Performance Management and Appraisal: A How‐to‐Do‐It Manual for Librarians

Citation

Sayers, R. (2005), "Performance Management and Appraisal: A How‐to‐Do‐It Manual for Librarians", Library Management, Vol. 26 No. 8/9, pp. 546-547. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120510631963

In many employees' experience, performance appraisal processes are among the most over‐promised and under‐delivered initiatives promulgated by their organisations. Furthermore, they typically generate more anxiety and stress than a minor earthquake and leave most managers and staff feeling similarly unbalanced in the aftermath. Despite the trepidation felt by many people, performance appraisal does not have to be an unpleasant chore – in fact, when done effectively, it can be a potentially rewarding experience for all involved. Many useful training and professional development initiatives for example have had their genesis in performance appraisal interviews.

Sadly, however, performance appraisals are more often done poorly by organisations and once bitten, most participants are twice shy. In Performance Management and Appraisal, G. Edward Evans provides librarians and their managers with an excellent grounding in the theory and practice of performance appraisal. In dedicating his work to all who know “the stress of ‘That Time of Year’”, Evans acknowledges the poor reputation of performance appraisal and sets about providing concrete solutions for improvement.

Evans begins in Part I by providing useful theoretical context, particularly around why and how performance management and appraisal is used by organisations. Seven common uses are identified, with the top three in order – compensation, counselling, and training and development – speaking volumes about how many organisations view the process. Chapters 2 and 3 then work through the mechanics of choosing an appropriate system – assuming one is not already defined by the organisation – and conducting appraisals. This reviewer was particularly amused by Evans' recounting of a personal anecdote in which he was required by a university to place at least one of his team in the “unacceptable category” every year – an unpopular and inappropriate response. His solution was to get the team to agree that everyone, the author included, would take a turn at being unacceptable with order determined by the drawing of lots!

Part II details over six chapters the various performance appraisal methods that can be employed in libraries, including manager/executive appraisals. In chapter 9, Evans draws the threads together by addressing the issues of pay for performance, training and perceptions of fairness. As he does throughout the book, Evans acknowledges that despite all its acknowledged failings, performance appraisal is still a fact of life in most organisations and must ergo be administered and managed as effectively as possible. One obvious strategy is to ensure that the people doing the rating are trained “to achieve bias‐free, valid, reliable assessments” – a worthy but ultimately unobtainable objective that Evans likens to an “error‐free Online Public Access Catalogue”. It is possible, however, to achieve greater consistency and fairness through appropriate preparatory training, particularly with regard to performance scales.

Evans concludes his comprehensive work in Part III with an extensive array of performance appraisal forms and checklists that readers are encouraged to adapt to local needs from the CD‐ROM provided. Although Performance Management and Appraisal provides little non‐US context, the content is sufficiently generic to have broad appeal. The author also provides useful references at the end of each chapter for further reading.

In summary, Evans tackles a difficult and unappealing topic with insight and skill. Performance Management and Appraisal is recommended for use by libraries of all sizes and types. As Evans concludes his preface, “PA can be, when properly done, an essential ingredient in creating a humane, effective, and efficient library operation.”