The development plan currently utilized provides the Port to fulfill its values and have a better opportunity to meet its emergent goals. One of the most important things about this plan has to do with the professional development elements. The Port is all about investing in its own people (VFPA Values). It operates with the core belief that if its own people are happy and fulfilled in their own, then they will be much more likely to represent the Port well on the outside. This central element of the Port’s strategy is supported in the development plan by offering individuals the opportunity to provide their own areas where they might be able to develop new skills. It suggests strongly to workers that two things are present within the management of the Port. For one, it suggests that the Port is willing to listen to feedback from its own employees, which can be critical to ensuring they feel valued. In addition, it suggests that the Port is willing to consider people for their skills rather than just the roles they fill within the organization. This can encourage people to go above and beyond rather than just putting in a day’s work. If people feel as if their contributions are being noticed and they will have a chance to improve their own careers, they will be much more likely to perform better over the long run.
Another element of the designed performance appraisal that works well is the collaboration between employees and managers on the plan (Dusterhoff et al, 2014). Before a person goes about filling out the form, he or she will have sat down with someone to talk in a collaborative way. This is much different than going through a standard performance review where a person is put under the microscope. In those settings, people are likely to become defensive and may not get as much out of the activity. By instituting a collaborative process where people are able to come together in order to have discussions about performance and fit, the Port is able to ensure long-term viability by ensuring that the Port is realistic about the potential areas for improvement.
The Port is looking for customer responsiveness in order to remain competitive and do well in light of the changes happening in the world today (VFPA Values). The frontline employees of the Port are much more likely to know the challenges that customers are facing. The Port gets this right with its assessment system. The assessment system has to be a two-way street because employees are easily the best possible source of feedback on these issues. Without a system that allows managers to collaborate with employees on these issues, managers can never learn what changes need to take place in order for customers to have a better experience (Espanilla et al, 2013). Likewise, there are often times in a Port, as with other businesses, that the employees are not receiving the best means of performing their jobs appropriately. If these issues exist, managers need to know about it. The current appraisal system makes it likely two-way feedback will be facilitated in order to bring about a more efficient process going forward.
One of the goals of the Port is to foster more collaboration and teamwork in order to get more good ideas into the fold (VFPA Values). In order to do this, the appraisal should be modified to add a section asking employees to provide an overview of the times they have worked in a team (Zeng, 2016), the outcomes of those projects, and how the Port’s team-building could be improved (Deepa et al, 2014). As it stands, there are gaps and deficits that must be addressed, and employees can be critical partners in providing an overview of whether the Port is even heading toward its team-based values or whether improvements must be made to reflect this value more closely.
- Deepa, E., Palaniswamy, R., & Kuppusamy, S. (2014). Effect of performance appraisal system in organizational commitment, job satisfaction and productivity. Journal of Contemporary Management Research, 8(1), 72.
- Dusterhoff, C., Cunningham, J. B., & MacGregor, J. N. (2014). The effects of performance rating, leader–member exchange, perceived utility, and organizational justice on performance appraisal satisfaction: Applying a moral judgment perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(2), 265-273.
- Espinilla, M., de Andrés, R., Martínez, F. J., & Martínez, L. (2013). A 360-degree performance appraisal model dealing with heterogeneous information and dependent criteria. Information Sciences, 222, 459-471.
- Zeng, M. (2016). What Alternative Performance Appraisal Methods Have Companies Used to Replace Forced Rankings?.
