Performance Appraisal

The point of performance appraisals is to see if the people under contract are performing as well as they can, and also to assess whether they are being fairly rewarded (their remuneration, like their duties, is subject to contractual agreement). This limits evaluations to the level of concrete, or at least verifiable, facts. However, there are numerous relevant factors that, although they may only be indirectly related to performance, should nevertheless not be underestimated. These additional factors will, either officially or unofficially, play a part in evaluations. They include how the performance level was reached, whether the conditions were favourable or unfavourable, which abilities, strengths or weaknesses emerged on the day, whether similar, higher or lower levels of performance could be expected or encouraged in the future, what feedback would be sensible or perhaps even timely, whether the person concerned should be encouraged or held back, whether some specific performance has perhaps been achieved at the cost of other work. These considerations and countless others besides play a more or less palpable role.