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Job Evaluation and Performance Appraisal Criteria for Asset Management Coordinator

            Performance appraisals are used by organizations globally as analytical tools that illustrate the strengths of individual employees or even board members in their specific roles (Wienclaw, 2017). Once a performance appraisal system has been developed for a specific job, strategic decisions regarding the staff and his or her job can be made towards sustainable growth and continued performance. Through performance appraisal, staffs’ compensation and additional rewards can be determined, leading to improved morale and increased participation in the job (Carol, Aleksandra (Sandy) & Stapczynski, 2014). Wienclaw (2017) states that a comprehensive performance appraisal features past and present performances of the staff in specific factors such as the staff’s knowledge regarding the job, nature of the output (in terms of both quantity and quality), judgement and decision making, team management or leadership skills, versatility, co-operation, among others. There are numerous factors that can be reviewed in a performance appraisal. In most cases, the factors to be reviewed are guided by the organizational values, culture and overall objectives. Nonetheless, factors like leadership skills will always be used when appraising team managers and decision makers, regardless of the institution. This essay outlines how a comprehensive employee performance appraisal system for the position of the position of an Asset Management Coordinator at West Bloomfield Township would be designed and the position would be evaluated.

Designing an Employee Performance Appraisal System

            In order to design an effective appraisal system, Wienclaw (2017) admits that the organization has to be able to clearly define the roles of the staff member in the job. Second, Carol, Aleksandra (Sandy) and Stapczynski,(2014) state that the organization’s overall goals, values and cultures have to be considered in the appraisal system as these will help to clearly define  strengths or weaknesses in an employee. Third, the system developed has to provide an opportunity for improvement not only through training, but also through employee motivation. After all, the purpose of appraisal is to ensure continued growth in a job (Falcone & Tan, 2013). In this regard, the following steps are considered most appropriate in designing an employee performance appraisal system:

Step 1: Identifying the Appraising Team

This involves the selection, creation or outsourcing of a skilled team that can be able to conduct the appraisal without any bias. For most organizations, specific departments are normally allowed to conduct the appraisals internally as they are skilled enough to perform these tasks (Falcone & Tan, 2013). If such a team is unavailable or the appraisal has to be done on the existing appraising team, an external team can be identified and used to conduct the appraisal.

Step 2: Develop a Strategy

As aforementioned, the process of appraising is guided by the organizational goals, cultures and values. Falcon and Tan (2013) add that the staff to be appraised operates within specific guidelines as set by the job description and, therefore, in the development of the appraisal questionnaire, the specific job factors, occupational values, staff behavior and culture will have to be identified and listed as benchmarks for the appraisal. This will form the overall strategy for the analysis of the staff actions and decisions.

Step 3: Define the Assessment Format

At this level, the selected team has to develop the criteria for assessment. This paper supports the utilization of simple rating scales to illustrate the extent to which one agrees or disagrees with specific matters. The scales can capture the extent to which they meet the desired organizational standards in the job through scales of 1 to 5. The instructions used for each question should also be clear and the approach used to conduct the assessment, either online or direct interview, should offer maximum convenience for the staff.

Step 4: Documentation and Follow-up

During the assessment process, every detail has to be covered through documentation. This is specifically important when the assessment involves an interview or the assessment is done on a routine basis. In such two instances, the appraisers tend to ignore the need to document and this limits objectivity while increasing the chances of digressing during the process. To avoid such incidences, this paper supports the need to use an appraisal form. The appraisal should also be repeated on a set date to ensure continuous monitoring of staff performances. This follow-up also helps to capture the actual abilities and plan for future compensation, training and motivational activities. Previous biases by the assessor can also be avoided as accuracy of the results is enhanced through repeating the assessments and learning more about the staff (Carol, Aleksandra (Sandy) & Stapczynski, 2014; Falcone & Tan, 2013).

