Performance at work both during and after training has been provided, can be evaluated by the following methods:
1. Job evaluation and banding
Job evaluation provides a structured method of comparing jobs that are different in terms of their content due to the responsibilities within them. The purpose is to position the jobs in terms of their level of pay based on objective assessments of a set of defined factors. The most common standard factors used include:
- Skill, knowledge and expertise
- Management or supervisory responsibility
- Decision making responsibility
- Complexity of work
- Adding value to the business
2. Behavioural guidelines
There are a number of areas where behavioural guidelines remain key mainly in discipline and standard operating procedures. Disciplinary rules define what is considered unacceptable behaviour whilst standard operating procedures define the desired or required level of acceptable behaviour. They are used in the context of quality control and assurance.
3. Competence statements
Job competencies are commonly based on the working skills, knowledge, attitudes and aptitudes that underlie the ability to do a job effectively. The key requirements for the demonstration and assessment of competence are:
- Currency i.e. a recent demonstration of ability to do the job
- Reliability to be shown over a period of time and in different situations
- Validity i.e. using procedures that are relevant to the skills or knowledge being assessed.
4. Appraisals and performance management
These are generally accepted as good HR practice in most businesses and can incorporate reviews of group performance, 360 degree feedback from peers and managers alike to the employee, and/or self assessment of performance.
5. Quality assurance and bench marking
This refers to identifying those indicators of performance by which an organisation measures its standards and quality. Benchmarking enables an organisation to measure the effectiveness of what they do and to learn from how others organise and measure performance.
Benchmarking should therefore be against best practice within the industry, comparing its performance against those who are acknowledged to be the best at that activity. Many benchmarks have been converted into recognised standards, for example:
- ISO standards, in particular the ISO 9000, 14000, 18000 and 22000 series
- Investors in People – a human resource focussed quality standard;
- The Business Excellence Model of the European Foundation for Quality Management which is mainly an internally assessed quality standard.