Perspectives of health workers on annual performance appraisal: A study in primary health care
Soheila Majidi, Abbas Daneshkohan, Ehsan Zarei, Tahereh Ashktorab
Abstract
Introduction: Fair and effective performance appraisal can improve employee performance and healthcare quality. We aimed to examine the perspectives of health workers on the annual performance appraisal in the primary health care (PHC) setting of Hamadan, Iran.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 185 health workers. Data were collected using the questionnaire developed based on an extensive literature review. The validity and reliability of which were confirmed. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), t test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient test.Results: Health workers’ average score on the performance appraisal was 2.65 out of 5. The highest average score (3.15) was attributed to organizational context, while performance feedback had the lowest average score (2.21). There was a significant positive correlation between the overall score on the performance appraisal and job satisfaction (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Health workers’ performance appraisal is facing a number of challenges, including ineffectiveness of appraisal data for performance improvement, lack of immediate and constructive feedback and unfair performance appraisal. As the ultimate goal of appraisal systems is to motivate employees for better health outcomes and performance improvement, these systems should be reviewed and revised.