Topic 6: Performance Management And Appraisal

Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development

Performance appraisal involves assessing an employee’s current or past job performance in relation to the set job performance standards. It is a regular review of an employee’s performance within the organization. It begins when an individual is employed and ends when they leave the organization. Performance appraisal aims to identify an employee’s current job performance and give them feedback (Brown et al., 2019). It also seeks to identify an employee’s strengths and weaknesses and thus determine areas requiring training and development. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the performance appraisal of employees within the Telespazio organization.

How Telespazio Uses Appraisal Assessments to Identify Employee Roles

Telespazio uses the Telespazio Performance Appraisal tool to identify employee roles by evaluating employees’ previous roles in their various job positions. The tool is also used to develop new objectives for the various job positions, which are then used to identify employee roles (Profili et al., 2014). The appraisal assessment tool helps identify the employees’ current roles and develop new roles for each position, which are then integrated through the Competency Management System. Besides, the tool analyzes the needed professional skills for a job role and compares them against the current skills the employees have. This helps the employees identify if they have the needed professional skills to take up a role in the organization.

Current Appraisal Systems

Telespazio developed a Performance Appraisal System (PAT) in 2005. The purpose of PAT was to match the employees’ efforts with the organization’s goals and objectives, both in its local and global business operations. The PAT is a digital system that seeks to improve information sharing, transparency, the definition of the organizational goal, and focus more on employees’ competencies and roles (Profili et al., 2014). The appraisal system focuses on the management of employees in the aspects of training career development, compensation, motivation, and promoting employees’ mobility. In addition, the PAT appraises employees based on their observable conduct at work. It rates every employee, from top-level managers to employees at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy. The rating system has a three-level scale that rates employees’ performance as Not Achieved, Achieved, and Exceeds. It also rates performance based on a three-layered scale: To be Improved, Standard, and Outstanding (Profili et al., 2014). Furthermore, the OAT focuses on employee motivation and development rather than reward and punishment, which improves employees’ long-term job performance and productivity.

Performance Ratings

The HR department developed the performance ratings at Telespazio to improve the overall feedback to various aspects of employee productivity and job performance. Telespazio uses an SAP system to obtain data used to rate job employees’ performance. The current appraisal system has an electronic data collection method, which was developed to guarantee that the analysis of employees’ skills and competencies is standardized and unbiased (Profili et al., 2014). Telespazio analyzed and changed its appraisal system from a numeric-based scale to a three-layered rating scale, which improves the accuracy of employee ratings and promotes consistency in the rating results. In addition, Telespazio uses the 360⁰ feedback appraisal method whereby an employee is evaluated by their colleagues. The appraisal method promotes transparency in performance appraisal because an employee is appraised by colleagues instead of only the supervisor. Lastly, employees in Telespazio are appraised using the Management by Objectives (MBO) method (Profili et al., 2014). The MBO appraisal entails the managers appraising employees based on the objectives they have defined for their subordinates, which supports an objective employee evaluation.

Telespazio’s Practices for Performing Appraisal Interviews

Appraisal interviews are planned, organized and personal interviews between employees and their managers. Employee appraisal interviews at Telespazio start by having the employees and their supervisors/manager write down their professional abilities and job performance expectations. The employee and the manager then have a formal face-to-face meeting to discuss the employee’s job performance in relation to their abilities and set job expectations (Melander Bowden & Sandlund, 2019. Appraisal interviews are used at Telespazio to increase employees’ productivity and improve their work practice. The employee and the manager jointly identify the key areas that need improvement and discuss how the employee can perform through a feedback mechanism.

Changes Or Strategies That Could Be Implemented To Current Performance Appraisal Practices

The current performance appraisal practices at Telespazio can be improved by having frequent performance feedback from managers. The managers need to check on the employees more regularly to evaluate their progress and offer feedback on the performance. This approach is essential since positive performance feedback supports strong skills and reinforces positive employee behaviors while showing the employees areas to improve their performance (van Woerkom & Kroon, 2020). Telespazio needs to integrate regular performance feedback into the organizational culture and have the appraisal of employees begin as soon as they start working in the company. Timely performance feedback will be an effective strategy to support employees while at the same time influencing their work positively.

Additionally, the company can improve performance appraisal practices through regular employee-manager meetings (progress meetings) to discuss job outcomes and results. The progress meetings would be essential for the managers to identify how the employee is working to achieve the set goals and objectives (Brown et al., 2019). The managers can use the progress meetings to guide employees on approaches they can take or modify to help meet job performance standards.

New Performance Appraisal Tool

Telespazio would benefit from a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) tool. The BARS tool employs an absolute standard approach and compares an employee’s performance with precise behavioral examples attached to numerical ratings (Klieger et al., 2018). Every performance level on a BAR scale is attached to multiple BARS statements describing common behaviors that the employee regularly demonstrates. The statements serve as measures that gauge an employee’s job performance against set job performance standards. The company would benefit from the BARS tool because it outlines clear job performance standards for employees, improves feedback, promotes accurate analysis of performance and consistent appraisal (Klieger et al., 2018). Furthermore, the tool will eradicate construct-irrelevant inconsistencies in performance appraisal ratings since it emphasizes precise, concrete, and observable employee behaviors.

