Performance Appraisal Experiences and Its Implications on Human Resource Decisions in Decentralized Health Services in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania

Abstract

The study investigated the Performance Appraisal Experiences and its Implications on Human Resource (HR) Decisions in the decentralized health service in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania. The region was selected because over different periods it revealed poor performance in health service delivery whose causes remained unfolded. An explanatory Survey research design with a mixed approach was employed, whereas the survey tool was used to collect data from 287 respondents. The findings revealed that even though the team performance is evaluated through the Quality Improvement Teams, the individual employee’s performance is ineffectively evaluated due to the ineffective use of the Open Performance, Review and Appraisal System (OPRAS). The ineffective use of OPRAS instrument is linked to several factors including the complexity of the instrument; inadequate availability of funds to implement the set targets; shortage of the human resources in the facilities making overwhelmed by the responsibilities; the OPRAS process being time-consuming and inadequate commitment on the use of the instrument. Thus, when the individual performance is ineffectively appraised, human resource decisions such as training and compensation for employees’ performance remain uninformed, hence affecting both their quality and human resource performance. It was thus, recommended inter alia, simplification of the OPRAS instrument and customization of it to suit the health sector settings, frequent provision of training on the application of OPRAS, and linking OPRAS results with the immediate rewards to enhance employees’ commitment to the instrument. Additionally, the establishment of the mechanism to enforce the use of OPRAS in assessing employees’ performance in health facilities and ensuring that the appraisal results are linked to the human resource decisions are of paramount importance for improving human resource decisions and for performance improvement in health facilities.