Performance Appraisal System of BRAC Bank Limited

Background of BBL:

 BRAC Bank Ltd is a creation of BRAC. BRAC Bank Limited, a scheduled commercial bank established under the Banking Company Act, 1991 and incorporated as a public company limited by shares on May 20, 1999 under the Companies Act 1994 in Bangladesh. The banks has started its operation on 4^th of July 2001 with a vision to be the market leader through providing all kinds of banking services suitable to the dynamic demands of both business and individual in the competitive market.

BRAC Bank has embarked with an avowed policy to provide “best-in-the-class” services to its diverse range of customers spread across the country based on latest information technology. To keep in tied with its sponsor, BRAC’s goals, the bank endeavors to provide mass financing especially to focus on under-served enterprises across the rural – urban area. The bank focused on relationship based Banking, as it believes that the pursuit of profit and developmental goals are mutually reinforcing. This focus makes the bank to emphasize more on to explore and access market opportunities as well as build asset base to its clients conforming significant contribution to the profitability of the Bank.

Vision

                    BBL’s vision is “Building a profitable and socially responsible financial institution focused on Markets and Businesses with growth potential, thereby assisting BRAC and stakeholders build a just, enlightened, healthy, democratic and poverty free Bangladesh.”

 BRAC Bank will be a unique organization in Bangladesh. It will be a knowledge-based organization where the BRAC Bank professionals will learn continuously from their customers and colleagues worldwide to add value. They will work as a team, stretch themselves, innovate and break barriers to serve customers and create customer loyalty through a value chain of responsive and professional service delivery. Continuous improvement, problem solution, excellence in service, business prudence, efficiency and adding value will be the operative words of the organization.

 Mission

BRAC Bank will adhere to highly professional and ethical business principles and internationally acceptable banking and accounting standards. Every BRAC Bank professional will need first of all a commitment to excellence in all that he/she does, a keen desire for success, a determination to excel and a drive to be the best. We will individually and jointly learn continuously from customers and professional colleagues around the globe to improve the way we do business so that we are the best. We will walk that extra mile with enthusiasm and empathy to serve our customers and to solve problems together so that our customers succeed in their business and remain loyal to our Bank. We will set up goals for ourselves and then exceed the goals that we set up. We shall not accept failure.

 Goals

BRAC Bank will be the absolute market leader in the number of loans given to small and medium sized enterprises through out Bangladesh. It will be a world – class organization in terms of service quality and establishing relationships that help its customers to develop and grow successfully. It will be the Bank of choice both for its employees and its customers, the model bank in this part of the world.

Capital Structure and Equity Partners

BRAC Bank has started with an initial capital of amount BDT 250 million, while the authorized capital is BDT 1,000 million. Over time the bank has increased it capital base because of its steady growth and within three years of operations, it has doubled its capital base to BDT 500 million. The Bank has planned to go public by the last quarter of this year (2005) and raise it’s paid up capital to BDT 1000 million.  BRAC Bank originated with Local and International Institutional shareholding including BRAC as promoter with IFC and Shore Cap International, UK. Here is the break-up of BRAC Bank’s shareholdings positions.

Table: 01 Share Distribution

Source: BBL head office

A short description of its shareholders is given below.

BRAC, the main sponsor of BRAC Bank Limited, a well-established and prominent NGO with a large presence in the rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. The current activities of BRAC are particularly focused in three areas: education, health care, and micro-finance. BRAC already has extensive experience in the micro-credit market with 2.4 million customers, and a substantial portfolio of approximately US$270 million of performing loan assets. BRAC’s experience dates back over 25 years during which it has achieved excellence in most of its targeted activities.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private sector projects in the developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives.

Shore Cap International an affiliated non-profit organization, Shore Cap International, will provide technical assistance to help investor institutions establish profitable and effective small business and micro-lending programs. It will invest capital in and advise local regulated financial institutions that make small and micro-business loans in developing and transitional economies.

Board of Directors

Following is the board of directors of BRAC Bank Ltd.

Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed, Chairman

Mr. Syed Humayun Kabir, Member/Director

Mr. Faruque A. Choudhury, Member/Director

Mr. Quazi Shariful Ala, Member/Director

Mr. Md. Aminul Alam, Member/Director

Mr. Paul D Christensen (Shore cap), Director

Mr. Mohammad Ehsanul Haque, Managing Director

Infrastructure

                          Since its inception, BRAC bank has been expanding its Branch network across the country. Currently, the total number of branches is 14 including 8 branches in the prime locations of Dhaka City, 1 (One) in Savar, 3 (Two) in Sylhet and 1 (One) in Chittagong. All these branches are providing Real Time On-line (RTOL) banking services to its customers. Parallel to the branch expansion policy, BRAC Bank has also approximately 300 unit offices dispersed throughout the country. These unit offices are engaged in lending to ‘Small & Medium Enterprises’ (SME) – the thrust-lending sector of the bank. BBL is one of the most IT enabled banks in Bangladesh. From its inception the bank has particularly emphasized on IT as a cutting edge advantage over competitors and also plans to continue as a major IT driven bank in the years to come. As off today BBL has more than 1200 employees.

Functional Division

                                   BRAC Bank has a centralized banking structure through online banking system that resembles the ABN·AMRO Model. BBL consisted of four major divisions namely Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Division, Retail Banking, Corporate Banking and Treasury division. Other important division are Credit Administration, Loan Administration, Trade Fin, IT, HRM, CCU, Internal Control etc, whose works as a back office to support its major four divisions.

SME

                   BRAC Bank heavily depends on SME for its asset growth. The basic model of the bank is to grow its liability book (Deposit) from diversified sources and channel the same across the country through SME asset (Loans) booking. But, in order to diversify the asset portfolio, the bank also relies on both Retail & Corporate assets.

Figure: 01 Advance portfolio

Source: Annual Report 2004

SME division at BBL comprises of about 300 unit small offices across the country. The unit officers are basically working at filed level. Their main job is to identify potential customer and maintain relationship with the existing customer. As BBL has no branches to the urban level, their customers transact with a local bank affiliated by BBL. At present BBL is offering three different types of SME loan studying with the dynamic demand of current market.

Retail Banking

        BRAC Bank is also trying to be leader in retail banking in Bangladesh.  The division targeted middle to top class citizens as their customer.  The main activities of this department are to find out new channel for increasing both of its assets and liabilities simultaneously maintaining relationship with the existing clients. At present this division offers full fledge of services including different types of personal loans to deposit schemes along with value added services like ATM and Credit Card (introducing soon).

Corporate

 Like Retail, corporate department has also two different wings. First wing called TRS and other is Corporate Banking division.

TRS 

 TRS & SRS is basically deals with corporate deposits. They collect deposits from various corporate houses across the country. This department contributes almost 41% of BBL’s total deposit mix.

This division exists to provide banking services and financial partnership with local and foreign business houses (Public and Private Limited Companies), NGO’s, trading houses, joint ventures and various government bodies/corporations etc. As the financial partner of choice for the corporate sector, BRAC Bank is distinguished by its:

• Quality of service
• Value of innovative solutions
• Level of trust with our clients
• Customer knowledge

Corporate clients can access a wide range of financial services offered by corporate banking division including:

• Debt Capital
• Equity Capital
• Ongoing relation support
• Financial Markets

Products

      BRAC Bank provides a comprehensive range of innovative corporate financial solutions tailored to suit each company’s needs. This range includes both funded and non-funded facilities. Following are some of the products that BBL offers to its clients:

• Corporate Finance
  • Loan Syndication
  • Project Finance: Short and Medium term
  • Finance/Credit Extension
    • Overdrafts
    • Demand Finance
    • Working Capital Finance
    • Receivable Discounting
    • Pre and Post Export Financing
    • Short-term loan: revolving loans, LATR etc.
    • Trade
      • Letter of credit: Sight, Unsance etc.
      • Guarantee: Performance, Security, Advance Payment etc.

Lease financing

Corporate Portfolio

 Corporate holds 24% of BBL’s total assets portfolio. Up to the financial year 2004 this division distributes BDT 1375m, which enjoys almost 120.71% growth compare to previous year. Its assets portfolio covers almost all the major industrial areas. NBFI (19.15%), Textile (17.88%), Food and Agro (10.21%) and Steel (9.87%) are the major areas of its portfolio. Noticeably Corporate does not have any presence in RMG sector, the biggest industrial sector in Bangladesh.

