Performance appraisals: methods, implementation, and organizational impact

¶ … Employees

Performance Appraisals at the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino

It is now beyond any doubt that the world is changing at a rapid pace and that the people must develop alongside with it. Within the business community, the modifications are various, including elements such as a greater focus on the full satisfaction of the customers' needs and wants, the orientation towards offering services rather than products, the necessity to conduct business operations in an environment-friendly manner or the incremental emphasis placed on the human resource.

Modern day managers strive harder than ever to hire, integrate and retain the best employees the workforce market produces. The contemporaneous employee is motivated, trained and supported in his professional path. The human resource department is generally in charge of improving the nature of the relationship and interaction between firm and employee. The final scope of the human resource department is that of increasing the employee's on the job satisfaction, which would then culminate in higher levels of loyalty to the organization as well as increased employee efforts and performances.

In more recent times, a trend has been observed in retaining and motivating the already existent staff, in the detriment of hiring new personnel. The motivation of the workers can be achieved through diverse means, such as the offering of more financial resources (in both salaries as well as premiums and bonuses), the creation of flexible working schedules, or the training of the employees and the offering of support for professional development.

Yet, the treatment of the employees, however fair and equitable, has to be differentiated based on the efforts and results of each and every one of them. In order to identify the commitment and outcomes of each individual employee, and then present them with the adequate incentive (lack of it or even sanction if necessary), organizational leaders implement various performance appraisal systems. An economic agent that subscribes to the practices of performance appraisals is the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino.

2. The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino

The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino was officially opened on the 22nd of August 2003, after an investment of $150 million. It is located at 711 Lucky Lane Coarsegold, California 93614 and it pries on the beautiful landscape in the vicinity to promote the location and attract new clientele. The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino has positioned itself onto the market by creating a strong brand focused on pleasurable leisure time. The resort and casino promotes gaming, dining and entertainment as its main offerings, but also upholds their flexibility and eagerness to adapt to customer needs and host and personalize whatever events they need.

Chukchansi attracts its customers by promising them a great time at the latest and most popular slots, at an elegant restaurant, through luxurious lodging or by participation to unique events. The resort and casino hopes to appeal to the sense of the customers by presenting their:

1,800 popular slot machines

48 gaming tables a poker room with 12 tables

12 individually diverse and themed bars

400 luxurious hotel rooms

800 parking spaces (the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Website, 2009)

The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino places their products and services within the market by promoting their ability to break the customer from his daily life and worries and transcend him into a world of no worries and luxury. Whichever the reason that brings the customer to Chukchansi, and regardless of the duration of his stay, the resort and casino promises that the visitors will experience "the most enjoyable and memorable getaway" (the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Website).

While the main target is formed from individuals looking to gamble and participate to concerts and other events hosted by Chukchansi (only individuals over the age of 21 will be allowed in), the company also strives to attract tourists, who visit the area to enjoy the natural beauties. The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino takes pride in being located just minutes away from some of the most beautiful attractions in California. These attractions include the Yosemite National Park, the Bass Lake, the Golden Chain Highway, the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad and Thornberry Museum or the California State Mining and Mineral Museum and are promoted by the hotel as the "local attractions that offer the best in recreation, sight-seeing and adventure" (the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Website).

Another means of appealing to the customers is that of linking the casino and hotel to the Indian tribe Chukchansi. The tribe is one of the most reputable Indian tribes in the United States, having spread across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Freso River, the Finegold Creek, the Coarsegold Creek and the San Joaquin River. The tribe, most like any other Indian tribe, is recognized for its efforts in the protection of the natural environment and the leading of a live which perfectly balances the needs of men and the needs of nature.

Linking the casino to the beliefs of the tribe's forefathers offers it a sense of consistency, history and tradition which appeal both to Native Americans, as well as to other races looking for a cultural experience or respecting history. The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino takes great pride in its ancestries and promises to live up to the beliefs of the elderly and to protect the environment. Additionally, they argue that they use their resources and other elements in the casino and resort to further balance the relationship between man and nature. "We are proud to offer the beauty and enjoyment of our resort and casino. They allow us to sustain the health and well being of our elders, nature and educate our children. […] Our inherited role as nature's caretakers is apparent in the environmental initiatives that help preserve our sacred land" (the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Website).

While the registration of profits remains the major goal of the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino, the company strives to achieve this desiderate through the satisfaction of the needs of as many stakeholder categories as possible. They serve the general public by protecting the environment and improving the quality of life through better breathing air and less pollution. They support the customers by presenting them with numerous relaxation opportunities, from spa, to dining, to gaming or concerts participation. And they support the development of the communities in which they operate. The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino creates jobs in California, reducing as such the socio-economic problem of unemployment. They pay their taxes on time, creating as such more funds to the local budgets to be used in the further development of the Californian community. Finally, they offer various sponsorship contracts which improve the quality of life and create more opportunities within the community.

3. Performance Appraisals

In a simplistic formulation, Dick Grote and Richard C. Grote (2002) define performance appraisal as a "formal management system that provides for the evaluation of the quality of an individual's performance in an organization." They argue that the evaluation of an employee is generally conducted by the direct supervisor of the respective employee. The supervisor normally completes a pre-designed standard form, and then discusses its results with the employee.

