Performance management involves more than annual performance appraisals, MSPB has said, stressing the value of frequent feedback from the supervisor to the employee.
“Current regulations do not require a supervisor to wait for the annual appraisal to tell employees what they are doing well or doing poorly; instead, an appraisal program is expected to include ongoing appraisal,” it said in a newly posted publication.
“Merely judging the quality of performance, even on an ongoing basis, is not the same thing as managing that performance. Good performance management requires ongoing feedback in which an employee is not only kept informed about how he or she is doing, but is also given guidance and assistance to do even better in the future. The precise information that the feedback contains should vary based on the performance of the individual and the needs of the position.”
It added that in a 2007 survey it found that the more frequent the feedback is, the more likely the employee will find it to be helpful. Employees at all levels found feedback helpful, but executives found it most helpful of all, it added.
Respondents who reported that their supervisor provided timely and constructive feedback further were more likely to agree that hard work resulted in the achievement of goals and objectives than those with less timely or less constructive feedback.
