           PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: A DIFFERENT APPROACH

                               By

                   Dennis B. Anderson, M.P.A.
                          Special Agent
                Supervisory Senior Resident Agent
            FBI's Lansing, Michigan, Resident Agency
                        Detroit Division


     What two words strike fear in supervisors and subordinates
alike?  Performance appraisal. The performance appraisal process
often makes everyone tense, perhaps because many supervisors have
little training in the objectives, foundations, and delivery of
performance appraisals. They use the "rearview mirror" approach,
which focuses on past performance. (1) This puts employees on the
defensive and wastes valuable time.

     Furthermore, supervisors often fail to realize that the
performance appraisal process is just that--a process. They need
to view appraisals not as a once-a-year chore but as a productive
procedure that continues throughout the year. Evaluation
interviews, although considered by many employees to be the
entire appraisal, are just one part of an overall strategy.

THE APPRAISAL PROCESS

Attitude Is Important

     Supervisors must remember that the primary goal of
performance appraisal is to improve performance. To assist in
achieving this objective, supervisors must first create an
atmosphere in which employees will be motivated to perform.

     "Management by walking around" can be a useful technique in
developing a good working relationship with employees.
Supervisors who take a few minutes to visit with employees in
their work areas show an interest in their employees and a
confidence to engage in discussion on the employees' own "turf."
This can be an opportunity to inquire about their performance,
compliment them, and to listen to them, thereby encouraging
feedback.

     Supervisors must not only be managers by doing things right
but they also must be leaders. Leadership means "doing the right
things," such as being a coach, a facilitator, and even a
cheerleader. Leaders should also "walk the way they talk." In
other words, they must set the tone for change and become role
models for employees. Employees cannot be motivated toward a work
attitude or ethic if it is not exhibited by the supervisor.

     Equally important, supervisors must realize that employees
deserve respect. They should not be so concerned with the
organization's bottom line that they forget to treat employees
like human beings.

     In that regard, supervisors often use evaluations to target
their employees' weaknesses. Instead, they should emphasize
strengths on which the employee can build. To accomplish this,
the appraisal process should follow a performance management
cycle. (2)

The Performance Management Cycle

     The cycle begins with the supervisor defining the roles and
responsibilities of subordinates. Employees cannot perform
adequately if they do not know what their supervisors expect of
them. Expectations should be clearly defined, with input from
employees. This important step shows employees how they
contribute to the overall strategy of the organization.

     Next, the supervisor and the employee, together, set
specific goals for the employee to achieve, depending on the
employee's duties, responsibilities, and work assignments. While
objectives should be specific, they should not be so narrowly
defined that supervisors fail to account for extenuating
circumstances that might cause employees not to meet the
standard. For example, requiring employees to complete a specific
number of assignments each month does not take into consideration
the complexity and difficulty of each assignment, which might
limit progress. Supervisors and employees should also develop
strategies for attaining these goals and decide which method the
supervisor will use to monitor employee progress.

     The supervisor then coaches the employee. This means
monitoring performance and providing corrective feedback or
revising expectations, when necessary.

     Finally, the supervisor reviews performance with the
employee. This means frequent, regularly scheduled meetings, not
a yearly evaluation. Monthly reviews are one way to check
employees' progress on a continual basis.

     The success of the performance management cycle depends on
supervisors and employees working together. This way, they
establish realistic goals, and employees are more likely to use
their strengths, while recognizing and overcoming their
weaknesses. Supervisors must also remember that they are
evaluating performance, not their employees' personality
characteristics.

     Inherent in the performance management cycle, feedback is
the key element in a successful performance evaluation. With
feedback, employees can better gauge their performance, and
supervisors learn the most effective ways to motivate them. As a
result, supervisors can approach the appraisal process in a
positive manner, feeling more like helpers than judges. (3)

The Evaluation Interview

     Because supervisors should view the evaluation interview as
the beginning, not the end, of the appraisal process, they should
use the interview to plan for the future, rather than to dwell on
the past. Accordingly, they should devote approximately 60
percent of the appraisal to planning the future, 30 percent to
analyzing the present, and a mere 10 percent to reviewing the
past.

