Managers’ Perceptions of the Performance Appraisal System in the Local Municipality of Gauteng Province in South Africa

Abstract

Performance appraisal is a critical component of the business process of performance management. In countries where performance appraisal was effectively implemented by municipalities there had been effective and efficient delivery of services. The pressure by government and service delivery protests in South Africa engenders the prioritisation of performance appraisal to meet service delivery mandates or targets. In light of the aforementioned pressures placed on municipalities the aim in this study was to evaluate managers’ perceptions of the extent to which performance appraisal was effectively implemented in the local municipality of Gauteng Province. The research approach adopted in the study was line with the one applied by Lawler (1984). A survey research using structured questionnaire was used. Questionnaires were distributed to 94 pairs of manager-subordinates (senior, middle and lower managers). As a follow-up to gaps that existed in the questionnaire feedback structured interviews were conducted with human resources manager and the line manager. The results of the study revealed that managers believed that performance appraisal system was not effectively implemented because there was no mutual setting of performance criteria and objectives. The performance appraisal system was also not linked to pay, promotion and manpower planning; it was also not geared towards career development of employees, and there was no climate of open communication and trust in the design and implementation of performance appraisal.