Performance Appraisal as an Aid in Personnel Decisions: Linkages between Techniques and Purposes in North Carolina Municipalities

Abstract

This study surveys general factors essential to effective performance appraisal (related to the employment of performance standards and employee participation in their construction), examines specific types of appraisal systems (graphic rating scales, forced-choice, paired-comparison, behaviorally anchored rating scales, and appraisal-by-objectives), and explores system add-on options (critical incident, appraisal interview, self-appraisal, interim appraisals, and special management appraisals) that enhance the effectiveness of appraisal. These are examined vis-à-vis the purposes to which performance appraisals are put (training, reassignment, reinstatement, promotion, demotion, retention, dismissal, merit pay, and bonuses). General performance standards, specific appraisal types, or various productivity add-ons appear to be moderately linked (with Phi-statistics measured between .2 and .4) to their employment as aids in personnel decision making. Although we must note that these associations are not themselves causal evidence, these practices are indeed designed as aids for making personnel decisions. Their introduction into municipal performance appraisal is clearly tied to a willingness among those cities to employ those appraisals as aids in making substantive personnel decisions.