Employees’ Perception of Staff Appraisal in Public Organisations: a Case Study of the University of Nairobi

Abstract

The topic of this study was Employees’ Perception of Performance Appraisal: A Case Study of the University of Nairobi. Despite the fact that various studies exist on performance appraisal, none has specifically explored employee perception of performance appraisal at the University of Nairobi among the Administrative Staff from Grades A to Academic.The objectives of the study were: To examine employees’ views of performance appraisal results in the University of Nairobi, to find out the extent to which employees and employers understand performance appraisal in the University of Nairobi and assessing the tool used in performance appraisal of employees in the University of Nairobi. In the Literature of this study the following themes were addressed: the concept of performance appraisal, objectives of performance appraisal, staff benefits, the process of appraisal, appraisal styles, requirement for effective performance appraisal and performance appraisal methods. A sample of 138 respondents was selected. The respondents were drawn from the six colleges and Central Administration of the University of Nairobi. Semi structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents. Primary data was collected, summarized and analysed using descriptive statistics and presented in tables and pie charts. The study established that whereas there was a performance appraisal system in place, it faced various challenges. Among the factors found to influence employee perception were: lack of clarity on the purpose of staff performance appraisal, inexistent link between performance appraisal results and reward system, lack of communication on problem areas that require improvement and absence of performance standards. From the foregoing, it was concluded that the University of Nairobi’s Performance Appraisal process was not effective to serve the intended purpose. It therefore, recommended that there should be clarity about the purpose of performance appraisal and reward system be linked to the performance appraisal results, instruments used by the University should therefore to be revised with a view to tailoring each instrument to specific job categories, feedback be given promptly to develop trust, positive perception and also reduce anxiety among employees.