Factors Affecting Employee Perception of Performance Appraisal Process at National Housing Corporation

Abstract

Performance appraisal is a key human resource management function which is viewed as a subset of performance management. It is significant for organizational growth and development and is instrumental for an organization to remain competitive. The objective of the study was to establish factors affecting employees’ perception of the performance appraisal process at National Housing Corporation. The scope of the study was the Employees of the National Housing Corporation. The employees were 269 in number as at July 2013. Descriptive survey was used in the study. The study population focused on all the six Divisions: Finance, Estates, Technical, Corporate Services, Business Development and Manufacturing as well as the independent units: Legal and Internal Audit. Primary data was used in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data for this study was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study established that National Housing Corporation had a performance appraisal process in place that was relatively effective but which needed major improvements. It was established that some of the factors that affected employees’ perception of the performance appraisal process at the National Housing Corporation included the fact that feedback during the appraisal process was not sufficiently accurate, performance appraisals were only done periodically, they were not used as a way of motivating staff, there was favoritism and nepotism by raters, setting of unrealistic targets, good performance was not rewarded, there was lack of adequate knowledge on individual performance and the overall organizational goals and objectives, lack of adequate resources and failure to implement supervisors appraisal recommendations. The study recommends that employees’ be involved in designing the rating and measurement scales to ensure development of reliable, valid, fair and useful performance standards. The study also recommends regular training of raters on performance appraisal as well as redesigning of the appraisal tool for effectiveness in measuring different dimensions of performance. The study recommends further research on factors affecting employee’s perception of the performance appraisal process in all the 31 state Corporations in Kenya.