P REAMBULO Y JUSTIFICACIÓN

Principle 1. Performance appraisal is a management tool but it is not a substitute for good management

1. Performance appraisal is the process of assessing or measuring the way in which tasks assigned are carried out. Its goal is to optimize performance at the individual, group and agency level. It is not an end in itself, nor can it function properly unless the organization/agency defines its mission in

performance-oriented terms and acts at all levels to reinforce that message. Performance appraisal should be but one element of a set of integrated measures (including organizational design, human resources planning and development) that serve to achieve the goal of overall improved performance. This process is known as performance management.

Principle 2. The objectives that the organization has for performance appraisal should be formulated

before a system is selected or developed: the processes and procedures employed should

be consistent with these purposes

2. The results of performance appraisal may be used for various administrative actions: retention of staff at the end of fixed-term or probationary contracts; decisions on salary (within-grade increments) and merit awards. Organizations may also use the performance appraisal process as a vehicle for reviewing career development and planning objectives.

3. Whatever purposes the system is used for, it is essential that processes are in place to ensure that the information derived from the appraisal is used for its stated purposes.

4. It is particularly important for staff performance to be closely monitored, and the necessary coaching and counselling given, in the initial period

following recruitment. This may require the development of specific forms or procedures for this group of staff.

promotion, but should not provide the sole basis for such decisions:

information is also needed about the staff member's potential to succeed in circumstances requiring somewhat different skills (i.e. his or her

promotability).

Principle 3: The purposes of performance appraisal should be clearly understood by all concerned

6. The purposes of performance appraisal and how it contributes to organizational effectiveness should be understood at all levels in the organization. This understanding can be facilitated in several ways:

(a) General information on the system:

(i) As a minimum, the purposes and procedures of the system should be grounded in staff rules and regulations and explained in

administrative issuances, personnel manuals and the like;

(ii) The development of additional information tools, e.g. flow charts, booklets, etc., explaining the process itself and how it interfaces with overall agency performance would be a useful adjunct to such administrative texts;

(b) Training: No system should be introduced without an organization-wide training effort. For managers and supervisors, this should be integrated with general management training or posited in the context of their overall

managerial/supervisory responsibilities. All new recruits should receive training/briefing in the system.

Principle 4. Performance management and appraisal must be important and meaningful to managers and supervisors

7. Regardless of how well a performance appraisal system is designed, it will falter if it is not taken seriously by managers and supervisors. Enlisting appraisers' support for the system is therefore crucial. This support can be engendered in several ways:

(a) The leadership and senior management of the organization should issue a statement underlining the importance of the performance appraisal system in the context of performance management; they should also show by their own actions that they themselves take the system seriously. One way of

demonstrating this commitment would be for the formal performance appraisal system to be applicable to all staff in the organization, including those at the highest levels. It is also essential to send a clear message to line managers

that, so long as their appraisals are impartial and objective, they will be supported in tough decisions;

(b) The active participation of programme managers should be sought when developing or changing systems. This will help to ensure that the system meets their needs, and guard against the perception that performance appraisal is the property of the personnel function;

(c) In terms of accountability, the accurate and prompt completion of performance appraisals should be specifically included in the work plans of managerial and supervisory staff as a key element to be evaluated by their own supervisors. As with other important parts of a supervisor's job, there must be positive consequences for doing a good job of appraising performance and

negative consequences for doing a poor job;

(d) All managers and supervisors should receive training in the skills required to carry out performance appraisal effectively, including communication skills, the setting of performance objectives, coaching and counselling and assisting staff to improve performance.

8. It is important to recall that management accountability for performance appraisal cannot be forged in isolation from the development of management skills overall.

Principle 5. To the extent possible, objective performance-based work tasks important to the efficient and effective

operation of the organization should provide the basis for the appraisals. These should, where

feasible, be supported by the development of competencies applicable to the job group in which

the staff member works

9. Basically what a performance appraisal system requires is setting out what staff are expected to do, telling them at the end of the appraisal period how they did and using the information for the purposes the system was designed to serve.

10. There are several different sources of information upon which managers can draw when identifying the more important duties or tasks of their staff members. It goes without saying that the staff member should be consulted at the time the work plan is being prepared. One obvious source of information is the staff member's job description, which as a matter of sound management should be kept up to date. However, care should be exercised in this regard. Duties that are included in a job description but that the staff member is not expected to carry out during the appraisal period should not be taken into account in the work plan. Conversely, the fact that a staff member is required to perform a certain

task that is not in the job description does not necessarily mean that the job description needs to be modified. While the tasks included in the staff

member's work plan will probably be written at a different level of specificity than those in the job description, there should, over all, be a high degree of correlation between the two. If not, the job description should be rewritten.

11. In appraising performance it is important to keep to duties or tasks (also called performance objectives, factors or elements) that the staff member is expected to carry out. Care should be taken to avoid basing ratings on personal traits and attitudes, which can only increase the subjectivity of the appraisals and might lead some staff members to see both the supervisor and the ratings as arbitrary and unfair.

12. While performance appraisal systems should be task-based rather than

behaviour-based, the use of strict management-by-objective systems is not always possible or appropriate. It is important to evaluate not just whether a task was completed appropriately, but whether the staff member brought to bear thereon the qualities or attributes required for effective performance in the staff member's job group or family. Such generic standards of knowledge, skills and abilities applicable to job groups are known as competencies. Their

development as an element of the performance management and appraisal process is encouraged because they provide a common language and framework across jobs and functions and encourage reference to job-related behaviours rather than selected personality traits and "interpersonal chemistry".

13. In general, staff involvement in the whole performance appraisal process should be encouraged, although ultimately it is the manager who is responsible for determining appropriate work tasks.