Job performance models take various approaches that include an evaluation by management, measurements of how many objectives were achieved, and administering competency tests. Employers may also ask an employee's peers or team members to evaluate his or her performance. Some human resource departments bring in a third party to evaluate employees, because managers consider this to be more objective. In manufacturing jobs, sometimes an employee's evaluation is accomplished through a numerical measure of the person's productivity within a certain timeframe. Job performance models may also include such factors as a person's overall character, dependability, or even his or her level of creative contribution, depending upon the industry.
Many employers use a synthesis of various job performance models to evaluate employees. Often, this is because company management recognizes there are many facets to a worker's productivity and contribution to a company. Most companies tend to divide along the lines of objective and subjective performance evaluations. An objective model looks at a person's job performance by how much work has been accomplished, or by objectively measuring a person's competency through testing.
Another way of obtaining an objective look at an employee's performance is to bring in a third party. Not infrequently, an employer might use this third party to do a performance review on the entire staff. The idea behind this is that a stranger will not be swayed by emotional attachments, and therefore will be more likely to obtain accurate evaluations of workers.
Subjective job performance models may poll a worker's peers or customers in order to gain insight into what his or her performance is like when supervisors are not watching. Sometimes this type of performance evaluation looks at how a supervisor may treat his or her underlings by assuring them confidentiality, as there may be no other way to obtain this information. Another type of subjective job performance model is to poll the person's coworkers, while assuring them anonymity.
Still another method is to use a subjective job performance model to evaluate highly subjective aspects of performance. For example, the performance of those who work in creative fields may not fit into an analytical framework. Workplace superstars may also be very difficult for a firm to evaluate using an objective performance model, as one brilliant leap of insight could rocket the person to the position of one of the top players in the company. In some organizations, job performance models may be a synthesis of both objective and subjective evaluations.