Treasury

 Treasury division at BBL deals with the fund position. This division calculates and projects the fund requirement to meet day-to-day operation. It has also two wings, one is front office and the other is back office. Front office deals with directly to the money market of the country. Their main job is to lend money to other financial institution on call or short-term basis, if the bank has additional money idle.

Financial Performance Analysis

              BRAC Bank is seen the fast growing private commercial bank across the country. It has earned an incredible growth of 130% in the year 2004 over previous year’s (2003) performance. It has excelled almost over all the area in this period. Here is some of its outperforming analysis.

Table: 02 Performance at a glance (old)

Source: BBL Head Office

Performance (New)

Year-to-Year Growth

Source: HRD of BBL, from the booklet of Newsflash

Balance Sheet Performance

           During the year, BBL has expanded their business rapidly and undertook significant operations in trade finance business (i.e. 750% growth in the year 2004 over last year) along with the same upward trend in SME, commercial and retail lending activities. Propelled by strong growth in both loans and deposits, the Bank’s operating income increased substantially in 2004.

                            BBL has a 134% growth rate on its deposits in the financial year 2004 comparing to its previous year’s (2003) and the same time it also has a 103% growth arte over its loans and advances. Though the advance to deposit ratio i.e. 71.24% is comparatively comedown, but the parallel growth trend has made BBL comfortable with the ratio. These upward trends in both deposit and loans, helps the bank to increase its assets by 121% over its previous year’s (2003) assets. BBL has also enjoyed higher growth rate on its fixed and other assets (312% and 266% respectively) than loans or investments.

Profitability

In the year 2004 the bank has earned an operating profit of BDT 318.28 million compared to BDT 56.56 million in the previous year with a stunning growth rate of 463%.  This was possible, as BBL has earned a 165% growth on its interest income where as its interest expense growth was 93% from the year 2003. This difference has basically occurred due to decrease in its cost of fund but simultaneously increase trend in return from its loan.

The growth rate of operating expenses has also gone up by 103%, but this trend is acceptable because the bank has earned growth rate of over 100% in all aspects. More over a growth of amount 228% in its profit after tax supports the rationality of such hike in operating expenses earned.

All this upward trends help BBL to almost double its earning per share (BDT 23.16 per share which was only BDT 12.09 per share in the year 2003) within one year.

Key Performance Indicator

Capital Adequacy: Capital adequacy focuses on the total risk weighted capital intended to protect the depositors from the potential shocks of losses that a bank might incur. In the year 2004 BBL has maintained capital adequacy ratio of 10.15% against standard of minimum 9.00% set by Bangladesh Bank.

Asset Quality: The asset composition of BBL shows a high proportion of loans and advances (63.13%) in total assets. A high proportion of loans and advances indicate vulnerability of assets to credit risk, since the portion of non-performing assets is significant in our country. But the classified loans against total loans and advances of BBL are only 1.97%. Though this ratio gone up by 86% from the year 2003, but compare to 103% increase in loans and advances this upward trend is still in acceptable level.

Management Soundness: Management Soundness is very difficult to measure because it requires a qualititative measurement rather than quantitative measurement. Nevertheless ratios such as total expenditure to total income are generally used to measure management soundness. In this regard BBL’s total expenditure to total income ratio is 53%, which shows that more than half of its total income need to expend for meeting operating expenses.

Earnings and Profitability: Strong earnings and profitability profile of a bank reflect good health and its ability to support present and future operations. In the year 2004 BBL earned 16.83% return on equity (ROE) with a growth of 120% over last year. Where as return on assets increased in the year 2004 is 0.99% with a growth of 48%. Growth of ROA is comparatively lower than ROE or ROI (8.37% with a growth of 130%) because of increase in non-interest earning assets (322% growth rate in 2004) as BBL invested a lot in fixed assets (312% growth) in the year 2004.

Liquidity: At present BBL’s liquidity ratio is 24% out of Bangladesh Bank’s minimum requirement 20%. So the bank may feel comfort but the liquidity statement shows that for short period usually 1-3 months BBL has liquidity gap or in other words, for short period, the bank has a short fall to meet its liquidity.

How we are different

BBL is different from other banks for the following reasons,

• Mobilization of Fund from Urban to Rural Area
• Institutional Shareholding
• Pioneer in SME Banking
• Creation of Job opportunities
• Dividends are refinanced for poverty alleviation
• Market leader in SME Financing
• Real time Online Banking from its inception
• Centralized Banking
• Business unit are separated from operation
• Largest no. of Retail Products
• Educate rural people to use Banking service
• Fastest in Remitting Expatriates Fund

Internal Analysis of BBL

                SWOT is an acronym of an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The underlying assumption of SWOT analysis is that managers can better formulate a successful strategy after they have carefully reviewed the organization’s strength and weaknesses in light of the threats and opportunities, presented by the environment. With my little experience I would like to mention the SWOT of BRAC Bank Ltd. Bellow:

Strengths:

• Brand name (BRAC) reputation.
• Adequate financial resources as BRAC’s reputation as a financially sound organization.
• Fastest expanding distribution network comprising Branch, unit office, ATM etc.
• Emerged with the concept of modern and technology based banking system.
• Pioneer in SME financing.
• Product innovation skills.
• Better advertising campaign

         Weakness:

• Limited Branch Network.
• Weak brand image to the anti-NGO group of people.
• Unacceptability of BRAC Bank as a commercial bank to the remote rural people.
• Full commercial banking service not yet providing.
• Relatively newly established bank.
• Not yet to the public.
• Relatively low salary structure for entry level position.

Opportunities:

• Grab the opportunities of untapped SME market.
• Enter new segments such as middle and lower middle income group.
• Customize product line to meet broader range of customer needs.
• Leverage BRAC Bank’s countrywide networks.
• Exclusive market leader in remittance service with the help of BRAC Bank’s wide range of unit offices.
• Faster market growth.
• Fulfill customer need providing more IT supports.

              Threats:

• Entry of foreign competitors.
• Saturated product line by competitors
• Non-banking financial institutions are increasing with diversified products.
• Relatively higher salary is offered by competitors that can motivate personnel to leave BRAC Bank.
• Job quitting tendency of lower level personnel due to unsatisfactory compensation package in comparison with their work pressure.

Brand Ambassadors

The brand ambassador for BBL is Mr. Dav What more, Coach Bangladesh National Cricket Team and all the employees of the bank.

Performance Appraisal System

General

      An organization generally establishes and maintains a formalized system of appraisal and documentation of classified employee job performance including recognition of and response to individual developmental needs. This process is designated as the Performance Appraisal System. The objectives of the System are to:

• Ø Provide employees with a sense of their work accomplishments relative to expectations and predefined performance indicators.
• Ø Support employee development through discussion of assigned opportunities and training.
• Ø Emphasize the Institute’s commitment to continuous improvement and learning.
• Ø Encourage an appropriate relationship between pay levels and work performance.
• Ø Avoid surprises; keep lines of communication open.
• Ø Provide the option to document performance in a narrative format relative to specific accomplishments during the review period.

Features of Performance Appraisal

• Ø Performance appraisal is a process, not a form. It structures your relationship with employees while providing legal protection for your company.
• Ø A good appraisal system includes observation, documentation, and communication.
• Ø A performance evaluation system can provide many benefits: It can improve employee performance and morale, identify poor performers and ways they can improve, and lay the groundwork for legally defensible discipline and termination.
• Ø A manager’s attitude is a key ingredient in whether a performance appraisal system will succeed. If the manager is enthusiastic about the chance to work with employees to improve their performance and their work experiences, the employees will share that enthusiasm.
• Ø A good evaluation system includes support, motivation, communication, collaboration, fair treatment, documentation, formality, and accountability, and is consistent with the company’s core values and purpose.
• Ø Managers should use evaluation systems to improve future performance, not punish employees for poor past performance.
• Ø Employees must participate in every aspect of the evaluation process. Bringing employees into the loop, giving them power and responsibility for directing and assessing their own performance will increase their job satisfaction and engender their trust in the process.
• Ø Managers must give ongoing feedback, not just at the year-end meeting. Managers must document employee performance as it occurs throughout the year.
• Ø While communicating negative information is difficult, not communicating it can be much worse.

