Performance Assessment

Many organisations now have formal performance appraisal systems under which employees are assessed at regular intervals.

These systems need to be free of bias and discrimination, in much the same way that recruitment and promotion systems should be free of bias and discrimination.

For example, the criteria by which people are assessed should be relevant to their particular job and those doing the appraisal or assessment need to be trained how to conduct assessments without making stereotyped or culturally-biased assumptions.

Make sure that your organisation does not place higher value on traditionally male skills (such as lifting) as opposed to traditionally female skills (such as dexterity).

It's a good idea to have an in-built checking system for all assessments or appraisals and an internal appeal process.

It would also be worth keeping statistics by gender, age, race and other protected attributes, of employees' performance so that any potentially worrying patterns (for example, if women are tending to be assessed lower than men or vice versa) can be investigated.

Ray Kelly, Managing Director, RAK Global Solutions Pty Ltd; Heidelberg West, Victoria; Ph: (03) 9499 6699; RAK Global Solutions is an employee relations consultancy firm with key expertise in the areas of industrial relations strategy, employment contracts, industrial negotiaiton, AIRC advocacy, equal opportunity, organisation review and industrial relations training
First published: 24 March 2001.
Last updated: 12 February 2004.