Table of Content

A - Do you consider the PAR form appropriate?

B - Redesigning the PAR

C - Comparing both PAR

Conclusion

Appendix
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Introduction

Performance Appraisal is a critical tool used by organizations to assess their employee's

effectiveness within a specific period. The goal of such a tool should be straightforward; to
reprimand, motivate, and reward the performance of employees depending on where they stand.

This paper will identify two different performance appraisals: one being the senior manager's
performance appraisal for the country's largest employer; the Belize Public Service. As well as
the performance appraisal of a reputable and essential organization in Belize: SMART
Telecommunication Company.

Subsequently, the PAR forms of the Belize Public Service (Senior Managers) will be analyzed in
depth- particularly, its suitability, meaning how appropriate the PAR form is. The content
structure of the PAR form will also be analyzed, complemented, and disparaged.

Furthermore, the PAR form will be thoroughly analyzed concerning the authors' own PAR form.
In essence, this will be comparing the Senior Manager's PAR form and the Junior Officer's PAR
forms, as none of the authors of this paper is appraised using the Senior Managers PAR form.
The distinctions will be focused on PA knowledge and PA best practices.

In addition, the Senior Managers PAR form will be redesigned, and submitted to the Director of
the Human Resource Management Unit (HRMU) of the Belize Public Service, as a proposal for
implementation.

Finally, both the Senior Manager PA form and the Performance Appraisal for SMART
Telecommunications will be compared; whereby their similarities and differences will be stated.
Recommendations on how the PAR form for the Belize Public Service can be improved to be
more effective will be given.
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A - Do you consider the PAR form appropriate?

Every area of life in our country is influenced by how effectively the public sector runs. The
prosperity of a nation depends on an efficient public sector. The public service's performance
management and appraisal system is a tool for strengthening the prevailing culture so that it is
more dedicated to offering public services in a way that is effective, approachable, delivered with
professionalism and integrity, and benefits the larger public service. The main objective is to
motivate employees to put out their best efforts in light of their special expertise, experience,
academic background, and skills.

The process of reviewing performance must be impartial, egalitarian, and based on the respect
and trust of all parties. Additionally, there can never be a surprise at any stage of the procedure.
The assessment and conclusion must be supported by evidence gathered through meticulously
planned processes.

The Belize Public Service's senior management appraisal form relates to officers who occupy
managerial or supervisory roles, hence the rating and scores should be different from those of the
junior staff. The tasks that these officers carry out or ought to carry out in accordance with their
list of responsibilities are discussed in Part 3: Tasks and Goals. How is the effectiveness of a
manager or supervisor's performance actually assessed? How can the efficiency of a management
or a supervisor be measured in terms of time? Measurements of quantity, quality, and timeliness
are requested in this area.

Section 4.12, "Management of Staff," is also included. We think that the staff's reaction should
be used to determine how this section is evaluated. Yes, an overall supervisor can provide grades
based on their observations, but how many department heads are actually present to oversee or
see how supervisors manage their direct reports? For instance, the Ministry of Education has an
overall FO in Belmopan as well as a FO in Belize City. It would be a lot of the account section
saw the FO from Belmopan twice in a two-week period. How can you accurately evaluate based
on phone conversations when the majority of supervision is conducted over the phone?
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We wouldn't make many adjustments to the PAR from SMART Belize because the majority of
the questions or criteria in the SMART PAR center on individual fulfillment. Interpersonal,
leadership, and customer service abilities are more closely related to their inquiries.

An evaluation must be successful before an officer in the Belize Public Service can advance in
pay scale. Both junior and senior executives must undergo evaluations. If senior officials are
compensated at payscale 10, they ought to use it.

The chief executive officer evaluates senior managers across numerous categories in accordance
with the appraisal's format. Each category receives a unique score out of ten, with a weight of
ten. The appraisal's structure was carefully considered. The appraisee can select a headline and a
subtopic from a list. Every subtopic is valuable. As a result, rating the appraiser is simpler. The
appraisal form is generally well-written and organized, however, some of its components are
awkward and belong somewhere else. All workers should be accorded the same respect and have
equal access to benefits, education, and tools for accomplishing goals.
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B - Redesigning the PAR

After keenly examining the Belize Public Service's Senior Officer's PAR form, we have come to
a consensus that the form has a lot of effective elements in it that truly give a broad assessment
of the Public officer's performance, however, we believe that it is not the finished tool and that
tweaks and adjustments are necessary for it to be a comprehensive and relevant tool of appraisal,
reflective of the substantive posts of public officers which it seeks to appraise.

In retrospect of this, we will be redesigning the PAR form and will be submitting it to the
Director of Human Resource Management in the Ministry of Public Service. The re-designing of
the Form will be in adherence to the following recommendations:

Primarily, we believe that the job of a Senior Manager in the Belize Public Service is
comprehensive and substantive. It is a job that requires sufficient time to see progress and
efficiency in contrast to the Junior Public Officer's PA, who is assessed based on immediate
tasks and functions. It is for this reason that we recommend that the Senior Manager's PAR
forms be done once every year as opposed to semi-yearly.

Secondly, the format of a PAR Form for Senior Managers should be unique and applicable to
solely Senior Managers. Junior Officer's (Supporting Staff) PA should not look similar for
ambiguity purposes. In addition, a heavier weight, or emphasis should be placed on senior
officers for a higher standard of work. This could be reflected in the numerical grading; meaning
that the threshold should be a maximum of 9.5 points, as opposed to a 10.

