Reasons staff  appraisal must not be mistaken for witch-hunt

By Ousman Seckan

In the Gambia, some workers fear performance appraisal because  they  see it as a witch -hunt meant for supervisors  to expose their weakness. The fear of supervisors using appraisal tools to punish or even threaten their subordinates make them quite uneasy. These among other reasons make some workers in the Gambia fear appraisal so much. In fact, some staff see it as nothing, but a witch-hunt.

While the tool is used to enhance staff performance and productivity, some employees are with the belief that it is aimed at exposing  their weakness, and tainting their  track records. In this article, you will find four reasons performance appraisal must not be seen as witch-hunt given that several benefits are associated with appraisal to both employers and employees.

1.  It helps  redress inefficiency

Performance appraisal system is a valuable management tool which helps to generate feedback, review and estimate whether an employee’s performance is effective. It guides in ensuring that work is satisfactorily done. Recruiting agencies and organisations perform evaluations to benefit both the employees and the employer. The most significant benefit of the appraisal system for the manager or the head of department is that it provides a document of employee performance over a specific period. The performance appraisal is an essential part of the human resources department’s contribution to an organization. An effective appraisal helps to eliminate behaviour and work-quality problems, as well as motivates  employees to contribute more. Therefore, you should not see appraisal as witch – hunting, rather cherish it and open up when you are being appraised.

2. Unveils  areas of strong performance

Performance appraisal helps to recognize areas of strong performance across all employees, by department or by demographic. Standardized performance assessments allow companies to combine, calculate and analyse results to show where performance is strong. These areas of strength then can serve as benchmarks and opportunities for sharing of best practices for other areas of the organization. Employees must note that performance appraisal is not  in anyway meant to reveal  their weaknesses in order to punish them. In fact, an effective appraisal does not only eliminate behaviour and work quality problems, but it also  stimulates an employee to contribute more wholeheartedly to his organization.

3. It helps boost production and service delivery

Performance Appraisal is needed by organizations in order for them to operate profitably and enhance both employee and organizational performances. As education is a strategic sector that requires effective and efficient planning and critical management, a well-planned performance appraisal exercise is, therefore, highly needed to position employers  and employees to be competitive and productive. In that regard, performance appraisal enhances staff productivity, staff efficiency, and staff motivation.

4. Appraisal provides for training

It is important to note that appraisal helps a manager to discover an employee’s performance, strength and weakness, as well as his skills and qualities required for leadership position in the organization. It also enables managers to learn about employees career goals and thus provide the necessary information and requisite training and development plan that can improve employee’s engagement and loyalty. It helps to retain skillful and highly knowledgeable staff even if they do not seek advancement in the organization.

About the author

Ousman Seckan is a freelance journalist and blogger. He holds an Advanced Diploma in Journalism and Communication. You can follow him on: httpts://wwwfacebook.com/ousman.seckan.9678 or https://www.linkedin.com/in/ousman-seckan-a0122319a/ or send an email to: ousman.seckan@gmail.com