     During the interview, interaction between the supervisor
and the employee should reinforce present behavior if the
employee is performing well, suggest behavior changes if the
employee needs to improve performance, or develop a new behavior
if the employee receives new tasks or assignments. (4) To do this,
supervisors should:

     -  Provide a clear reason for the performance evaluation

     -  Present positive and negative feedback in a fostering,  
        non-threatening atmosphere

     -  Resolve conflicts and problems through participative     
        dialogue

     -  Set specific goals to improve job performance

     -  Provide support and encouragement to the employee. (5)

     Simply put, a viable performance evaluation interview that 
encompasses the critical aspects of the appraisal process is
Meaningful, Enjoyable, Educational, and Traceable (MEET). (6)  In
other words, the interview should be a results-oriented,
developmental process, with supervisors presenting verifiable,
fact-based information in a positive, relaxed atmosphere. The
interview should also cover opportunities for growth within the
current job assignment but should be limited to a few important
items that are both evident and achieveable. For example,
employees might receive responsibility for important projects or
attend seminars in their areas of expertise.

Followup

     Often, supervisors find performance evaluations difficult
because they do not discuss performance with their employees
between evaluations. Understandably, then, the annual performance
evaluation becomes a tense experience for all. 

     To avoid this, effective supervisors follow up on the
performance evaluation and ensure that efforts to improve
performance continue throughout the year. They evaluate what they
have learned about employees, identifying what employees did
well, what they did poorly, and what they should do differently
in the future. Followup also helps supervisors to see how they
can best interact with and motivate employees.

     Experienced supervisors recognize the importance of
followup in the evaluation process. In fact, when municipal
executives were asked in a survey to identify factors that
contribute to the effectiveness of performance evaluations, they
named regular performance reviews as one of the top three. (7)

CAVEATS

     While this method of evaluation means actively involving
employees in the process, supervisors must be careful not to
place too much of a burden on employees. Supervisors are still
ultimately responsible for ensuring that employees are performing
to their full potential.

     In this regard, the acronym ACHIEVE provides a list of
important factors for supervisors to use in evaluating employee
performance. (8) ACHIEVE stands for:

     -  Ability: Has the supervisor ensured that employees       
        possess the skills required to perform assignments?

     -  Clarity: Has the supervisor clearly explained the goals  
        and objectives of performance to employees?

     -  Help: Has the supervisor offered assistance to           
        employees in the performance of their duties?

     -  Incentive: Has the supervisor provided employees with a  
        reason (challenge, praise, recognition, etc.) to         
        perform?

     -  Evaluation: Does the supervisor provide employees with   
        regular feedback on their performance?

     -  Validity: Has the supervisor used proper techniques to   
        judge and evaluate employees' performance?

     -  Environment: Does something beyond employees' control a  
        affect their performance?

By considering these factors, supervisors look to themselves for
answers before holding employees accountable for their lack of    
performance.

CONCLUSION

     In surveys, 25 percent of workers believe they are not
working to full potential; 75 percent say they could be more
effective, and 60 percent say they are not working as hard as
they have in the past. (9) An effective appraisal process can help
supervisors to tap into their employees' potential.

     Supervisors need to view performance appraisals as a
participative process and to approach them with a positive
attitude. Skilled supervisors feel more like coaches and
counselors than judges.

     Counseling assists those employees who are not performing
to their full potential, whereas coaching helps all employees to
achieve their highest possible levels of performance. The degree
to which supervisors accept these relationships determines
whether employees and the organization achieve established goals
and objectives.

     The new approach to successful performance appraisal, in
comparison to old methods, provides for a plan of achievement,
not merely a judgment. Supervisors should view performance
appraisals as an ongoing and developmental process. This process
is based on a relationship of trust and confidence between
supervisors and employees. For those supervisors who make the
effort to challenge employees in a positive atmosphere, the
rewards can be very fulfilling for the employee, the supervisor,
and the organization.


ENDNOTES

     (1)  Joseph P. McCarthy, "A New Focus on Achievement,"
Personnel Journal, February 1991, 74-78.

     (2)  Craig E. Schneier, Arthur Geis, and Joseph A. Wert,
"Performance Appraisals:  No Appointment Needed," Personnel
Journal, November 1991, 80-87.

     (3)  Ronald W. Clement, "Performance Appraisal:  Nonverbal
Influences on the Rating Process," Public Personnel
Administration, Spring 1987, 14-27.

     (4)  Mike Deblieux, "Performance Reviews Support the Quest
for Quality," H.R. Focus, November 1991, 3-4.

     (5)  Bernard P. Maroney and M.R. Buckely, "Does Research in
Performance Appraisal Influence the Practice of Peformance
Appraisal?" Public Personnel Management, Summer 1992, 185-195.

     (6)  Jerry Conrad, Performance Evaluations-Who's Really in
Charge? Custom Training, Inc., 1991.

     (7)  David N. Ammons, "Executive Satisfaction with
Managerial Performance Appraisal in City Government," Public
Personnel Administration, December 1987, 33-48.

     (8)  Supra note 6.

     (9)  Ibid.