webXtra

Six Steps for Improving Your Agency's Performance Appraisal System

by Michael A. Mulvaney, PhD, William R. McKinney, PhD, and Richard Grodsky, CPRP

Everyone involved with the management or operation of a park, conservation, recreation or special recreation agency has a stake in the employee evaluation process. Administrators want to make sure that their employees are outstanding in their job performance. On the employee side, data confirm what workers have long suspected: pay decisions account for 80 percent of appraisal uses. But, in addition to providing guidance for the fair allocation of pay increases, a well-crafted performance appraisal system can be a means of gathering information that can inform such decisions as training needs or employee selection and promotion.

The authors of this issue's WebXtra have arrived at six steps for developing a pay-for-performance appraisal instrument and a merit salary distribution system that equitably rewards employees based on how well they accomplish job-specific duties. The full text of this research-based article takes you through the process - from rating to weighting to producing the forms to evaluating. You'll also see how to use pay differentials, forced distribution and pay adjustment matrices to fairly allocate raises to employees.

Michael A. Mulvaney, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation Administration at Eastern Illinois University.

William R. McKinney, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Richard Grodsky, CPRP, is the executive director of the Elmhurst Park District.

Read this Article

At the IAPD web site (www.ILparks.org) ...

Go to www.ILparks.org. Roll to the "Publications" tab on the left side of the page. Click on the Illinois Parks and Recreation Magazine option to take you to the magazine page. You'll find links to all Web Xtras on the bottom of the page.

At the IPRA web site (www.ILipra.org) ...

Go to www.ILipra.org. Roll over the "Resources" option at the top of the main page and select "IPR Magazine." From there, pick "WebXtra." Or, you may go to www.ilipra.org/resources/ webxtra.cfm.

www.ILparks.org November/December 2007 41