Another aspect as it pertains to expecting a higher degree of performance is the elimination of

middle classifications or letter grades. For example, Element 4.1 speaks of Productivity. There
are 4 possible alphabetical grades; A, B, C & D. The Senior Manager's PAR Form should only
consist of two options, A- Completes work quickly, efficiently, and on schedule, and D- Fails to
meet deadlines & is showing no signs of effort. The elimination of the middle grades places the
appraised public officer in a position where it is either pass or fail, hence, incorporating all
efforts and performing to the best of their abilities.

Thirdly, Part 3 of the PAR Form, gives spaces in columns for the tasks, goals, or projects
assigned for the reporting period. We would restructure this segment in a way that is more open
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for a more in-depth description of the task, and to elaborate on the performance of the officer in
executing this task. The spaces are too small and congested, as a result rigid, concise, and direct
responses are expected. If those columns were removed, then a more thorough description would
be given, and an appraisal reflective of the overall numerical grade would be attained. In
addition, more tasks could be listed if required, without the threat of running out of space.

Finally, Senior Managers by virtue should be well-rounded public officers with an earnest degree
of professionalism, commitment, and dedication to their jobs. This should be automatic,
otherwise, they would have not been able to ascend to such high positions. Therefore, many
elements within the PAR Forms are irrelevant or redundant based on the aforementioned
assertion. Hence, elements such as punctuality, initiative, and job attitude should be omitted.
Other elements could be incorporated such as environmentally conscious, Ministry's public
image, or efforts in championing reforms that would enhance their Ministries/ Departments.
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C - Comparing both PAR

Organizations utilize performance assessment systems as crucial tools to assess employee

performance and offer feedback to help them perform better overall. The public and private
organizations use performance evaluation methods in Belize to evaluate the performance of all
employees, including managers and supervisors. According to their capacity to fulfill the
requirements of their positions, public sector employees, including managers and supervisors, are
evaluated based on their performance under the Belize Public Sector Performance Appraisal
System. This approach primarily focuses on assessing managers' capacity to carry out their given
tasks, manage their teams, and achieve their performance objectives. Instead, the SMART Belize
performance assessment method rates managers and supervisors on their capacity to successfully
manage and lead their teams and achieve performance goals and targets.

The focus of these two systems is one of their main distinctions. The performance assessment
method for the Belize Public Sector emphasizes assessing managers’ capacity to fulfill their
duties, including leading teams and exceeding performance targets. In contrast, the SMART
Belize performance assessment method focuses on assessing managers'/supervisors' capacity to
manage their teams while successfully attaining performance goals.

Both systems assess managers'/supervisors' performance using performance measures. The

Belize Public Sector performance appraisal system evaluates the employee's ability to meet their
job expectations, including managing their team and meeting performance goals. In contrast, the
SMART Belize performance appraisal system places more emphasis on achieving specific
performance objectives. As can be observed on the Smart Belize assessment form in Part 2,
which focuses on the individual's task results, and in some sections of Part 3, which demonstrate
that some components are measured at high percentages are those associated with the individual
fulfilling those specific goals.

Both methods need frequent meetings as part of the review process. These sessions are used as
part of the performance assessment system in the Belize Public Sector to assess the employee's
overall performance and pinpoint areas that need improvement. In contrast, the sessions of the
SMART Belize performance assessment system are centered on evaluating the employee's
capacity to lead and manage their teams and accomplish performance goals.
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Some recommendations SMART BELIZE can use to improve the performance of managers are
as follows: Hold Regular Feedback Sessions: this would give continual feedback on managers'
performance. This will allow managers to receive direction and assistance (if needed) to help
them reach their performance goals as a result of helping to identify areas where they need to
improve. Secondly, SMART Belize should promote managers' self-assessment as a means of
taking part in the PAR process. They will have the chance to evaluate their performance and
pinpoint development opportunities. Additionally, it will guarantee dedication to enhance their
performance and actively participate fairly in the performance evaluation process. Thirdly,
SMART Belize should offer chances for training and development based on the findings of their
performance reviews. This will allow managers professional growth and promote trust within the
managing team, while also ensuring that they have the information and abilities necessary to do
their jobs successfully.

Some recommendations the Belize Public Service can utilize to enhance the PAR and managers
are to include feedback from their subordinates. These individuals work closely with their
managers daily and know their management styles. Their subordinates can also comment on
whether their manager makes efforts to achieve the departmental goals. Allowing employees to
give feedback enhances the need for training and development for their manager and encourages
transparency in Public Service. Secondly, implementing weekly reports from managers will give
the First Reporting Officer proper documentation to effectively assess the manager's
performance based on their report. It will allow the officer to determine whether managers are
meeting departmental goals and objectives and determine training needs. Lastly, hosting frequent
training sessions can improve the performance management system in the public service. There
is always room for improvement for managers and supervisors and it will allow them to be
effective leaders for their teams. Additionally, it will enhance their job performance, managerial
style, their ability to meet departmental goals and motivate their employees.
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Conclusion

In conclusion, while the public and the private sector may seem to be very different in actuality
is not. The expectation of staff from senior management is very much the same. In the end, both
sectors want to satisfy their customers, and in doing so the employees that supervise the junior
staff must be very well equipped with the knowledge and know-how. While both PARs can
make adjustments to better the way employees manage and supervise, overall both PAR was
great representation.
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Appendix
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