An average appraisal is performed with three specific scopes:

First, the performance appraisal offers the logic and objective context for salary increases, promotions, bonuses, demotions or termination of employment

Secondly, the performance appraisal allows the supervisor to inform the employee on his performances, as they are perceived by the company, and offers input on what needs to change in the employee's approach to his professional responsibilities

Finally, the third scope of the performance appraisal, a more recent one, is that of allowing the supervisor to mentor the professional formation of the employee (Grote, 1996)

While most of the economic agents perform employee evaluations once a year, the academicians argue that the practice should be ongoing and part of the business model. In such a case, a cyclic four stage process would occur. The first stage, called performance planning, revolves around a meeting between employee supervisor at the beginning of the year, during which the two parties discuss and set goals for the year to come. The objectives are forwarded by both the supervisor as well as the employee.

The second phase, performance execution, occurs gradually throughout the year. The employee works towards the initially established goals, and the supervisor offers valuable feedback and helps the employee resolve any incurred difficulties. By the middle of the year, another meeting is held between the two parties, in which they discuss the up to day progress that has been made in the achievement of the pre-established objectives.

The third stage, performance assessment, occurs near the end of the year, when the supervisor gathers necessary information and fills in organizational documents for the appraisal of the employee. He analyzes the evolution of the employee and forms an opinion, after which he forwards the report to his direct supervisor. They then convene on the salary increase, the premium or any other measure to be taken. The initial recommendation comes from the employee's direct supervisor and is then discussed with the general director and the payroll manager.

At the fourth stage, the performance review, the employee and his direct supervisor come once again face-to-face to discuss the outcome of the performance appraisal process. The employee is informed of the managerial decision regarding future remunerations, and a date for a new meeting is set. The new meeting will establish goals for the following year, ergo the cyclic characteristic of the appraisal system (Grote and Grote).

Aside for meeting the three scopes previously identified, performance appraisals also present the company with several benefits. For instance, they create a context in which the employee is introduced to his own core competencies and limitations, based on which he can better direct his future formation. Then, the employees take an active role in their own evaluation and get to know themselves better and to understand their competencies through organizational lenses. Another advantage is that the performance appraisals take the relationship between employee and manager to a more mature level, at which the interaction occurs in terms of equality. Consequently, the employee gets the sense of better treatment and is as such motivated. His commitment to the entity would as such increase. Additionally, throughout the evaluation process, the supervisor is able to identify new training needs and resolve them, with the final outcome of improved organizational results. Finally, all these developments regarding the quality of work are discussed without the traditional emphasis on financial aspects (Falcone and Sachs, 2007).

Despite these benefits however, there are some sources which argue that performance appraisal systems are in fact harmful to proper organizational development. Three such authors are Tom Coens, Mary Jenkins and Peter Block (2002), who argue that appraisals fail to achieve the objective for which they are initially intended. In their view, employee evaluation mechanisms reduce the morale and commitment of the employee and prevent the proper propagation of information. In their own words, appraisal "impedes the reception of feedback, and there is no solid evidence that it motivates people or leads to meaningful improvement. Due to its inherent design flaws, appraisal procedures distorted and unreliable data about the contribution of employees. Consequently, the resulting documentation is not useful for staffing decisions and often does not hold up in court. Too often, appraisal destroys human spirit and in the span of a 30-minuyte meeting, can transform a vibrant, highly committed employee into a demoralized, indifferent wallflower who reads the want ads on the week-end."

4. Performance Appraisals at the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino

The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino prides on being an excellent destination for tourists, people looking for some relaxation or some entertainment. In their perceived quality as premier casino and resort, Chukchansi expects to hire premier employees. The salaries and incentives offered to the staff members are competitive within the industry, but the expectations are among the highest ones.

Prospective candidates are attracted through the possibility of being part of a dynamic community, in which the provision of offering entertainment to customers has reached the peaks of perfection. Prospective employees are met with the presentation of the hotel and casino in a means that convinces them of the beauty and stimulates their desire of being part of the Chukchansi gaming and entertainment community. Unlike other resorts and casinos which recruit through mass media, employment agencies, word of mouth and so on, Chukchansi promotes online recruiting, through their own website. This method is generally more restrictive than others as it reduces the numbers of applicants. Still, its benefit is that it also reduces the tedious work behind the selection and recruitment of the prospective employees. The very necessity to apply online ensures that only people with the desired skills of basic it experience will apply.

The demands and expectations from employees are high even before hiring, and they continue to intensify throughout the employment duration -- while it cannot be said that the working conditions are unfair, it can easily be said that the expectations are elevated and that the staff members have to complete their tasks at high levels of quality and commitment. Still, the company recognizes and rewards the efforts put in by the personnel. "Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino offers great salaries, great benefits, great co-workers and a world-class place to work" (the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Website).