Performance Appraisal History

               The history of performance appraisal is quite brief. Its roots in the early 20th century can be traced to Taylor’s pioneering Time and Motion studies. But this is not very helpful, for the same may be said about almost everything in the field of modern human resources management. As a distinct and formal management procedure used in the evaluation of work performance, appraisal really dates from the time of the Second World War – not more than 60 years ago. Yet in a broader sense, the practice of appraisal is a very ancient art. In the scale of things historical, it might well lay claim to being the world’s second oldest profession! There is, says Dulewicz (1989), “… a basic human tendency to make judgments about those one is working with, as well as about oneself.” Appraisal, it seems, is both inevitable and universal. In the absence of a carefully structured system of appraisal, people will tend to judge the work performance of others, including subordinates, naturally, informally and arbitrarily. The human inclination to judge can create serious motivational, ethical and legal problems in the workplace. Without a structured appraisal system, there is little chance of ensuring that the judgments made will be lawful, fair, defensible and accurate.

 Performance appraisal systems began as simple methods of income justification. That is, appraisal was used to decide whether or not the salary or wage of an individual employee was justified. The process was firmly linked to material outcomes. If an employee’s performance were found to be less than ideal, a cut in pay would follow. On the other hand, if their performance was better than the supervisor expected, a pay rise was in order.

Modern Appraisal

                     Performance appraisal may be defined as a structured formal interaction between a subordinate and supervisor, that usually takes the form of a periodic interview (annual or semi-annual), in which the work performance of the subordinate is examined and discussed, with a view to identifying weaknesses and strengths as well as opportunities for improvement and skills development. In many organizations – but not all – appraisal results are used, either directly or indirectly, to help determine reward outcomes. That is, the appraisal results are used to identify the better performing employees who should get the majority of available merit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions. By the same token, appraisal results are used to identify the poorer performers who may require some form of counseling, or in extreme cases, demotion, dismissal or decreases in pay. (Organizations need to be aware of laws in their country that might restrict their capacity to dismiss employees or decrease pay.)  Whether this is an appropriate use of performance appraisal – the assignment and justification of rewards and penalties – is a very uncertain and contentious matter.

Performance Appraisal Purposes

                     Effective performance appraisal systems contain two basic systems operating in conjunction: an evaluation system and a feedback system. The main aim of the evaluation system is to identify the performance gap (if any). This gap is the shortfall that occurs when performance does not meet the standard set by the organization as acceptable. The main aim of the feedback system is to inform the employee about the quality of his or her performance. (However, the information flow is not exclusively one way. The appraisers also receive feedback from the employee about job problems, etc.) One of the best ways to appreciate the purposes of performance appraisal is to look at it from the different viewpoints of the main stakeholders: the employee and the organization.

Employee Viewpoint

From the employee viewpoint, the purpose of performance appraisal is four-fold:

(1) Tell me what you want me to do

(2) Tell me how well I have done it.

 (3) Help me improve my performance

(4) Reward me for doing well.

Organizational Viewpoint

                                      From the organization’s viewpoint, one of the most important reasons for having a system of performance appraisal is to establish and uphold the principle of accountability. For decades it has been known to researchers that one of the chief causes of organizational failure is “non-alignment of responsibility and accountability.” Non-alignment occurs where employees are given responsibilities and duties, but are not held accountable for the way in which those responsibilities and duties are performed. What typically happens is that several individuals or work units appear to have overlapping roles. The overlap allows – indeed actively encourages – each individual or business unit to “pass the buck” to the others. Ultimately, in the severely non-aligned system, no one is accountable for anything. In this event, the principle of accountability breaks down completely. Organizational failure is the only possible outcome. In cases where the non-alignment is not so severe, the organization may continue to function, albeit inefficiently. Like a poorly made or badly tuned engine, the non-aligned organization may run, but it will be sluggish, costly and unreliable. One of the principal aims of performance appraisal is to make people accountable. The objective is to align responsibility and accountability at every organizational level.

Benefits of Appraisal

                              Perhaps the most significant benefit of appraisal is that, in the rush and bustle of daily working life, it offers a rare chance for a supervisor and subordinate to have “time out” for a one-on-one discussion of important work issues that might not otherwise be addressed. Almost universally, where performance appraisal is conducted properly, both supervisors and subordinates have reported the experience as beneficial and positive. Appraisal offers a valuable opportunity to focus on work activities and goals, to identify and correct existing problems, and to encourage better future performance. Thus the performance of the whole organization is enhanced. For many employees, an “official” appraisal interview may be the only time they get to have exclusive, uninterrupted access to their supervisor. Said one employee of a large organization after his first formal performance appraisal, “In twenty years of work, that’s the first time anyone has ever bothered to sit down and tell me how I’m doing.” The value of this intense and purposeful interaction between a supervisors and subordinate should not be underestimated.

Motivation and Satisfaction

               Performance appraisal can have a profound effect on levels of employee motivation and satisfaction – for better as well as for worse. Performance appraisal provides employees with recognition for their work efforts. The power of social recognition as an incentive has been long noted. In fact, there is evidence that human beings will even prefer negative recognition in preference to no recognition at all. If nothing else, the existence of an appraisal program indicates to an employee that the organization is genuinely interested in their individual performance and development. This alone can have a positive influence on the individual’s sense of worth, commitment and belonging. The strength and prevalence of this natural human desire for individual recognition should not be overlooked. Absenteeism and turnover rates in some organizations might be greatly reduced if more attention were paid to it. Regular performance appraisal, at least, is a good start.

Training and Development

                Performance appraisal offers an excellent opportunity – perhaps the best that will ever occur – for a supervisor and subordinate to recognize and agree upon individual training and development needs. During the discussion of an employee’s work performance, the presence or absence of work skills can become very obvious – even to those who habitually reject the idea of training for them! Performance appraisal can make the need for training more pressing and relevant by linking it clearly to performance outcomes and future career aspirations.

The Appraisal Process

        In order to effectively administer the performance appraisal process, it is imperative that employees understand their job expectations and the way in which those expectations relate to the performance indicators outlined above.  This can be accomplished through direct, ongoing communication between supervisor and subordinate.

          Performance expectations should be communicated at the beginning of the review period and reinforced periodically during that period. Additionally, it is encouraged that the supervisor review the performance indicators used in the appraisal process and they ways in which they relate to job expectations. In this way, the employee will have an ongoing perception of the level of performance he or she is delivering and the basis upon which that performance will be rated. This will avoid the “surprise” factor often       associated with performance appraisal system.

Performance Appraisal Means evaluating an employee’s current and past performance relative to the person’s performance standards.

Appraisal involves: Setting work standards assessing the employee’s actual performance relative to these standards. Providing feedback to the employee with the aim or motivating that person to eliminate deficiencies or to continue to perform above par.

         This ongoing performance appraisal process involves communication about goals/duties; it seeks to foster a culture of quality employee performance appraisals and continuous improvement through performance reviews with a focus on internal and external customer services.

     Employee appraisals and also employee performance evaluation includes feedback from direct reports, peers, and/or customers that is intended to help employees improve and develop their performance. These employee review program with employee evaluation forms designed so that employees are aware of what is expected of them, receive timely feedback about their performance, and receive recognition in a fair manner.

Performance Appraisal In respect of Purpose, Application & Provisions

Purpose, Application and General Provisions

     This procedure establishes a process for appraising the performance of staff and administrators at Chapman University. Performance Appraisals have the following objectives:

• Ø Encourage continuing supervisor-employee communications about job-related and professional matters. Forms of communication include coaching, counseling, training and feedback on job performance.
• Ø Provide a means whereby the supervisor and employee may establish workplace goals and objectives.
• Ø Provide guidance for employees on professional and job development.
• Ø Provide a means for supervisors to recommend employees’ salary increases based on merit and job accomplishments.

This procedure applies to staff and administrative employees who have achieved “regular employment status” and who occupy positions other than “temporary”.

All supervisors and employees are required to participate in the appraisal process at least annually. Salary merit increases may occur only after the completion of the performance appraisal process.

Conducting Performance Appraisal 

• Ø At the end of the appraisal period, the supervisor will ask the employee to complete the employee’s self-appraisal portions of the appraisal form. The supervisor in turn will complete the supervisor’s portions of the form.
• Ø Supervisor and employee then will meet to review and discuss the appraisals, the respective “ratings”, the employee’s accomplishments and any problems the employee has experienced in achieving the goals and objectives established at the beginning of the appraisal period.
• Ø The supervisor will coach or counsel the employee on performance enhancement or improvement techniques, especially if performance problems have occurred during the reporting period. Several meetings may be needed to reach mutual understanding and, if possible, agreement.
• Ø The supervisor and employee will re-initiate the appraisal cycle by mutually discussing goals, objectives and standards for the coming year.
• Ø The supervisor and employee then will sign the appraisal form. The supervisor will provide the employee with a copy of the form and forward the original to the Vice Presidents, Dean of Students, Dean of Enrollment or the Dean, College of Lifelong Learning as appropriate. Both the employee’s and supervisor’s ratings and comments must be forwarded.
• Ø The Vice President, Dean of Students, Dean of Enrollment or the Dean, College of Lifelong Learning will forward the performance appraisal form to the Human Resources Department where it will be filed in the employee’s personnel records.