Benefits Of Using Both BARS Tool And Appraisal Interview

The BARS tool is a vital component of structured interviews. One benefit of using the BARS tool and appraisal interview during performance appraisal is that the employee and the manager can discuss the behavior the employee regularly exhibits (Kell et al., 2018). Consequently, the employee receives feedback on their strong behaviors and those they should improve on to meet job performance standards (Kell et al., 2018). Besides, the results from the BARS appraisal can be used as the focus of the appraisal interview, and the manager can discuss with the employee the degree of the employee’s deviation from the expected job performance.

Recommendations To Telespazio Leadership

Recommendations to Telespazio leadership to help meet performance appraisal expectations include encouraging two-way and open discussions between employees and managers. Leaders can achieve this by asking their subordinates open questions about their performance. They should also offer positive feedback and commend the areas the employee has outshined to motivate them to perform better (van Woerkom & Kroon, 2020). In addition, I would recommend leaders and managers to set SMART objectives for the employees and ensure that they agree with the objectives to ensure realistic criteria. Managers should align the objectives to the overall company goals for the employees to identify how they can make a positive contribution to the company.

Conclusion

Telespazio uses a performance appraisal tool to determine future employee roles by evaluating their previous roles in their various job positions. The company has a Performance Appraisal System, which matches employees’ efforts with the organization’s goals and objectives. Appraisal methods used include appraisal interviews,

360⁰ feedback, and management by objectives. The methods have been relatively effective in identifying employees’ strengths and weaknesses. However, the organization can integrate the BARS tool, which evaluates an employee’s specific behavior.

References

Brown, T. C., O’Kane, P., Mazumdar, B., & McCracken, M. (2019). Performance management: A scoping review of the literature and an agenda for future research. Human Resource Development Review, 18(1), 47-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484318798533

Kell, H. J., Martin‐Raugh, M. P., Carney, L. M., Inglese, P. A., Chen, L., & Feng, G. (2018). Exploring methods for developing behaviorally anchored rating scales for evaluating structured interview performance. ETS Research Report Series, 2017(1), 1-26. doi:10.1002/ets2.12152

Klieger, D. M., Kell, H. J., Rikoon, S., Burkander, K. N., Bochenek, J. L., & Shore, J. R. (2018). Development of the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales for the skills demonstration and progression guide. ETS Research Report Series, 2018(1), 1-36. doi:10.1002/ets2.12210

Melander Bowden, H., & Sandlund, E. (2019). Knowledge talk in performance appraisal interviews. Learning, Culture, and Social Interaction, 21, 278-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2019.03.012

Profili, S., Sammarra, A., Innocenti, L., & Gabrielli, G. (2014). Performance appraisal at Telespazio: aligning strategic goals to people development. International Journal of Case Studies in Management, 12(1), 1+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A377577345/AONE?u=anon~7d69e25b&sid=googleScholar&xid=22ce0325

van Woerkom, M., & Kroon, B. (2020). The Effect of Strengths-Based Performance Appraisal on Perceived Supervisor Support and the Motivation to Improve Performance. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 1883. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01883

Lopes Write Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.

Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.

Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?

Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.

Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.

If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.

I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.

As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

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Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:

Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.

Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
Include in-text citations in your response
Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
Follow APA-7th edition
Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
Follow APA 7th edition
Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
Here are some helpful links
Student paper example
Citing Sources
The Writing Center is a great resource

As we begin this session, I would like to take this opportunity to clarify my expectations for this course:

Please note that GCU Online weeks run from Thursday (Day 1) through Wednesday (Day 7).

Course Room Etiquette:

It is my expectation that all learners will respect the thoughts and ideas presented in the discussions.
All postings should be presented in a respectful, professional manner. Remember – different points of view add richness and depth to the course!

Office Hours:

My office hours vary so feel free to shoot me an email at Kelly.[email protected] or my office phone is 602.639.6517 and I will get back to you within one business day or as soon as possible.
Phone appointments can be scheduled as well. Send me an email and the best time to call you, along with your phone number to make an appointment.
I welcome all inquiries and questions as we spend this term together. My preference is that everyone utilizes the Questions to Instructor forum. In the event your question is of a personal nature, please feel free to post in the Individual Questions for Instructor forum I will respond to all posts or emails within 24 or sooner.

Late Policy and Grading Policy

Discussion questions:

I do not mark off for late DQ’s.
I would rather you take the time to read the materials and respond to the DQ’s in a scholarly way, demonstrating your understanding of the materials.
I will not accept any DQ submissions after day 7, 11:59 PM (AZ Time) of the week.
Individual written assignments – due by 11:59 PM AZ Time Zone on the due dates indicated for each class deliverable.

