases of supervisor's bias.

3-Specific standards of performance based on employee's job description.

4-Working record to be used as starting point for monitoring progress.

5-Managers must receive appraisal form& a reasonable time before evaluation.

6-Performance evaluation should be short , simple ,educative & positive for both

supervisor& subordinates.

7-Avoid hallo effect.

Conducting the performance appraisal interview:*Aim:

-Communicating the appraisal information to subordinates.

-To establish a program for improvement.-To improve working relationships between

supervisor & subordinates.

How to conduct the interview:-The subordinate is given a week notice of the

date of the appraisal interview.-A private room & confidential approach is provided.

-All steps of the appraisal should be documented.

-Subordinates' views are expressed concerning job & working conditions and suggestion for

improvement are offered.-Supervisor's views of the subordinate's

performance is given by a summary statement.-Avoid criticism or comparing with others.

-The supervisor encourage desirable behavior to continue )reinforcing(.

-The supervisor offers opportunities for improvement with the subordinate.

Discuss with the subordinate: -Advancement possibilities.

-Future pay increase.-Warning for poor performance.

-Discuss any work problems that affect performance e.g. facilities , resources ,

policies……….etc .

To achieve high level of performance the supervisor must:

-Encourage effort. -Develop abilities .

-communicate clearly what is expected to do the job .