Why Essential; Performance Appraisal

  Performance appraisals are essential for the effective management and evaluation of staff. Appraisals help develop individuals, improve organizational performance, and feed into business planning. Formal performance appraisals are generally conducted annually for all staff in the organization. His or her line manager appraises each staff member. (Directors are appraised by the CEO, who is appraised by the chairman or company owners, depending on the size and structure of the organization). Annual performance appraisals enable management and monitoring of standards, agreeing expectations and objectives, and delegation of responsibilities and tasks. Staff performance appraisals also establish individual training needs and enable organizational training needs analysis and planning. Performance appraisals data feeds into organizational annual pay and grading reviews, and coincides with the business planning for the next trading year. Performance appraisals generally review each individual’s performance against objectives and standards for the trading year, agreed at the previous appraisal meeting.

Performance appraisals are also essential for career and succession planning. Performance appraisals are important for staff motivation, attitude and behavior development, communicating organizational aims, and fostering positive relationships between management and staff. Performance appraisals provide a formal, recorded, regular review of an individual’s performance, and a plan for future development. In short, performance and job appraisals are vital for managing the performance of people and organizations.

Appraisal Methods

   Managers usually conduct the appraisal using a predetermined and formal method like one or more methods of performance appraisals described below. It is predetermined for most firms do (or should) decide ahead of time what tools and processes they are going to use.

The most commonly used Appraisal Techniques

1. Essay appraisal.
2. Graphic rating scale.
3. Field review.
4. Forced-choice rating.
5. Critical incident appraisal.
6. Management-by-objectives approach.
7. Work-standards approach.
8. Ranking methods.
9. Assessment centers.

1. Essay appraisal

In its simplest form, this technique asks the rater to write a paragraph or more covering an individual’s strengths, weaknesses, potential, and so on. In most selection situations, particularly those involving professional, sales, or managerial positions, essay appraisals from former employers, teachers, or associates carry significant weight. The assumption seems to be that an honest and informed statement -either by word of mouth or in writing- from someone who knows a man well is fully as valid as more formal and more complicated methods.

2. Graphic rating scale

This technique may not yield the depth of an essay appraisal, but it is more consistent and reliable. Typically, a graphic scale assesses a person on the quality and quantity of his work (is he outstanding, above average, average, or unsatisfactory?) and on a variety of other factors that vary with the job but usually include personal traits like reliability and cooperation. It may also include specific performance items like oral and written communication.

3. Field review

When there is reason to suspect rater bias, when some raters appear to be using higher standards than others, or when comparability of ratings is essential, essay or graphic ratings are often combined with a systematic review process. The field review is one of several techniques for doing this. A member of the personnel or central administrative staff meets with small groups of raters from each supervisory unit and goes over each employee’s rating with them to (a) identify areas of inter-rater disagreement, (b) help the group arrive at a consensus, and (c) determine that each rater conceives the standards similarly.

4. Forced-choice rating

Like the field review, this technique was developed to reduce bias and establish objective standards of comparison between individuals, but it does not involve the intervention of a third party. Although there are many variations of this method, the most common one asks raters to choose from among groups of statements those which best fit the individual being rated and those which least fit him.

5. Critical incident appraisal

The critical incident technique looks like a natural to some people for performance review interviews, because it gives a supervisor actual, factual incidents to discuss with an employee. Supervisors are asked to keep a record, a “little black book,” on each employee and to record actual incidents of positive or negative behavior.

6. Management by objectives

To avoid, or to deal with, the feeling that they are being judged by unfairly high standards, employees in some organizations are being asked to set – or help set – their own performance goals. Within the past five or six years, MBO has become something of a fad and is so familiar to most managers that I will not dwell on it here.

7. Work-standards approach

Instead of asking employees to set their own performance goals, many organizations set measured daily work standards. In short, the work standards technique establishes work and staffing targets aimed at improving productivity. When realistically used, it can make possible an objective and accurate appraisal of the work of employees and supervisors

8. Ranking methods

For comparative purposes, particularly when it is necessary to compare people who work for different supervisors, individual statements, ratings, or appraisal forms are not particularly useful. Instead, it is necessary to recognize that comparisons involve an overall subjective judgment to which a host of additional facts and impressions must somehow be added. There is no single form or way to do this.

9. Assessment centers

So far, we have been talking about assessing past performance. What about the assessment of future performance or potential? In any placement decision and even more so in promotion decisions, some prediction of future performance is necessary

Types of performance and aptitude assessments, including formal performance appraisals

• Formal annual performance appraisals
• Probationary reviews
• Informal one-to-one review discussions
• Counseling meetings
• Observation on the job
• Skill- or job-related tests
• Assignment or task followed by review, including temporary job cover or transfer.
• Assessment centers, including observed group exercises, tests presentations, etc.
• Survey of opinion of others who have dealings with the individual
• Psychometric tests and other behavioral assessments
• Graphology (handwriting analysis)

Rating Scale

 The appraisal process involves assessing the employee’s work performance during the review period relative to specific indicators and an overall rating.  The following rating categories are employed:

   Highly Successful

   Fully Successful

   Making Progress

   Unsatisfactory

Communicating Results of Appraisal

Employees are to be informed, through face-to-face communication as well as documentation, of how their performance has been rated.  Additionally they should be informed of perceived developmental needs and plans for ways to meet those needs.
The performance discussion should be scheduled approximately one week in advance. The purpose of the meeting should be explained to the employee to allow him or her time to prepare

Prior to the discussion the supervisor should have:

• Ø Completed and signed the Appraisal Record form.
• Ø Reviewed the results with his or her immediate supervisor and obtained approval.
• Ø Developed a discussion outline to follow during the interview.
• Ø Reserved a location where the discussion can be conducted in private without interruption.

Behavioral Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) typically requires 5 steps

General critical incident method: ask persons who know the job to describe specific illustration of effective or ineffective performance.

 Develop performance dimensions: have these people clusters the incidents into a smaller set of (5 to 10) performance dimensions, and define each dimension, such as “conscientiousness”.

  Reallocate incidents: another group of people who also know the job then reallocate the original critical incidents.

 Scale and incidents: this second group then rates the behavior described by the incident as to how effectively or ineffectively it represents the performance on the dimension (7 to 9 point typically)

 Develop the final incidents: choosing abut six of seven of the incidents as the dimension behavioral anchors.

 Advantages of BARS

• A more actual gauge.
• Clear standards.
• Independent dimensions.
• Consistency.

Management by objectives

Involves setting specific measurable goals with each employee and then periodically reviewing the progress made.

Organizational goal settings and appraisal program consisting of 6 steps:

• Set the organization’s goals.
• Set departmental goals.
• Discuss departmental goal.
• Define expected results.
• Performance reviews.
• Performance feedback.

Balanced Scorecard

A new approach to strategic management was developed in the early 1990’s by Drs. Robert Kaplan (Harvard Business School) and David Norton. They named this system the ‘balanced scorecard’.  Recognizing some of the weaknesses and vagueness of previous management approaches, the balanced scorecard approach provides a clear prescription as to what companies should measure in order to ‘balance’ the financial perspective.

The balanced scorecard is a management system (not only a measurement system) that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. When fully deployed, the balanced scorecard transforms strategic planning from an academic exercise into the nerve center of an enterprise.

Kaplan and Norton describe the innovation of the balanced scorecard as follows:

“The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation.”

Balanced Scorecard is used to measure the performance matters of employees’ as it evaluates the management approaches and provide adequate feedback from employees. For assessing performance Balanced Scorecard is effective enough because it deals with the relationship between the employer and employees and this process helps to improve the performance of employees by establishing the effective communication between the management and the employees in the organization.

The balanced scorecard suggests that we view the organization from four perspectives, and to develop metrics, collect data and analyze it relative to each of these perspectives:

• The Learning and Growth Perspective
• The Business Process Perspective
• The Customer Perspective
• The Financial Perspective

The Balanced Scorecard and Measurement-Based Management

The balanced scorecard methodology builds on some key concepts of previous management ideas such as Total Quality Management (TQM), including customer-defined quality, continuous improvement, employee empowerment, and — primarily — measurement-based management and feedback.