Assignments:

Assignments turned in after their specified due dates are subject to a late penalty of -10%, each day late, of the available credit. Please refer to the student academic handbook and GCU policy.
Any activity or assignment submitted after the due date will be subject to GCU’s late policy
Extenuating circumstances may justify exceptions, which are at my sole discretion. If an extenuating circumstance should arise, please contact me privately as soon as possible.
No assignments can be accepted for grading after midnight on the final day of class.
All assignments will be graded in accordance with the Assignment Grading Rubrics

Participation

Participation in each week’s Discussion Board forum accounts for a large percentage of your final grade in this course.
Please review the Course Syllabus for a comprehensive overview of course deliverables and the value associated with each.
It is my expectation that each of you will substantially contribute to the course discussion forums and respond to the posts of at least three other learners.
A substantive post should be at least 200 words. Responses such as “great posts” or “I agree” do not meet the active engagement expectation.
Please feel free to draw on personal examples as you develop your responses to the Discussion Questions but you do need to demonstrate your understanding of the materials.
I do expect outside sources as well as class materials to formulate your post.
APA format is not necessary for DQ responses, but I do expect a proper citation for references.
Please use peer-related journals found through the GCU library and/or class materials to formulate your answers. Do not try to “Google” DQ’s as I am looking for class materials and examples from the weekly materials.
I will not accept responses that are from Wikipedia, Business dictionary.com, or other popular business websites. You will not receive credit for generic web searches – this does not demonstrate graduate-level research.
Stay away from the use of personal pronouns when writing. As a graduate student, you are expected to write based on research and gathering of facts. Demonstrating your understanding of the materials is what you will be graded on. You will be marked down for lack of evidence to support your ideas.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of claiming credit for another’s work, accomplishments, or ideas without appropriate acknowledgment of the source of the information by including in-text citations and references.
This course requires the utilization of APA format for all course deliverables as noted in the course syllabus.
Whether this happens deliberately or inadvertently, whenever plagiarism has occurred, you have committed a Code of Conduct violation.
Please review your LopesWrite report prior to final submission.
Every act of plagiarism, no matter the severity, must be reported to the GCU administration (this includes your DQ’s, posts to your peers, and your papers).

Plagiarism includes:

Representing the ideas, expressions, or materials of another without due credit.
Paraphrasing or condensing ideas from another person’s work without proper citation and referencing.
Failing to document direct quotations without proper citation and referencing.
Depending upon the amount, severity, and frequency of the plagiarism that is committed, students may receive in-class penalties that range from coaching (for a minor omission), -20% grade penalties for resubmission, or zero credit for a specific assignment. University-level penalties may also occur, including suspension or even expulsion from the University.
If you are at all uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, you should review the resources available in the Student Success Center. Also, please review the University’s policies about plagiarism which are covered in more detail in the GCU Catalog and the Student Handbook.
We will be utilizing the GCU APA Style Guide 7th edition located in the Student Success Center > The Writing Center for all course deliverables.

LopesWrite

All course assignments must be uploaded to the specific Module Assignment Drop Box, and also submitted to LopesWrite every week.
Please ensure that your assignment is uploaded to both locations under the Assignments DropBox. Detailed instructions for using LopesWrite are located in the Student Success Center.

Assignment Submissions

Please note that Microsoft Office is the software requirement at GCU.
I can open Word files or any file that is saved with a .rtf (Rich Text Format) extension. I am unable to open .wps files.
If you are using a “.wps” word processor, please save your files using the .rtf extension that is available from the drop-down box before uploading your files to the Assignment Drop Box.

Grade of Incomplete

The final grade of Incomplete is granted at the discretion of the instructor; however, students must meet certain specific criteria before this grade accommodation is even possible to consider.
The grade of Incomplete is reserved for times when students experience a serious extenuating circumstance or a crisis during the last week of class which prevents the completion of course requirements before the close of the grading period. Students also must pass the course at the time the request is made.
Please contact me personally if you are having difficulties in meeting course requirements or class deadlines during our time together. In addition, if you are experiencing personal challenges or difficulties, it is best to contact the Academic Counselor so that you can discuss the options that might be available to you, as well as each option’s academic and financial repercussions.

Grade Disputes

If you have any questions about a grade you have earned on an individual assignment or activity, please get in touch with me personally for further clarification.
While I have made every attempt to grade you fairly, on occasion a misunderstanding may occur, so please allow me the opportunity to learn your perspective if you believe this has occurred. Together, we should be able to resolve grading issues on individual assignments.
However, after we have discussed individual assignments’ point scores, if you still believe that the final grade you have earned at the end of the course is not commensurate with the quality of work you produced for this class, there is a formal Grade Grievance procedure which is outlined in the GCU Catalog and Student Handbook.