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Making Performance Appraisals Legally Defensible
Lawsuits challenging the legality of the specific performance appraisal systems and resulting personnel actions have left scores of human resource manager asking themselves, “Will may organization’s performance appraisal systems stand up in court? Manager needs specific criteria for legally defensible performance appraisal systems.
After studying the verdicts in 66 employment discrimination cases in the United States, one pair of researchers found the employers could successfully defend their appraisal systems if these systems satisfied four criteria:
1. A job analysis was used to develop the performance appraisal system.
2. The appraisal system was behavior-oriented, not trait-oriented.
3. Performance evaluators followed specific written instruction when conducting appraisals.
4. Evaluators reviewed the result of the appraisals with the ratees.
Appraisal can be used to justify merit increases, document performance problems or simply “touch base” with employees. Experts say HR first must be decided what it wants appraisal to accomplish [and] then customize the form and the process to meet that goal.
Elements to consider:
1. Objectives set by the employee and manager at the last appraisal.
2. List of specific competencies or skills being measured, with examples of successful behaviors.
3. Ratings scale appropriate to the organization.
4. Space for employee’s appraisal.
5. Space for supervisor’s appraisal.
6. Space for specific comments from the supervisor about the employee’s performance
7. Suggestion for employee development.
8. Objectives to meet by the next appraisal date.
Alternative Performance Appraisal Techniques
The list of alternative performance appraisal techniques is long and growing. Appraisal software programs also are proliferating. Unreliable instruments do not measure criteria in a consistent manner.
Goal setting. Within an MBO framework, performance is typically evaluated in
Lawsuits challenging the legality of the specific performance appraisal systems and resulting personnel actions have left scores of human resource manager asking themselves, “Will may organization’s performance appraisal systems stand up in court? Manager needs specific criteria for legally defensible performance appraisal systems.
After studying the verdicts in 66 employment discrimination cases in the United States, one pair of researchers found the employers could successfully defend their appraisal systems if these systems satisfied four criteria:
1. A job analysis was used to develop the performance appraisal system.
2. The appraisal system was behavior-oriented, not trait-oriented.
3. Performance evaluators followed specific written instruction when conducting appraisals.
4. Evaluators reviewed the result of the appraisals with the ratees.
Appraisal can be used to justify merit increases, document performance problems or simply “touch base” with employees. Experts say HR first must be decided what it wants appraisal to accomplish [and] then customize the form and the process to meet that goal.
Elements to consider:
1. Objectives set by the employee and manager at the last appraisal.
2. List of specific competencies or skills being measured, with examples of successful behaviors.
3. Ratings scale appropriate to the organization.
4. Space for employee’s appraisal.
5. Space for supervisor’s appraisal.
6. Space for specific comments from the supervisor about the employee’s performance
7. Suggestion for employee development.
8. Objectives to meet by the next appraisal date.
Alternative Performance Appraisal Techniques
The list of alternative performance appraisal techniques is long and growing. Appraisal software programs also are proliferating. Unreliable instruments do not measure criteria in a consistent manner.
Goal setting. Within an MBO framework, performance is typically evaluated in