RATING AND COMPLETING THE ANNUAL REVIEW FORM

                         The performance and Development Review form has been designed to help you manage the performance of your staff. It acts as the starting point by prompting the creation of individual objectives, the selection of critical competencies and the formation of a development plan. It also helps to form the framework against which performance can be objectively measured by recording the agreed objectives and competencies and prompting the recording of examples of performance.

Page 1—Personal Information/ Review information

The front page of the form consists of data used for administrative purposes and details of the review period.

Signatures/ Comments

This section is provided for signatures of all conceded in the review process:

The designated supervisor

The supervisor or person appointed to act as supervisor for the purposes of the performance review in some situations such as shift work these work these may not be the same since supervisors may change from shift to shift;

The indirect supervisor

This will normally be the person that the designate supervisor reports to;

The employee

To demonstrate that he has taken part in and discussed the review. This section should be signed once the review.

This section should be signed once the review period is complete.

The comments section is provided for the indirect supervisor either to respond to the employee’s comments (which may be written in the Employee Feedback section) or to give general comments of encouragement or otherwise.

Page 2—Objectives

Individual objectives are agreed with the employee and written on the review form at the start of the review period. Since it is unlikely that all objectives will be equally important, each objective is weighted according to its importance i.e. given a percentage value such that the sum of all the weightings is equal to 100%.

   TOTAL………………………….. 100%

Remember to check that the total is 100!

Individual objective ratings

Excellent (5) —————————————Significantly exceeded the objective.

Superior (4) —————————————-Exceeded the objective.

Proficient (3) ————————————–Met objective.

Marginal (2) —————————————-Fell short of objective.

Unsatisfactory (1) ——————————–fell well short of objective.

Once the achievement of each objective has been commented upon and rated (during the annual review) the scores are worked out by multiplying the ratings given with the assigned weightings.

Rating X Weighting =Score

The scores are then added together and the figure placed in the Total Score box at the bottom of page 2 of the form The Total Score for Objectives is a figure out of a total possible of 500 (each objective can get a maximum score of 5) for example:

 Total Score =245

Page 3—Critical Competencies

At the end   of the review period, comments are written against each competency giving specific examples of behavior this is important so that employees understand what they are currently doing and how this relates to the competency. It is this area from which most of the information will come when you are planning development for the individual.

As for the objectives section, a rating is assigned to each competency. This is derived by considering the examples of performance noted and the ratio of effective to less effective behavior observed, as described in the rating definitions below:

Individual Competency Ratings

Advanced (4)

The employee applies this competency to maximum effect in his/her work and consistently exhibits the effective, but not the less effective, behaviors, this competency has been demonstrate and no more effort is required.

Competent Application (3)

The employee adequately applies this competency to meet the job requirements and demonstrates more effective behaviors than less effective behaviors.

Developing (2)

Some development in this competency is required. Perhaps because the employee is now in the job, less effective behaviors are demonstrated than effective behaviors. If an individual has had no opportunity to display this competency he should also be rated in this category.

Minimal Application (1)

Application of this competency is not at the level necessary to meet the job requirements. The employee seldom or inconsistently demonstrates the effective behaviors for this competency. The less effective behaviors may be consistently demonstrated.

As described earlier for the Total Score for Objectives, the Total Score for competencies is arrived at by competency to get a score, then adding the scores and writing the resulting number (a figure out of a maximum possible of 40) in the total Score box.

You now have tow figures, the Total Score for objectives and for competencies, how do we get to the Overall Contribution Rating? You may thick we just add the scores together however the two Total Scores are calculated as fractions of deferent possible totals (500 and 400) so we cannot do this. Also the importance of objectives and competencies is Also he importance of objectives and competencies is not equally weighted in the input to the Overall Contribution Rating in fact the proportions are 2-1 (objectives: competencies).

We need to convert the two total Score to common denominator and then apply the 2:1 weighting the resultant figure then needs to be converted to an Overall Contribution Rating one of six possible rating one of six possible ratings. To simplify your job an easy reference guide to calculate the Overall contribution Rating is provided. The Total Score for Objectives is plotted on the line of the easy reference guide with this title, and the Total Score for Competencies is plotted on the line marked Total Score for Competencies. A line is drawn between the two plotted points and the Overall Contribution Rating is found at the point where this line crosses the middle line marked Overall Contribution Rating.

The possible Overall Contribution Ratings are as shown below

O = Outstanding

Always exceeds job requirements, needs job enrichment

E=Excellent

Frequently exceeds job requirements, can improve in a specific area.

S=Superior

Sometimes exceeds job requirements can improve in few areas.

P=Proficient

Meets job requirements can improve in a four areas.

M=Marginal

Sometimes does not meet job requirements, improvement needed in many areas

U=Unsatisfactory

Does not met job requirements immediate action required.

At the top of page 4 there is space for the direct supervisor to write any general comments o the employee’s performance during the review period in terms of objectives and competency levels.

This comment may also include, if appropriate, any factors which may have affected performance during the review period.

Page 4—Development Plan

The development plan lists the way in which the supervisor and the employee agree to meet his development needs.  These needs will be these identified as being important in the achievement if objectives and will often be focused on the critical competencies.

Development options include on the job training assignments to other areas/special tasks/ groups coaching reading investigations training etc. (see tool 3) and development must be focused on what is essential for your staff to succeed in his job i.e. Job focused Once these essential requirements have all been met, then some ‘future orientated’ development may be possible and can be included here. ‘Future orientated’ development means development that is not essential to more challenging role in the future.

Page4—Employee Feedback

This section gives the employee an opportunity to comment on whether he agars with you’re Overall Contribution Rating and if not to explain why, It also checks that he has been set objectives for the next review period and asks for feedback on his views on the review process. He may also use this section to record by other comments he feels to be important.

THE INTERIM REVIEW FORM 

The following form is the interim review form to be completed between reviews. It is mandatory to complete one interim review during any review period .Following Explains the most effective way of completing the form.

PERFORMANCE MATTERS

INTERIM PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Name of Employee……………………………………………………..PIN No……………………………………………………..                                                Date: …………………..

Categories:On track

Corrective action neededObjective no longer appropriate

Objective achieved

PERFORMANCE MATTERS

INTERIM PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Name of Employee……………………………………………………..

PIN No…………………………………………………….

Date: …………………..

Recommended action (if any)   I have reviewed my progress on my Development Plan during this review, Yes No if “No” why not Employee’s signature Supervisor’s Name Signature.

 This form has been designed to make your Interim Reviews more about discussion than form filling.

COMPLETING THE INTERIM REVIEW FORM

The Interim Review form has been designed to make the interim reviews that you complete more about discussion than form filling:

 Page 1 — Objectives

The front page of the form enables you to document comments against individual objectives, List just the objective number from the Annual Review form and then comment whether:

• The individual is on track.
• Corrective action is required.
• The objective is no longer appropriate.
• The objective has been achieved.

Page 2— Competencies

The second page of the form enables you to document comments against individual competencies. Using the same concept as on Page1, Simple list the number of the competency and document any examples showing the individual is or is not demonstrating this competency. Your competency Framework will help  you give more effective feedback.

Interim Reviews are ‘health checks’ that helps us determine whether we are on target.

What Is Feedback

The ability to give effective feedback is an essential skill for any supervisor if he or she is to be able to mange the performance of staff. Most supervisors, however, do not give feedback regularly and staff may feel that they do not know how they could do a better fob. This section gives you some useful information on how to give effective feedback.

Why is it important to give feedback regularly?

• It is a chance to give praise and recognition where appropriate so that employees remain motivated.

• It allows the employee to take responsibility for his own work and to modify his performance where nece4ssary so that he is performing in line with your expectations and can avoid any problem which might otherwise develop (self-management).

• Of course feedback is a two-way process and should always involve giving and receiving so giving feedback means that the employee has an opportunity to give some feedback.

It is good for you as a supervisor to receive feedback from time to time This may involve problems or serrations or suggestions or ensuring that you have realistic expectations of what can be achieved. The employee may feel under worked and able  to handle more, or may be too heavily loaded down with projects. This should be an opportunity for the employee to say so.

Why should we give feedback?

 It prevents any nasty surprises at the reviews and makes the review process fairer. If you have given feedback to your employee on progress toward meeting his objectives, then he has at least been made aware of the situation and can choose to make amendments required. The interim and annual reviews should not then present anything that you have not already discussed through continuous feedback. Regular feedback also means you are in a better position to help identify development needs. In knowing these needs, your employees are better equipped to work toward fulfilling them themselves.

