Staff perception of employee performance appraisal system: A case of the western sector of Ghana telecommunications company limited

Abstract

Employee Performance Appraisal (EP A) is one way to review the performance and potential of staff. It is a crucial activity of the personnel function and the management of staff, for it enables employees know exactly what is expected of them and provides a yardstick by which their performance are measured. Several appraisal formats exist and each has its strength and weaknesses. However, an appraisal system can only be effective if both supervisors and subordinates perceive it for its essential rationale. This study set out to examine the employee performance appraisal system with the view to identifying areas of its strengths and weaknesses and for the purpose of improving it. The study selected the Western sector of the Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited operational area which consists of Central and Western Regions and derived a random sample of 150 respondents from the total workforce of 685. An interview schedule was used as the data collection instrument. The main findings of the study are that the rationale behind the appraisal system was unknown to the majority of respondents. The appraisal system had no inbuilt feedback mechanism and was full of favouritism. The system therefore, had the tendency to generate conflict. It was thus concluded that the E P A was not effective. The recommendation is that management should intervene to educate the workforce on the policy rationale for the appraisal exercise.