Employees' experiences of performance management appraisals

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore employees’ experiences of performance management appraisals. There is an increasing need to ensure that performance appraisals realise performance improvement and professional development goals while safeguarding the dignity of employees. This study followed a qualitative research design and was conducted in a South African banking organisation with five participants at varying employment levels. Purposive, non-probability sampling was used to select the participants and a semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant. The interviews were transcribed and the data was analysed using the discourse analysis method in keeping with social constructivism. Various insights about the employees’ experiences of performance management appraisals can be drawn from the overall research findings, which are likely to benefit the field of industrial and organisational psychology and managers in various organisations in conducting more effective performance appraisals by ensuring that they are fair and ethical, and can facilitate professional growth.