Types of Feedback

There are two types of feedback: these are:

 Motivational—i.e. praise

 Formative –i.e. criticism

People often view all criticism as negative. This of course is NOT always the case and often it can help us. Some criticism allows us to learn through our mistakes: without this learning we mess out on a valuable source of information, which can help us, develop and progress.

Formative Feedback –tells the person what he needs to do better and how. Purpose –to help the person see how he can de better nest time.

An example: —

 “Mizan” this photocopying that I asked you to do the pages are not copied properly. You have lost some of the end letters of words at the edge of the pages,. If you place the magazine exactly at the edge of the marks on the photocopier and keep the magazine pressed down until the lid touches it you should be able to awed this problem In future perhaps you could cheek each page before giving it to me?

Purpose – to encourage and reinforce positive Behavior.

Always try and give motivational feedback separately from formative feedback.

HINTS ON GIVING MOTIVATIONAL FEEDBACK

Motivational feedback is a powerful stimulator. Yet it is something we tend to do infrequently and ineffectively. You can praise at any time, but the nearer to the time of the action being praised, the better. Review discussions are a natural opportunity to summaries praiseworthy action that have occurred during the review period, however watch for these typical faults.

• Ø We do not praise specifically- A general “well done” is meaningless if the recipient does not know what we are referring to.

• Ø We praise too frequently- which devalues the currency.

• Ø We praise superficially- Praising while giving our attention elsewhere such as reading a file, as a by-the-way remark while talking about another topic shows that we do not care about the praise.

• Ø We praise conditionally- That is, we give praise at the same time that we ask for something such as a favor, acceptance of a delegated task, agreement to work late, and so on. As a result the praise is seen as “softening up” process or a precondition.

The steps to effective praising are straightforward.

Be specific

Describe what it is you are praising. Was it the way the employee used his initiative? Was it the way he worked through lunch for a week to get the job completed within the deadline set by the customer? Was it the way he had persevered with further education, studying during evenings and weekends to improve his prospects?

Give positive strokes

Does something, which makes him, feel good? For example, describing how you feel about what he has done (please, proud, excited, etc) making eye contact with him and asking questions to understand better what he did, what decisions he took, etc, will all let him appreciate that your praise is genuine.

Seek to expand the behavior

This point is relevant to all but minor praiseworthy actions, and is especially relevant to giving formative feedback during review discussions. Ask questions to help the employee determine what he learned, how he can do it even better next time and in what other situations he can apply what he has learned. That way, the praising becomes a mini- coaching session.

“Today is yesterday’s pupil” – Benjamin Franklin

Hints on Giving Formative Feedback

Why is “formative feedback” so often a problem?

• Ø Some people are too liberal with their criticism. For them. there are two ways of tackling any job—their way and the wrong way.
• Ø We tend to have subconscious memories of being criticized as children the feelings associated with those memories (anger, guilt, injustice) are ‘replayed’ when we are criticized in adult life. Consequently, we tend to react negatively to formative feedback
• Ø Knowing that an employee may well reacts negatively to formative feedback however justified, can trigger the reviewer’s fight or flight response. With the former, they tend to go in too hard, exaggerating the point, and with the latter they tend to sugarcoat or dilute the point so that its effect is minimized.

If a person is not achieving the required standard, it is up to you as the supervisor to review performance so that he or she has a chance to improve. Formative feedback can help solve performance problems, avoid conflict, assist in development, reduce stress and build trust.

Hints for giving formative feedback

• Ø Give feedback in private. It is more considerate of the employee, and hence you are more likely to have a productive discussion.
• Ø Give timely formative feedback that is , give it quickly after the event. So you need to act quickly (as long as emotions are not running too high) and not save up critical points for review discussions. Nothing in a review discussion should come as a surprise. That way, when you raise critical issues during reviews, you are summarizing previous conversations, not presenting issues for the first time.
• Ø Do not be tempted to sandwich the formative feedback with praise i.e. give praise, formative feedback and then praise again, This may seem like cushioning the bad news but it only serves to confuse the person and detract from any valid praise.
• Ø State the formative feedback, using examples of what has been achieved Be honest and do not fudge the issue,. However, use specific and descriptive terminology rather than personal, emotional, judgmental or evaluative terminology, Stick to behavioral problems rather than any perceived personality defects. Comments like.

Phrasing formative feedback so that it does not cause offence

Focusing on the behavior rather than the person, and being specific and deceptive, will enable you to avoid most problems. There may be occasions, however, when some ‘fine tuning’ is required. These occasions will be when the formative feedback and/or the source of the information are sensitive and, to monition the employee’s Attention on the need to modify behavior, you want of choose your words carefully. Here is an example.

Imagine that your employee is a team leader and that you have been approached by several members of his team voicing concern about his frustrating and annoying attention to unnecessary detail at the expense of the overall productivity. What the say fits your impression of the team leader and you decide to raise it with him.

You could open the conversation by saying.

“It has been brought to my attention that you pay too much attention to detail and not enough to overall productivity’,” which

Sounds both horribly formal, and as if you have spies watching his every move. Alternatively, you could grab the bull by the horns:

“You’re paying too much attention to detail at the expense of overall productivity”,

Which is making an unsubstantiated accusation? On the other hand, you could be accurate in your description of what you know to be true and you could involve him at the same time:

Creating A Non-Threatening Atmosphere to Give Feedback

There are a number of ways in which giving feedback can be made less threatening to the employee:

 Be descriptive rather than judgmental.

 Be supportive rather authoritarian.

 Treat the employee as an equal rather than an employee.

In addition, making the discussion relaxed but professional can also help to keep the conversation non-threatening. This can be done by ensuring the flowing.

• Reviews start on time Lateness is being impolite to your employees and suggests than the review is less important than other work.

• Be flexible where possible On certain areas such as safety, performance standards etc. You may not have room to be flexible, but where the issues are non critical, be prepared to give some ground so that the discussion involves agreement rather than imposition.

• The employee does at least half of the talking Involve the employee in the discussion using open questions i.e. Questions that do not produce a yes or no response, wherever possible.

• Listed! Don’t interrupt with “Yes…but” comments. It is a sure sign that you are thinking about your own agenda and NOT listening.

Creating A Non-Threatening Atmosphere to Give Feedback

Always try and observe the following when receiving formative feedback about your own performance:

• Listen Try not to make quick judgments or dismiss what the person is saying. Listen carefully so you understand what is being said. Never say “Yes, But….” It is a sure sign that you have not been listening.

• Clarify Check your understanding of the feedback given by summarizing in your own words what you believe the person is saying. Ask for specific examples to help clarify.

• Do not be defensive It is often tempting to explain why you acted as you did or why something did not go well. Resist the temptation, at least until the person has finished.

• Do not argue You do not have to agree with what is being said, and eventually you will make your own decision about whether you accept or reject the feedback. But don’t argue. You will only discourage that person form giving you further feedback and giving you a chance to develop.

• Reflect once you have received the feedback; spend some time thinking about what has been said.

Do I act on the Formative Feedback

Consider the following when deciding on this question:

1. Has anyone else said similar things to me before?
2. Does the person giving the feedback know a lot about the subject?
3. Are the person’s standards unreasonable?
4. Is the feedback really about me?
5. Do I want to do anything about it?
6. How can I use the information effectively?

Competency Framework

• Rapidly establishes rapport by being friendly, cheerful, patient and polite
• Is receptive to the needs of the client, determining and meeting these where practical
• Anticipates needs of customer and responds promptly to questions
• Empathizes with customers by pacifying them; investigates the issues, identifies the source and personally corrects problems promptly

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Allows customer complaints to escalate before providing a proposed solution
• Uses rules and procedures as excuses for not satisfying customers
• Jumps to conclusions without listening; provides solutions before fully understanding requirements or problems
• Fails to recognize internal customers as customers
• Is submissive to customers; goes out of the way to satisfy their needs without considering organizational objectives or the bottom line.

 CUSTOMER FOCUS

 INITIATIVES AND COMMITMENT TO ACHIEVE

DEFINITION: The tendency to act in a self directed way, by taking action before being directed or forced by events; to seize opportunities, seek in depth information and do significantly more than is required.

EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; MORE OF THIS

• Sets and monitors achievable yet stretching objectives and targets for self
• Demonstrates resilience; even when faced with setbacks
• Goes beyond the defined role to tackle issues oneself as a means of increasing overall effectiveness
• Is proactive by exhibiting high personal energy and getting things done

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Restricts work to the boundaries of ones’ role; follows instructions
• Plans and carries out work only when prompted to do so
• When faced with problems waits for others to provide solutions
• Highlights obstacles as excuses for not achieving objectives rather than proactively attempting to overcome them

 CUSTOMER FOCUS

ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND QUALITY

• Reviews work to minimize / eliminate errors and omissions to produce high quality work
• Plans work down to the last detail; follows tasks through
• Insists on clarity of roles, functions and tasks
• Sets up and maintains systems of information; ensures procedures are being followed

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS; LESS OF THIS

• Exceeds deadlines due to taking extra time to produce work output
• Retains only an overview; hence hesitates to get closure or make quick decisions
• Misses detail and makes errors in over enthusiasm to complete work
• Produces output based purely on gut feel, without taking facts into account

DEFINITION: The ability to consistently produce error-free output; concerned with maintaining standards of accuracy and quality.

 LEADERSHIP

COACHING

DEFINITION: Provides guidance, support and constructive feedback to enhance others’ capabilities.

• Coaches team members on the job; gives demonstrations, with rationale included as a training strategy
• Challenges individuals to set milestones and work to achieve these
• Uses questions in a coaching style to encourage others to solve problems themselves
• Expresses positive expectations of others even in difficult cases; publicly appreciates good performance

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Points out mistakes as a means of giving feedback; takes good performance for granted
• Distances oneself when things go wrong
• Makes independent decisions on staff development needs without soliciting their input
• Focuses on achievement of immediate objectives rather than developing staff for long-term gains

 LEADERSHIP

DELEGATION

• Distributes work equitably and according to the abilities of the team
• Uses delegation as a tool for individual development
• Allows individuals to complete tasks on their own but provides support when required
• Delegates whole tasks, encouraging individuals to accept responsibility for their actions and outputs

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Delegates work without providing the right resources or information to ensure quality output
• Delegates only routine tasks while retaining the new and challenging ones
• Readily delegates challenging assignments to superior performers instead of using delegation as a development tool

DEFINITION: Allocates work to subordinates in line with their capabilities and

the needs of the business.

LEADERSHIP

TEAM LEADING

DEFINITION: Has a natural authority, generates commitment and builds team cohesiveness by setting a clear vision for the team, reflected in core values.

• Communicates frequently a realistic picture of future plans so people know what has to be done and why
• Arrives at decisions by consensus, where appropriate, to gain team commitment
• Is supportive of the team / individuals and helps in overcoming problems to achieve targets
• Leads by example; displays behaviors which reflect the desired work norms and values

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Takes independent decisions and asks the team to follow instructions without questioning
• Waits for team to ask for information instead of proactively keeping them informed of the ‘big’ picture
• Exhibits high personal energy when initiating action but does not follows through
• Talks about the theory and principles of leadership, yet not reflected in behavior

LEADERSHIP

INFLUENCES AND NEGOTIATION

DEFINITION: Uses appropriate personal style to gain acceptance or agreement to an idea or plan; changes others’ opinions by effective persuasion.

• Seeks to understand the personal and business motives of others to build rapport and to use as input to determining a negotiation strategy
• Relates honestly to others and expresses feelings openly in order to build trust and confidence in own abilities
• Responds intuitively to verbal and non-verbal cues of others
• Varies approach to appeal at both rational and emotional levels

LESS EFFECTIVE EHAVIOURAL INDICATORS; LESS OF THIS

• Spends insufficient time probing and investigating others’ motives before planning a negotiation strategy
• Uses authority to bend rules and regulations; reminds others of own ‘status / level’ in the organization
• Imposes own agenda on others
• Adheres rigidly to own point of view

LEADERSHIP

DECISION MAKING

DEFINITION: Able to take a balanced view, to recognize priorities and to weigh up different options to reach logical conclusion and decide on a plan of action.

• Actively seeks out and evaluates information, analyses the facts from different angles and choose the best option
• Where possible, arrives at decisions by consensus of interested parties
• Accepts responsibility / accountability for own decision and explains the rationale
• Uses a balance of quantitative and qualitative factors as supporting evidence

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Takes decisions without fully considering long-term consequences
• Is selective when considering alternatives before taking a decision
• Takes decisions based on precedent and past data only; does not consider current information or projected data
• Tries to consider all points of view often resulting in poor or delayed decisions

TEAM WORK

TEAM ORIENTATION

DEFINITION: The ability to work with and support others as part of a team, both within and across functions, and understand the need to work together to create an environment of co-operation and mutual responsibility.

• Discusses plans, strategies and problems with own team and with other departments, where appropriate; reviews successes and failures
• Criticizes constructively and seeks to suggest ways to improve overall efficiency
• Seeks to involve other people in new ventures
• Willing to share freely knowledge, information, ideas and experience to assist others

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS     ; LESS OF THIS

• Presents ideas and suggestions of other team members as one’s own
• Willingly presents ideas and suggestions to team but prefers not to take on responsibility
• Retains new / valuable information, which could be useful to other team members
• Confines working relationship to hierarchy / peer group; avoids working interdependently with other team members

TEAM WORK

 COMMUNICATION SKILLS

DEFINITION: The ability to convey a message, verbally or in writing to both individuals and groups and actively listen to the responses.

• Communicates clearly and concisely, avoiding
• Encourages two-way communication; confirms the message has been understood and seeks feedback
• Listens carefully to interpret and understand the message before responding
• Listens appropriately to unspoken or partly expressed feelings of others

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Uses the same level of language for all kinds of groups, often resulting in confusion and misunderstanding
• Interrupts others; does not listen to full communication
• Communicates ambiguously, often missing out the important points and the purpose of the communication
• Does not clarify understanding takes comprehension by others for granted

 TEAM WORK

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

DEFINITION: The ability to pull together individuals or parties in conflict by diffusing emotions, identifying the critical issues and helping to reach a compromise; keeps the focus on common objectives to meet both needs.

• Confronts covert conflict; draws out sensitive issues or relationships
• Uses all-round knowledge to manage inter-departmental and intra-departmental conflicts
• Keeps the focus of conflict resolution on the long term overall interests of the organization
• Facilitates open discussion between conflicting parties

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS     ; LESS OF THIS

• Lets conflict escalate before taking any action
• Seeks to diffuse conflict after listening to only some of the parties involved; jumps to conclusions about others based on earlier situations
• Adopts a singular style or strategy across different contexts
• Does not identify brewing conflicts from emotional reactions

TEAM WORK

NETWORKING

DEFINITION: Sees self and others as a valuable business resource; proactively develops and maintains mutually beneficial relationships.

• Forms close working relationships with contacts, based on mutual respect and trust
• Develops an understanding of the culture / interests / working methods of the contact
• Takes time to follow through with contacts, showing appreciation for their assistance
• Contacts network members regularly to maintain relationships; shares information as appropriate

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Gets in touch with contacts only when assistance is required; forgets to follow through and show appreciation
• Does not readily share contacts, even if they might be useful to others
• Uses contacts for personal gains
• Establishes contacts arbitrarily and without considering if they are of potential long-term value

 TEAM WORK

 CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

• Shows awareness / sensitivity / tolerance towards cultural differences by moderating own cultural behaviors
• Observes and determines cultural patterns to adapt approach to the culture concerned
• Shows a genuine interest in the culture of others and seeks to understand the reasons behind cultural differences
• Includes individuals from other cultures into the group and encourages interaction through a common language

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS  ;  LESS OF THIS

• Jumps to conclusions without attempting to understand and appreciate differences in cultural behaviors
• Interacts with persons selectively, usually only with those of own race and culture
• Makes general statements about particular races and cultures
• Draws attention to cultural differences insensitively

DEFINITION: The ability to work effectively with others from different cultures that may have different patterns of values, beliefs and expectations.

 DIPLOMACY

DEFINITION: The ability to use a wide range of interpersonal skills to establish productive working relationships with all levels of people both inside and outside the company. The ability to get on with difficult people and be sensitive to the needs of others.

• Uses a high level of self-control to deal with one’s own emotional responses and present oneself to others as calm and objective
• Handles awkward / difficult individuals by managing emotions and choosing words carefully
• Can broach difficult issues with sensitivity and manage others’ reactions
• Adapts approach to personality concerned

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Reacts emotionally to others; often personal opinions or feelings are made clear without deliberate intention to do so
• Is abrupt in words, tone and speech style
• Uses jargon or technical language which confuses others
• Takes time to respond to situations which require quick reactions

PERSONAL IMPACTS

 PRESENTATION SKILLS

DEFINITION: The ability to plan, prepare and communicate information in a group environment; to hold audience interest and achieve the desired impact.

