Page 65 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 54

Introduction

In this chapter first we place the performance evaluation interview within the framework
of personnel management. We also discuss the most important differences between the
performance evaluation and the appraisal interview. Next we discuss the goal of the
performance evaluation interview and a number of conditions it has to fulfil, in order to
be able to set up a system of performance evaluation interviews within the organization.
We then look at the preparation phase of the performance evaluation interview and the
different roles one should try to integrate. Although the performance evaluation differs
from the appraisal interview, this does not mean that the manager should not evaluate the
behaviour of the employee. Some of the most common evaluation mistakes are then
discussed. Finally we examine a concrete model with the skills to be used for staging a
performance evaluation interview. The summary of the interview model closes this
chapter.

The performance evaluation interview within the framework of
personnel management

In the performance evaluation both the interests of the company and the individual
employee play a role. These interests cannot be viewed separately (Veen, 1991):

The person will strive to adjust the organization in such a way that his
needs and values, which he tries to satisfy through the organization, are
dealt with as much as possible. The organization will strive to adjust the
behaviour of the individual in such a way that this will be profitable for
the organization (translation by the authors of this book).

For both the organization and the individual employee it is of great importance that the
performance evaluation provides the possibility to talk in a pleasant and significant way
that satisfies the needs of both parties.
In many organizations performance evaluation interviews are a new topic, although
decades of literature have been mentioning this phenomenon. For example, the theme
was discussed at a conference of the Dutch Association for Labor and Organizational
Psychology in 1976. At this conference it was noted that an evaluation system which
barely closes off a previous period and does not explicitly allow a future perspective with
regard to the development of the individual and the task, misses essential aspects for the
motivation of the person to be evaluated. Until that time employees would only
occasionally be evaluated. The management then expressed their thoughts about the
achievements of the employee, about possibilities for further development and the
consequences for wage levels. Research has shown that these kinds of interviews, also
taking into consideration the changing opinions of society about how people should work
with others, were often perceived as not being functional. At the same conference several
principles were discussed for a more human evaluation system and included:

• more emphasis on the equality of the conversation parties