Yet, in order to enjoy these benefits, the employee has to go through a rather complex performance appraisal system. The evaluation of the employee takes part at four different stages. At the first level, the direct supervisor of a respective employee assesses his work. At the second level, the results of the evaluation are passed on to the general director. At the third level, the improved appraisal is passed on to the human resource management department. Finally, in the fourth stage, it is handed over to the payroll manager. The stage which completes this operation revolves around another meeting between employee and his direct supervisor.

1. Appraisal by the supervisor

This first stage is the most important part of the appraisal process because it involves directly the employee -- who is being evaluated for the work he had performed throughout the previous year -- and his direct supervisor -- who is best capable to recognize the employee's efforts, to follow the degree to which the worker has managed to reach the pre-established goals and so on.

The supervisors at Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino follow the theoretical highlights which have been revealed throughout the previous section. In this order of ideas, they gather all the necessary information on the employee -- after having observed him throughout the year. They then fill in all organizational documents required in the assessment of employees. They form an individual conclusion based on the results of the filled in documents, as well as the direct observation of the employee and the interaction between the supervisor and the employee. In some cases, generally middle management positions, employees are themselves asked to fill in appraisal documents and evaluate their own performances. Since this demand increases the complexity of the appraisal process, it is not requested in most cases.

Once the supervisor has completed the documents and has formed an opinion, he invites the employee for a discussion. This discussion is centered on the achievements accomplished by the employee throughout the duration of the past year, or, in some cases, since the time of the last appraisal. The supervisor will launch questions and the employee will be asked to answer them. Such questions could include the nature of the customer comments relative to the employee's ability to satisfy their needs or the capacity of the employee to become integrated in the Chukchansi team and strive towards achieving the overall goals of the organization. The supervisor will check if the arguments forwarded by the employee are similar to the results of his evaluation in the filled in documents. If differences occur, the supervisor will direct the conversation in the sense of identifying the source of the differences.

2. Appraisal by the general manager

Once the employee and his direct supervisor end the conversation on the evolution of the worker's performances throughout the duration of the past year, the supervisor rounds up his conclusion and forms a recommendation. He then forwards his recommendation to the general manager, or his direct supervisor, if there is such a figure between the employee's supervisor and the general manager; there generally is not however.

The functions of the general manager are often demanding and complex, and he does not possess sufficient resources to handle the appraisals in detail. So he generally relies on the recommendation made by the respective workers' supervisor. He will however look over the filled in documents, and will place the findings and the recommendation in context with the organizational needs and the employee's actions he recollects. In most instances, the general manager agrees with the supervisor as he is trained to promote the interest of the organization, while in the same time support the formation and equitable treatment of employees.

3. Appraisal by the human resource department

As the manager and the supervisor come to an agreement relative to the performances of the employee throughout the ending period, the report is forwarded to the human resource department. This department is virtually in charge of enhancing the quality of the relationship between employee and organization and it oversees all actions and decisions made relative to the staff members.

In terms of the actual appraisal, the implication of the human resource specialist is more significant than that of the general manager, but less so than that of the employee's direct supervisor. The human resource specialist will generically assess the report in terms of grids. He will assess the evolution of the worker based on the initially established goals and his ability to meet these goals. He will also assess the developments in light of those registered by his team mates and other organizational members occupying similar positions. An important function of the human resource department is that of integrating the recommendations of the employee's supervisor in the grid decided upon by the company. For instance, the department will not allow the supervisor to grant his subaltern a wage increase that would lead to a salary higher than that agreed for the respective position.

4. Appraisal by the payroll manager

As the human resource department makes the necessary modifications, if there are any, the report on the performances of the employee and the recommendation made by his supervisor reach the final stage of the payroll manager's assessment. At this final stage, the manager looks for any possible inconsistencies and formulates any concerns he might have. His concerns could refer to major differences between current salary and proposed salary, differences between this employee's wage and the salary of other employees occupying similar positions or any other financial concerns. As all issues raised are addressed, the payroll manager will operate the changes and will modify the employee's financial rewards based on the report and its analysis.

After the report reaches the payroll department, and before it is registered in financial documents, another meeting takes place between the employee and the supervisor. In some cases, for extraordinary performances generally, the role of the supervisor is assumed by the general director. Throughout the meeting, the manager will communicate the outcome of the appraisal report to the employee, as well as its consequences -- such as a salary increase, a promotion or the offering of a bonus. In the aftermath of the document drawing up, the employee will be asked to sign the papers as a sign of agreement with the modifications implemented.

This complex assessment enjoys several benefits, but it also reveals some shortages. Among the most notable benefits, one could point out to the following:

The assessment is conducted at a deep level, reducing the chance of mistakes or biased decisions. For instance, if a poker table employee receives a negative report from his direct supervisor, report which could be biased by personal conflicts, the employee would not be done wrong as the evaluation will also be completed by the more objective director.

The complexities of the evaluation process send the clear message of perfection requests. This feature would further enhance the spirit of high expectations and could motivate the employees to overcome their limitations and significantly enhance their performances.

The involvement of several organizational departments in the appraisal system leads to the final formation of a balanced and true evaluation of the employee. This is beneficial from two standpoints -- first, it offers a sense of equity to the employees, and secondly, it ensures that the financial resources of the organization are adequately invested.