PERSONAL IMPACTS

ORGANISATIONAL AWARENESS

DEFINITION: Ability to understand the power relationships in organizations and the position of one’s own organization in the large world.

MORE OF THIS

• Understands the organization’s informal structures; identifies key decision makers and influences
• Recognizes unspoken organizational constraints; what is and is not possible at certain times in certain positions
• Uses corporate language and style for maximum effect
• Addresses the reasons for on-going organizational behavior involving the underlying problems, opportunities or political forces affecting the organization

LESS EFFECTIVE EHAVIOURAL INDICATORS

LESS OF THIS

• Reacts to persons and situations without identifying the key decision makers, influences and opinion leaders
• Jumps into potentially volatile organizational situations by not recognizing power relationships
• Uses the corporate hierarchy to further one’s own career ambitions
• Misjudges own authority and impact within the organization; speaks highly regarding others’ perception of self

PERSONAL IMPACTS

ASSERTIVENESS

DEFINITION: The ability to present one’s opinions positively, deal with conflicts sensibly and rationally when they occur, while balancing one’s own needs with the needs of others.

• Remains calm under pressure
• Develops personal strategies to cope with stressful situations
• Understands own limitations and openly discusses problems
• Manages the magnitude of work and asks for help where needed

LESS EFFECTIVE EHAVIOURAL INDICATORS; LESS OF THIS

• Accepts all tasks and projects irrespective of priorities and workload
• Adopts body language and voice level that convey aggressiveness or submissiveness
• Is obsessive about own views and opinions and defends these to the end without considering others
• When faced with opposition, withdraws from the situation or accepts others’ points of view without questioning

PERSONAL IMPACTS

PLANNING AND ORGANISING

DEFINITION: Establishes an appropriate course of action for self and others; delivers the results in a quality, timely and cost effective way by bringing together, co-coordinating and controlling the resources necessary to achieve the goal.

• Structures an approach that ensures easy accessibility of information through the use of systems (e.g. filing systems)
• Acquires a clear understanding of systems and procedures before taking action
• Plans ahead and produces a plan of work in which tasks are prioritized and actioned to meet
• Builds in quality control checks before completing an activity.

LESS EFFECTIVE EHAVIOURAL INDICATORS; LESS OF THIS

• Manages by crisis; responds to changes or setbacks only as they arise
• Loses sight of the overall picture and objectives while concentrating on the detail
• Allows precedent to drive a plan without investigating options or questioning efficiency
• Continuously works beyond regular hours, irrespective of workload

PERSONAL IMPACTS

ADAPTABILITY

DEFINITION: Adapts to and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups.

• Organizes work and reviews priorities to suit changing needs
• Recognizes the merits of views or positions different from one’s own and incorporates feasible ideas into working practices
• Takes into account external factors when planning an approach
• Uses different approaches and styles, as needed, to circumstances

LESS EFFECTIVE EHAVIOURAL INDICATORS; LESS OF THIS

• Prefers to adhere rigidly to plans
• Selectively considers external factors and others’ ideas; considers only those that suit own plan
• Tries to accommodate everyone’s point of view
• Plans actions normally based on successes of the past rather than experimenting with new ideas

DEFINITION: The ability to break complex problem/processes/projects into

Component parts, which can be organized/considered in a systematic way.

• Analyses all options available using a rational, unbiased approach, before selecting the most suitable one
• Monitors trends, uses past date to forecast future trends and assess current needs; investigates reasons for changes in trends
• Questions information that appears suspect of illogical
• Analyses and presents information in a logical order.

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORSLESS OF THIS

• Takes short-cuts to solutions.
• Bases decisions and actions on emotion, gut feel and hidden agendas, rather than logic.
• Is content with first approach; avoids examining options.
• Approaches a problem relying only on tried and tested methods.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENTS

DEFINITION: The ability to see patterns or relationships between complex situations from related or unrelated areas; seeing the large picture.

• Sees connection or patterns that are not obvious to others.
• Analyses string as, weaknesses, opportunities and feats of situations and develops long-term strategies and of ejectives based on findings.
• Identifies useful relationships arming complex data from unrelated areas.
• Applies and modifies learned concepts or methods to specific situations.

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS     ; LESS OF THIS

• Considers issues from a narrow perspective; plans without considering the overall impact on the organization.
• Retains old methods/technology, does not recognize the impact of new technology and the changing face of the industry
• Keeps up to date with own area but does not actively seek information from related areas, businesses or industries

 CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENTS

 Is able to conceive original, imaginative and valuable ideas to solve problems and improve processes.

• Develops ideas and thinks through to an innovative conclusion
• Questions traditional thinking in order to initiate new perspectives.
• Builds on information and ideas provided by others
• Acts quickly to grasp and develop novel opportunities

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Prefers to use tried and tested methods to solve problems rather than think of new and innovative solutions.
• Sees opportunities as risks; talks about the dangers and risks rather than the potential benefits
• Actions ideas giving appropriate thought only to short-term benefits and immediate impact
• Is overly absorbed in own ideas; hence is not as aware of the environment or important events as required

 CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENTS

DEFINITION: To value and embrace the opportunities within change; uses initiative and personal drive to establish a dynamic, responsive organizational environment. 

• Proactively initiates change in the workplace to achieve improvements in quality or efficiency
• Takes appropriate risk in pursuit of a different, advanced environment and supports others in doing so
• Recognizes and exploits opportunities by moving quickly to implement changes in own area
• Develops strategies which would have a long-term beneficial impact on the organization

LESS EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS    ; LESS OF THIS

• Accepts change when imposed but does not actively co-operate to implement it waits for others to take the imitative
• Adopts a ‘wait and see’ attitude instead of championing and driving the change
• Always uses past experience and existing knowledge to solve problems and accomplish objectives; looks at new opportunities with suspicion
• Focuses and talks about risks and drawbacks, however small, rather than the positives

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

DEEINTION: A strong personal commitment to self-development reflected in an underlying curiosity to know more about people, things, issues; stretching beyond what is routine or required job knowledge.

 TECHNICAL SKILLS

DEFINTION: Possesses a wide understanding of professional issues related to a specific functional area that adds value to work output.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

DEEINTION : Translates objectives in to practical and  achievable actions by prioritizing , planning, organizing and managing resources within and across functional boundaries.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

DEEINTION: Able to learn and use appropriate technologies in current and future roles; conveys and incorporates relevant knowledge into different work situations.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

DEEINITION:  Familiar with basic elements of mathematics; copes well with work involving reporting, calculating, collating and evaluating numerical data. 

TECHNICAL SKILLS

DEEINITION: An understanding of financial management and the ability to prepare, plan and work within budgetary guidelines. Understands the importance of managing the bottom line.

 Recommendations

The survey results have given valuable information as to where improvements are necessary to improve the employees’ performance of BBL. Now I recommend the following major things, which will be helpful for BBL:

• Ø The strength of a bank depends on its employees’ performance. That’s why the authority always should be aware about the service provided by the Bank to its employees.
• Ø Bank should offer more facilities to the employees such as bonus.
• Ø The bank should consider the problems of employees with sympathy.
• Ø As for loan schemes, BBL should give some more facilities to its employees.
• Ø Long-term training very much required for the employees.

Conclusion

BRAC Bank limited is a modern commercial bank.. It is committed to provide high quality financial services / products to contribute to the growth of G.D.P. of the country through stimulating trade & commerce, accelerating the pace of industrialization, boosting up export, creating employment opportunity for the educated youth, raising standard of living of limited income group and overall sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

The Bank is operating efficiently with its existing products and services. To achieve these objectives and to contribute to G.D.P. the performance of the employees should be developed. And these performance matters should be reviewed periodically and with importance and BRAC Bank does the job very effectively and efficiently. That is the reason why the bank is growing so fast than any other local bank in our country. The bank depends on its employees and its employees depend on the Bank and thus they become a part of the Bank.

Bibliography

1.  Brigham-Garpenski, Financial Management, Theory and Practice, 6^th Edition.

2. Noreen & Garrison, Managerial Accounting, 10^th Edition.

3. The Performance Matters given by the Bank.

4. The other Handouts from the Bank.

5. The official Website of BRAC Bank Ltd.

6. The Websites Related to Performance Appraisal Systems

7. Different documents related to performance appraisal