Employees' perceptions of the effectiveness and fairness of performance management in a South African public sector institution

Abstract

Orientation: The implementation of performance management systems (PMSs) and performance appraisals (PAs) by public managers remains a challenge and necessitates an investigation into employees’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the PMS and the fairness of PA.Research purpose: This study investigated the association between employee involvement, performance-oriented culture, management commitment and the effectiveness of a PMS. Six factors that determine and influence employees’ perceptions of PA fairness were also investigated.Motivation for the study: Employees’ experiences of the implementation and practice of PMSs and PAs by public managers may differ from what is intended. The motivation for this study was to quantify employee perceptions of the effectiveness of a PMS and the fairness of PA to establish if there is a discrepancy between what is intended and how they are implemented and practiced.Research approach, design and method: This cross-sectional study conducted a census on a total population of 140 employees in a public sector institution. A questionnaire comprising three sections was used to collect data: Section A contained biographical questions, Section B comprised questions on the contextual factors that measure the perceived effectiveness of the PMS while Section C comprised questions related to the perceived fairness of PA.Main findings: The results show that employees perceive their PMS to be ineffective and their PAs to be unfair. The mean perception scores for PA fairness for the Assets and Facilities Department were significantly lower than those of the Human Resources Department. This is indicative of some deficiencies in the appraisal process in the Assets and Facilities Department. Respondents occupying general positions returned significantly lower mean scores for PA fairness compared to those in managerial and professional positions, which indicates serious shortcomings in their appraisal process.Practical/managerial implications: The findings reveal that employees were not involved in the development of the PMS. Also, the results indicated a lack of employee participation in the PA process, that PAs were not conducted for development purposes, performance feedback sessions were not undertaken on a regular basis and employees were not involved in goal setting. A training programme should address these organisational and managerial deficiencies.Contribution: This research study contributes to the body of knowledge by quantifying the perceptions of employees regarding the organisational factors that influence the effectiveness of the PMS and the six factors, namely appraisers’ knowledge, employee participation, clear goal establishment, employee development, goal establishment, appraisal follow-up and goal discussion that influence PA fairness.

Avaliação de Desempenho de Gestão de Recursos Humanos no Setor Público

“…Cook e Crossman (2004) alertam que é necessário considerar as opiniões dos envolvidos para que esse Sistema seja validado e reconhecido como justo. Como exemplo, cita-se que, devido à falta de participação dos funcionários no processo de Avaliação de Desempenho e na definição de metas, bem como a falta de sessões regulares de feedback de desempenho, o Sistema de Avaliação de uma organização pública da África do Sul foi considerado ineficaz e injusto pelos funcionários (MAKHUBELA, BOTHA, SWANEPOEL, 2016).…”

Employees’ perceived effectiveness of the performance management system at a North-West provincial government department

“…This kind of survey was used to answer what, when, where and how questions (Babbie, 2010). A quantitative survey design was followed by various other studies measuring the perceptions of employees regarding the effectiveness of the PMS (Dewettinck & Van Dijk, 2013;Haines & St-Onge, 2012;Makhubela et al, 2016;Ramulumisi et al, 2015;Sharma et al, 2016).…”

“…Haines and St-Onge (2012) researched PMS effectiveness in both public and private organisations in Canada. In the South African context, Ramulumisi, Schultz and Jordaan (2015) measured the effectiveness of the PMS in a government department, while Makhubela, Botha and Swanepoel (2016) did a similar study in a public sector institution. The limitations of these studies were that the scales developed to measure the effectiveness of the PMS did not extensively cover all the phases of the PMS.…”

Factors Effecting the Performance Management System: A Comparative Analysis Among Men and Women With Reference to Information Technology Sector

“…The discussion will be include certain things like coating, mentoring feedback and assessment. Makhubela et. al., (2016) reported that implementation of the performance management system will help to provide adequate knowledge about the performance levels of the employees in the organization.…”