ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PRACTICES ANDCHALLENGES: THE CASE OF BERHAN BANK WOLKITE BRANCH

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to assess performance appraisal practices and challenges in the case of Berhan Bank Wolkite Branch. The study has used questionnaires and structured interview discussions to collect data from managers and employees. Simple random samplings were used to collect primary information and accordingly, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data gathered. The target populations of this research are permanent employees of the Bank. Currently, there are a total of 20 employees who are working in the bank. The data collected through a census. The criteria used to measure the performance of employees are objective. However, some criteria don’t have a direct relation with the actual work and natural traits which are dif icult to alter and are beyond the control of the employee. There also are criteria that are vague to understand. It was also observed that the major challenges of Performance evaluation at BB are lack of rater ability to evaluate employee performance, rater bias in evaluating performance, lack of communicating performance standards and expectations to the employees, no link between some evaluation criteria and employee job, absence of employee participation in setting performance evaluation criteria and lack of focus and carelessness by branch managers. It was recommended that Performance evaluation criteria should be revised in the participation of the employees for they are the actual persons who do the job and are evaluated. To acquaint employees who do not know why performance evaluation is conducted the Bank’s management should create awareness of the purpose of performance appraisal. The Bank’s HRdirectorate should follow up with those raters who do not have files and encourage those using it now. The Bank’s management should give training to supervisors and managers who are responsible for conducting performance evaluations.