This paper addresses ten interconnected topics in human resource management, examining best practices across the employee lifecycle. It covers performance appraisal methods — including 360-degree feedback and the role of psychologists as appraisers — alongside the legal and motivational dimensions of training. Additional sections analyze pay survey design, pension plan structures, and the growing importance of technology-driven training. The paper also explores career development tools such as Holland's RIASEC model and assessment centers, union bargaining unit procedures under the NLRB, and organizational responses to workplace violence and substance abuse. It concludes with strategies for managing difficult employees, including fraud, absenteeism, and ineffective performance.
In many organizations, employees use the 360-degree feedback method — that is, they evaluate themselves and are also evaluated by a colleague, a superior, and a person who is hierarchically inferior. However, employees may also be evaluated by a Human Resources specialist or by external consultants. It is advisable that the appraiser be a psychologist, because psychologists are trained to manage the complete assessment process — including job analysis and the establishment of job specifications — from which the criteria for performance appraisal are derived. The employee's immediate supervisor may also serve as appraiser, but the advantages of a psychologist in that role are notable. A psychologist is an objective party who can take into account the cognitive and behavioral elements involved in the assessment process and establish adequate interaction. Moreover, a psychologist is able to provide frequent feedback in a way that fosters development, suggests career development needs, and incorporates the individual development plan as a tool for continual growth.
There are many circumstances that require the evaluation of employees. Most often, an individual's work performance is assessed by that person's line manager, and the discussion that follows is aimed at solving problems, improving performance, and developing the individual appraised (Fletcher, 2002). Employees are evaluated most frequently to test their level of competence or to monitor performance. In other cases, evaluation is conducted to establish payment schemes or advancement criteria — that is, rewards and recognition. An extreme case in which performance is appraised is downsizing.
According to Blum and Naylor (1968), some of the criteria used in employee evaluation include: work productivity (quantity and quality of work), accidents and incidents in the work process, professional knowledge, seniority, absenteeism, promotion rate, and 360-degree feedback (appraisal conducted by hierarchical superiors, colleagues, and self-evaluations). Formal performance evaluations should take place at least once a year. Informal performance appraisal may occur daily.
In conclusion, performance appraisal needs to meet the following criteria, according to Drewes and Runde (2002): appraisals take place at regular intervals; a standardized method is used, based on previously agreed-upon performance criteria; either the employee's behavior or the outcome of performance is evaluated; and the employee is evaluated by the next higher-ranking superior, equally ranking colleagues, other coworkers, or through self-appraisal.
Training is important in organizations because it is widely recognized that training improves performance. Performance evaluation is therefore needed to provide documented feedback on an employee's level of performance. Several authors have recognized that carefully planned evaluation serves multiple purposes. In relation to training, a needs analysis is usually conducted first; this forms the foundation of the training program and its goals. A follow-up evaluation then takes place after the training program, providing the opportunity to practice the skills learned. The follow-up performance tests included in the evaluation facilitate the retention and transfer of knowledge and skill (Hesketh & Ivancic, 2002).
Overall, training is necessary in organizations because it leads to a just and adequate performance appraisal system that is able to increase employee motivation, performance, and productivity, while reducing potential exposure to litigation. In order to make the appraisal a legally sound act, those responsible should ensure that the process results in actual performance appraisal documents. To ensure the evaluation system is legal, organizations should avoid discrimination and harassment, should not force unfair retaliation, and should provide adequate documentation (Delpo, 2005).
Job analysis is also an important process on which the evaluation system is based. It offers accurate job descriptions and psychological specifications that predict good performance on the job. An accurate job analysis is likewise a criterion for promoting fair evaluations in the workplace, provided that objective and fair standards of performance are derived from the process.
A good survey on pay includes a clear job definition and job evaluation — the main characteristics that further lead to correct pricing and delineation of the job. Moreover, a good pay survey allows for the comparison of jobs. Jobs are compared according to job description, not according to job title. This is why job analysis and job evaluation are vital. A good pay survey should also reveal similarities in pay for similar work in a specific area, while allowing for recognition of the performance and contribution of employees to organizational development and profit.
By contrasting job responsibilities with the ideal profile of an employee in a specific role, evaluations lead to an accurate comparison and establish a hierarchical order of performance. Under a simple ranking system, job descriptions are compared against each other and ranked according to difficulty and responsibility. After job descriptions are ranked by value to the firm, the next step is to group jobs that are similar in scope and responsibility into the same pay grade. These groups are then arranged in a series of pay levels from highest to lowest. The number of pay levels depends on the total number of jobs and types of work in the organization.
Another approach that links pay with performance is performance-related pay, which is based on identifying the characteristics most relevant to performance. It has been suggested that these characteristics take a quantitative form — that is, the essential characteristics are scored — and then contrasted with unit quality or organizational effectiveness. These requirements necessitate a preceding analysis of the broader work process in the department or firm (Thierry, 2002).
"Pension plan structures, PBGC, and employer benefit rationale"
"Training benefits, globalization, and online learning trends"
"Career tools, RIASEC clusters, NLRB, and union trends"
"Violence prevention, substance abuse policy, and disciplinary strategies"
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