Step 5: Setting Future Goals

After the successful assessment and presentation of the results, there has to be strategy towards ensuring consistency of the process and improvement of behaviors as noted through the appraisal. To achieve this, the team selected to conduct the assessment has to recommend the reward and improvement steps. These should be clearly documented against the future organizational goals and shared with the appraisers to ensure they are aware of the organization’s future expectations and potential for improvement (Wienclaw, 2017).

            In general, the above system applies both the past and future oriented techniques of determining the employee’s performance in their own job. Based on the approach, the organization can be able to determine the amount of compensation for each staff and plan for their future needs in regards to training and capacity building. By applying such an approach, West Bloomfield Township is able to effectively maximize the asset management coordinator position as long as the performance appraisal system is applied consistently and as described. The approach has also set precedence for the review of the Township’s management structure to include the role of staff performance appraisal. This would allow the formation of an appraising team that would ensure that their staffs are constantly appraised. If forming such a team would be costly, the organization can consider the possibility of outsourcing the services and ensuring the outsourced team follows the set steps.

Job Evaluation: Asset Management Coordinator

            Job evaluation involves the evaluating a job to an organization thus guiding the reward structure for the staff appointed to fill the job position (Hajji, 2012). Unlike the performance appraisal process where the focus is on the staff’s behavior and action is evaluated vis-à-vis their roles in the job, a job evaluation focuses on the job to determine its value in the organization, compared to other jobs. There are numerous job evaluation methods used all over the world, but a direct analysis of these methods illustrates that the available methods mainly allow the organizations to compare the specific jobs against others within the organization. This paper focuses on the evaluation of, Asset Management Coordination at the West Bloomfield Township. To effectively evaluate the job for the determination of the employee’s possible return or pay, the factor comparison method and the point method of job evaluation are used. In the factor comparison method, specific job-based factors will be ranked based on the organization’s strategies and goals then used to state the exact relevance of the job to the organization (Baldwin, 2003). In the point method, important job factors will be awarded points and ranked based on importance (Baldwin, 2003).

Factor Comparison Method

            In this job, key activities include inspections, oversight, providing technical support to public and private development projects and performing reviews for the related projects. The coordinator is also expected to perform office work associated with environmental programs such as wetland and woodland protection within the township. Specifically, the employee will assist in maintaining and updating information relating to sewer and water system of the city. This is in line with the Township’s goals to ensure adequate water, quality water services and wellbeing of the locals through access to water. The key factors expected in performing this job include strong behaviors like integrity and accountability, good technical expertise in environmental management and sewage systems, strong leadership to lead teams. Good behavior will be determined by accuracy of reporting on expenditure and the extent to which the appointed staff takes responsibility for his or her actions. Expertise will be determined through the staff’s education level which should include a minimum of Bachelor’s degree and at least three years of relevant experience in landscaping, engineering, environmental and construction. Lastly, strong leadership will be considered in terms of the physical effort by the qualified staff to constantly ensue tasks are completed accurately; the effort imparted towards the team and its members, and feedback from the junior staff, colleagues and customers regarding the jobs accomplish by the coordinator.

Point Method

            The point method will specifically be important at effectively quantifying the important skills for the job towards deciding whether roles prescribed for the job are being effectively completed. Most important, the intangible factors can effectively be quantified. To begin with, based on the aforementioned job requirements, the most important factors for the job, being a public institution include: first, public satisfaction, second, technical expertise; and third, leadership and behaviors. The importance of these factors decreases from the first to the third. To determine public satisfaction, feedback platforms will be provided through Township’s website, upon visit to the Township’s offices, and after the completion of every water and sewage project. A high number of positive feedbacks will be considered as an illustrator of good performance at the job while a high number of negative feedbacks will be considered as poor job performance. Technical expertise will be gauged based on the rate of completion of new tasks and longevity of the set-up projects. These statistics will be collected and analyzed on a routine basis. Finally, behavioral factors would be evaluated based on outcomes of appraisal assessments and key qualities will be evaluated based on the organization’s overall values.