Employee Perception of the Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal System in the Humanitarian Non Govermental Organizations in Nairobi South

Abstract

Human resource is one of the greatest asset in any given organization. People take organizations to greatest heights when managed well. On the other hand, people can also take the organization to the lowest pit when they feel that they are being treated unfairly. Performance appraisal is one of the tool that organizations use to manage employees. Since this tool is meant to develop employees and at same time make them propel organizations to greater heights, it need to be viewed as objective in their eyes. This study was undertaken as a research project in partial fulfillment of Masters Degree in Business Administration. The objective was to look at employee perception of effectiveness of performance appraisal system in the humanitarian Non Governmental Organizations in Nairobi South. This included the level of perception of employees regarding feedback, motivation, relationship with supervisors, promotion, purpose, goal setting, consistency with organization strategy, fairness and confidentiality among others. To undertake the study, descriptive method was used by way of pre planned survey questionnaires. The respondents of this study were employees in the humanitarian Non Governmental Organizations in Nairobi South ranging from top level, senior level, middle level, junior level and subordinates. Organizations were selected using systematic sampling while employees were selected using purposive sampling. The findings showed mixed perceptions. While some areas like confidentiality, consistency with organization strategy, purpose, goal setting, were rated positively, others like feedback, fairness, promotion, improvement on relationship between employees and supervisors were rated negatively and some respondents were undecided. The study concluded that if right measures are put in place, performance appraisal is a tool that can be used to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in organizations. The study also noted suggestions from respondents, and recommended that for the appraisal to be effective, employees need to be given feedback within a reasonable time so as to gauge themselves. In addition employees need to be involved fully in the process in order to own and embrace the system. Also, review of the tool from time to time is important so as to accommodate any changes. Lastly, the appraisal system need to have an element of fairness felt by employees. Limitation of the study was taken into consideration, and suggestions for further studies made.