Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

ASKING QUESTIONS THAT EVALUATE PERFORMANCE 215
so than it might seem. Well-documented job analyses can be
used over time, and some jobs share similar responsibilities
and can be grouped accordingly into a single set of responsibilities
and task statements.
2. For each job, develop scales that are specifically related to performance.
This includes defining the performance dimensions
and listing statements of behavior that indicate the desired
performance within each dimension.
3. Inform both managers and employees of the dimensions
that will be evaluated and the purpose the data will serve.
This is important to the earlier notion of perceived fairness.
This helps gain both managerial and employee acceptance
and active participation in the new rating system.
4. Select an employee evaluation format that is acceptable to
the organization. Although there is little evidence suggesting
any one format is superior to another, there are definitely
strategic approaches to designing performance reviews that
will be covered in this book. As a result, a number of appropriate
scales and formatted alternatives can be developed,
and the organization should select the format judged to be
most acceptable by the majority of users. The selection might
be based on polling for raters with respect to their preference.
In the end, although scales are only different on the surface,
if the performance dimensions and tasks have been communicated
in a thorough manner, disagreements over the evaluation
form will be minor or even irrelevant.
5. Make certain that managers are capable of accurately rating
employees. Provide training to those who will be using the
new forms and who are required to submit reports. It is also
important to be certain that enough time has been provided
for the evaluations to take place. The amount of time provided
to the process can be seen as an indication of its importance.
Rushed ratings may actually have a lower cost-benefit ratio to
the organization than no ratings.