Supervisors ideally spend time each day providing performance feedback to employees. As stressed throughout the chapter, there is no substitute for daily feedback on performance.

Most organizations require formal performance appraisals at least once each year. Because the decision to retain a new employee is critical, the performance assessment of probationary employees should be done at the end of the probationary period. When there is a serious performance problem, the supervisor should provide immediate feedback.

However, ongoing feedback, both positive and negative, should be a regular part of the supervisor’s routine. If the employee is given ongoing feedback, then the annual appraisal should contain no surprises. It should be a review of what the supervisor and employee have discussed during the year.

If done properly, formal performance appraisals benefit both the employee and the organization.

Companies use performance appraisals as a basis for important decisions concerning promotions, raises, terminations, and the like. Performance appraisals reward employees’ good performance and inform them of strategies they can use to become more productive.

The major advantage of a formal appraisal system is that it provides a framework to help the supervisor systematically evaluate performance and communicate to employees how they are doing.

Formal appraisals can be employee incentives. They get positive feedback about their performance and know that the formal system documents their performance.

Criticism of performance appraisal process dwells on the fact that it often focuses only on past accomplishments or deficiencies. Supervisors can counteract this criticism by emphasizing developmental aspects of performance appraisal. P9658