PROJECT ON 360 DEGREE APPRAISAL IN INSURANCE Submitted by: Ms.

KOMAL R WARRIAR Roll no: 62 Subject: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 6th Semester in Bachelor of Commerce Banking and Insurance Degree Course 2008-2009 KETS V.G. VAZE COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCE & COMMERCE

MULUND (E), MUMBAI 400 081

360 DEGREE APPRAISAL IN INSURANCE.

INTRODUCTION TO PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Performance appraisal, also known as employee

appraisal, is a method by which the job performance of an employee is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost and time). Performance appraisal is a part of career development. Performance appraisals are regular reviews of employee performance within organizations Generally, the aims of a performance appraisal are to:

Give feedback on performance to employees. Identify employee training needs. Document criteria used to allocate organizational rewards.

Form a basis for personnel decisions: salary increases, promotions, disciplinary actions, etc.

Provide the opportunity for organizational diagnosis and development.

Facilitate communication between employee and administrator.

Validate selection techniques and human resource policies to meet federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements.

A common approach to assessing performance is to use a numerical or scalar rating system whereby managers are asked to score an individual against a number of objectives/attributes. In some companies, employees receive assessments from their manager, peers, subordinates and customers while also performing a self assessment. This is known as 360 appraisal. The most popular methods that are being used as performance appraisal process are:

Management by objectives

360 degree appraisal Behavioral Observation Scale Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale

360 DEGREE FEEDBACKS A POPULAR PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

The 360 degree feedback method of performance appraisal is becoming increasingly popular and is growing in use. Its growing popularity is reflected in a recent study which found that nearly 90 percent of firms use 360 degree feedback for their employee appraisal. In India, large organizations such as Reliance industries, Infosys, Godrej soaps, Wipro have started using this system to evaluate the performance of the employees. A 360 degree feedback is a performance appraisal process that gathers performance information from multiple people, including ones subordinates, peers, supervisors and customers. 360 Degree aims at providing more accurate and diverse input on an employees performance by seeking feedback from various sources.

360 DEGREE FEEDBACKS

Boss

Peer

APPRAISEE

customers

Subordinates

360 DEGREE APPRAISAL IN INSURANCE

The 360 degree feedback system recognizes that insurance performance varies across contexts and that individuals behave differently in different situations. This system acknowledges the reality that an employees performance is made up of multiple behaviors. By using multiple raters, 360 degree feedback attempts to capture this variety of behavior and improve the quality of performance appraisal. In the typical 360 degree appraisal system, 8 to 12 head agents of the insurance company evaluate the agents. These head agents work closely with employees and have direct contact in assessing the employees performance.

FACTORS LINKED TO SUCCESS

Insurance companies who experience success with the 360-degree feedback methods have many environmental attributes present. Some of these are:

Organizational climate fosters individual growth Criticisms are seen as opportunities for improvement

Proper framing of feedback method by management

Assurance that feedback will be kept confidential Development of feedback tool based on insurance goals and values

Feedback tool includes area for comments Brief workers, evaluators and supervisors about purpose, uses of data and methods of survey prior

to distribution of insurance schemes

Train workers in appropriate methods to give and receive feedback

FACTORS LINKED TO FAILURE

Many insurance organizations have rushed into 360degree feedback without laying the foundation for success. errors include:

Typical

Feedback tied to merit pay or promotions Comments traced to individuals causing resentment between workers

Feedback not linked to organizational goals or values

Use of the feedback tool as a stand alone without follow-up

Poor implementation of 360-degree tool negatively affects motivation

Excessive number of surveys are required of each worker with few tangible results provided to individuals

BENEFITS OF APPRAISAL IN INSURANCE

Perhaps the most significant benefit of appraisal is that, in the rush and bustle of daily working life, it offers a rare chance for a supervisor and subordinate to have "time out" for a one-on-one discussion of important work issues that might not otherwise be addressed. Almost universally, where performance appraisal is conducted properly, both supervisors and subordinates have reported the experience as beneficial and positive. Appraisal offers a valuable opportunity to focus on work activities and goals, to identify and correct existing problems, and to encourage better future performance. Thus the performance of the whole organization is enhanced.

For many employees, an "official" appraisal interview may be the only time they get to have exclusive, uninterrupted access to their supervisor. Said one employee of a large organization after his first formal performance appraisal, "In twenty years of work, that's the first time anyone has ever bothered to sit down and tell me how I'm doing." The value of this intense and purposeful interaction between a supervisors and subordinate should not be underestimated.

MOTIVATION AND SATISFACTION

Performance appraisal can have a profound effect on levels of employee motivation and satisfaction - for better as well as for worse. Performance appraisal provides employees with

recognition for their work efforts. The power of social recognition as an incentive has been long noted. In fact, there is evidence that human beings will even prefer negative recognition in preference to no recognition at all. If nothing else, the existence of an appraisal program indicates to an employee that the organization is

genuinely interested in their individual performance and development. This alone can have a positive influence on the individual's sense of worth, commitment and belonging. The strength and prevalence of this natural human desire for individual recognition should not be overlooked. Absenteeism and turnover rates in some organizations might be greatly reduced if more attention were paid to it. Regular performance appraisal, at least, is a good start.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Performance appraisal offers an excellent opportunity perhaps the best that will ever occur - for a supervisor and subordinate to recognize and agree upon individual training and development needs. During the discussion of an employee's work

performance, the presence or absence of work skills can become very obvious - even to those who habitually reject the idea of training for them!

Performance appraisal can make the need for training more pressing and relevant by linking it clearly to performance outcomes and future career aspirations. From the point of view of the organization as a whole, consolidated appraisal data can form a picture of the overall demand for training. This data may be analyzed by variables such as sex, department, etc. In this respect, performance appraisal can provide a regular and efficient training needs audit for the entire organization.

RECRUITMENT AND INDUCTION

Appraisal data can be used to monitor the success of the organization's recruitment and induction practices. For example, how well are the employees performing who were hired in the past two years? Appraisal data can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of changes in recruitment strategies. By following the yearly data related to new SCHEMES (and

given sufficient numbers on which to base the analysis) it is possible to assess whether the general quality of the workforce is improving, staying steady, or declining.

EMPLOYEE EVALUATION
Though often understated or even denied, evaluation is a legitimate and major objective of performance appraisal. But the need to evaluate (i.e., to judge) is also an ongoing source of tension, since evaluative and developmental priorities appear to frequently clash. Yet

at its most basic level, performance appraisal is the process of examining and evaluating the performance of an individual. Though organizations have a clear right - some would say a duty - to conduct such evaluations of performance, many still recoil from the idea. To them, the explicit process of judgment can be dehumanizing and demoralizing and a source of anxiety and distress to employees. It is been said by some that appraisal cannot serve the needs of evaluation and development at the same time; it must be one or the other. But there may be an acceptable middle ground, where the need to evaluate employees objectively, and the need to encourage and develop them, can be balanced.

CONCLUSION

The popularity of 360-degree feedback is undeniable. Yet, the perceived benefits will help the personal development of workers only in the right organizational climate. When this method is utilized in the wrong environment, the results can be detrimental. With close consideration and evaluation of the environment, the decision to employ this tool, or another, should be made carefully. Especially in the insurance sector where customer satisfaction plays a very vital role in building up the reputation of insurance business.

FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

This assignment helped to acquaint one with how performance appraisal helps the growth of any business organization.

It also suggests how beneficial can 360 degree performance organization. appraisal is for an insurance

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Human resource management in banking and insurance published by Vipul Prakashan

WEBLIOGRAPHY
Google search engine Wikipedia encyclopedia Yahoo search engine

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