Table Of ContentHow to Improve Performance Through
title:
Appraisal and Coaching
author: Kirkpatrick, Donald L.
publisher: AMACOM Books
isbn10 | asin: 0814457193
print isbn13: 9780814457191
ebook isbn13: 9780585039848
language: English
subject Employees--Rating of.
publication date: 1982
lcc: HF5549.5.R3K54 1982eb
ddc: 658.3/125
subject: Employees--Rating of.
Page iii
How To Improve Performance Through
Appraisal And Coaching
Donald L. Kirkpatrick
Foreword by James L. Hayes
Former President and Chief Executive Officer
American Management Association
Page iv
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Kirkpatrick, Donald L.
How to improve performance through appraisal and coaching.
Includes index.
1. Employees, Rating of. I. Title.
HF5549.5.R3K54 658.3'125
ISBN 0-8144-5719-3
81-66221
AACR2
© 1982 AMACOM
A division of American Management Associations, New York. All
rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of AMACOM, 1601 Broadway,
New York, N.Y. 10019.
Fifteenth Printing
Page v
FOREWORD
There are some ideas in management whose time comes and goes and
comes again, depending on circumstances of economy or fashion. I
have in mind such things as direct costing, the most profitable means
of inventory valuation, and the eternal shift between centralization and
decentralization of authority. There are other ideas whose time is ever
present and whose demands for effective practice are immutable. Of
these perhaps the most pertinent for all managers anywhere in no
matter what type of operationwhether in the public or the private
sector, whether in a market or a socialist economyis the need for
effective performance appraisal.
The end result of any proper appraisal system, according to Donald L.
Kirkpatrick in this extensive treatment of the subject, is to improve
performance through a combination of on-the-job coaching,
appraisals, counseling sessions, interviews, and performance
improvement plans jointly developed by manager and subordinate.
Effective communication of expectations and achievements is also
necessary. All well and good; few would argue with this philosophy.
Why then, we may ask, do good intentions go awry, and why is the
system itself so often feared by employees and managers alike?
Kirkpatrick guides us step by step through all the elements of a
workable performance improvement program, from both the
standpoint of the practicing manager and that of the program's overall
administrator. He shows conclusively at each step the logic of the
process and the reasons that it will ultimately lead to success. By
building up the process in this logical, well-reasoned fashion, he
removes the manager's uneasiness about conducting appraisals, and
this in turn goes a long way toward relieving the subordinate's
apprehensiveness about the whole question of performance
improvement. Rather than something to be dreaded and faced up to
once a year or so, or a disagreeable duty that must be rushed through
by all parties as quickly as possible, performance appraisal and
employee coaching are strong, very positive actions. They are perhaps
the most important tools that managers can use in their job of getting
things done through others.
Kirkpatrick points up some fresh techniques in performance appraisal
and improvement. One of the most important is what he calls
"significant job segments"
Page vi
and their role in appraisal. He also includes advice and comments
from successful athletic coaches and points out the similarities in
approach between coaching professional athletes and coaching
employees.
Significant job segments are those seven or eight major factors that
must be evaluated by the manager in any appraisal interview. They
have the virtue of focusing attention on results rather than on some
such irrelevancy as personality. They also serve to eliminate the less
crucial or repetitive elements in a job so that the manager and
employee can concentrate on achievement and improvement, not
isolated instances of superior or mediocre performance.
The significant job segments describe what is done. And so they lead
to standards of performance, which describe for the boss and the
employee how well the job must be done. By describing the proper
use of performance standards, Kirkpatrick achieves possibly his
greatest contribution in his valid and forceful presentation. For it is
through standards of performance that the employee understands what
he or she is expected to accomplish. Standards also permit the
manager to evaluate performancenot hearsayand plot a path for the
employee's improvement and development. As few other ideas or
systems have done, performance standards help the manager to
eliminate bias and prejudice in evaluating performance. What a
powerful managerial tool these standards are, benefiting both the
organization and the individual. Kirkpatrick shows us exactly how
they are developed and administered.
But despite all the correct form and procedures, a mechanical,
routinized, robotlike approach can rob even the best evaluation
programs of their effectiveness. Performance appraisal as described in
this book extends beyond the formal interview. When most productive
and decisive, it is really a day-to-day concern with people. It is
helping people set their goals and then helping them to achieve those
goals. It is being available when needed. It is daily communication of
expectations and feedback on results. It is on-the-job coaching in new
areas of endeavor and counseling in weak areas of performance. It is
concern with people and helping them grow. Helping people improve
their performance and watching them develop are the rewards that
effective managers cherish most. This book will provide some
practical ideas and approaches to help managers improve their
effectiveness in these areas.
JAMES L. HAYES
FORMER PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
PREFACE
If you are a manager who conducts performance appraisals with
subordinates, you may find this book somewhat frustrating because
you are probably locked into a program with forms and procedures.
However, regardless of the forms and approaches you are required to
use, you will find some practical help in such areas as clarifying
what's expected, appraising performance, self-appraisal, conducting
the appraisal interview, developing a performance improvement plan,
and on-the-job coaching. You'll be particularly interested in the
comments from some nationally known athletic coaches, and you'll be
amazed by how much of their advice will apply directly to you on
your job.
Part II includes sample forms, case studies, and research conducted by
General Electric. This material will be of practical use as you evaluate
your own philosophy, forms, and procedures.
Also, this book may help you discover why your program isn't
working as well as you'd like it to. If you have any suggestions that
you think will help improve your performance review program, pass
them along to those in your organization who are responsible for the
program's administration.
If you have an overall responsibility for an effective performance
appraisal and review program in your organization, this book will
have special benefit for you. If you already have a program, you can
compare it with the ideas, examples, and case studies presented here.
Of particular interest and benefit to you will be Chapter 6, which
describes the five requirements for effective programs and gives some
specific ideas for improving them.
If you have no program at all and are about to establish one, the book
will be of maximum benefit. Study the principles and approaches
suggested here, and read the listed references describing the
philosophies and recommendations of other writers. Also, study the
case studies presented in Part II. After this study and analysis, develop
and implement your own program as described in Chapter 6.
Whether you are appraising and coaching employees, administering
an existing program, or establishing a new one, I hope this book will
give you ideas that will make your job more rewarding and your
program more successful.
DONALD L. KIRKPATRICK
CONTENTS
Part 1
Employee Performance, Appraisal, and Coaching
A Conceptual Framework for the Appraisal/Coaching 3
Process
Pretest 4
1 Introduction and Overview 7
How to Get Maximum Performance from Subordinates
The Performance Review Program
2 The Basis for Appraisal 26
Significant Job Segments
Standards of Performance
3 The Appraisal and the Interview 45
The Appraisal Process
Preparing for the Appraisal Interview
Conducting the Appraisal Interview
4 The Performance Improvement Plan 61
Preparing an Effective Plan
5 On-the-Job Coaching 73
The Effective Coach
Coaching Approaches and Techniques
