Human Resource Management-Performance Standards
- Performance elements give an employee an outline of what is expected of them while the standards guides on how well they have to do it.
- A performance standard for a hospital is a management-approved expression relating to performance requirements, expectations, or thresholds that must be met so as to be appraised at a given level of performance.
- The quantity standard assesses how much work has been done. It is a challenging, but achievable general outcome to be achieved.
- Timeliness standard outlines how quickly, when or by what specific works are produced. This allows a set margin for error and is realistic.
- Cost-effectiveness addresses the issue of working within given budgets. These are based on specific levels of resources in terms of personnel, money, and time.
Guidelines for Effective Performance Appraisals
- It must reflect the hospital’s mission, values, and philosophy.
- It should be developed upon a proper understanding of job descriptions and specifications.
- It should be based on effective performance standard.
- Select an equitable type of rewards for each level of performance; this could be in terms of salary increase or a bonus.
- Communication is a key element of the performance appraisal especially during the orientation of new-hires.
Barriers to Effective Performance Appraisals
- Inequitable treatment of employees is a common barrier to effective performance appraisals.
- Lack of regular communication, for instance, where the supervisor does not give regular feedback they cause employees to be shocked by evaluations.
- Personality especially employee’s overconfidence or low self-esteem may hinder the efforts of the employer to modify their behavior.
- Performance appraisals that only identify employee’s negative behavior and faults without citing specifics and presenting goals may not be effective.
- Too much emphasis on past events is not good as it ignores the complete behavior of an employee.
References
Agbola, R., Hemans, S., & Abena, S. (2011). The Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal as a Tool for Enhancing Employee Performance in the Public Health Sector. Global Management Journal, 3(1/2), 81-96.
JAYAM, R. R. (2012). A General Study on Performance Management in the Health Care Sectors. Indian Streams Research Journal, 2(10), 1.
