Abstract:

Performance appraisal is the process of evaluating employee performance by comparing their present performance with the already established standards which the employees are aware of subsequently giving feedback to the employees about their performance level for the purpose of improving their performance as needed by the organization. The purpose of this article is to assess the role of performance appraisal in improving employee performance in secondary schools in Zambia. The objective of this paper is to explore the benefit of conducting employee performance appraisal and to identify the challenges in appraising employee performance in the secondary schools. The statement of the problem is the basis of the continued below standard performance of most Zambian organizations and this had been revealed through the failure of most organizations especially secondary schools to achieve their curriculum objectives. A descriptive research design was used in this study and data was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Primary data was collected using interviews and well-structured questionnaires while purpose random sampling was done and the study settled for a sample of 100 employees within ministry of education. Secondary data was collected from the internet and, journals of previous papers. Quantitative analysis was done through a survey in different secondary schools. Performance appraisal improves the work output of workers and generally improves the objective of an organization and that managers were able to gauge teachers who deserved awards and to also improve the quality of education. School managers lacked knowledge on performance appraisal and that knowledge of appraisers had great influence in the outcome of the appraising process.

Keywords: Performance appraisal, training, skills, performance, management

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