Development, Effects and Challenges of Performance Management Appraisal Systems in African Public Services: A Literature Review

Abstract

Performance management appraisal systems are now prevalent in public services in Africa. A performance appraisal is a systematic evaluation of an employee's work. Performance management is a broader process of establishing performance standards, helping staff, monitoring progress, providing feedback, and rewarding outcomes. Their introduction was to enhance the quality of public services, increase the accountability of officials, and link day-to-day activities with government targets. This is a narrative review that examines the development, impact, and challenges associated with performance management appraisal systems in African public services. The review extracted practices of performance management appraisal systems from Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Through this review, it was found that the impacts of performance management appraisal systems are positive and significant in different aspects such as employee performance, service quality, employee motivation, and goal clarity. Other studies, however, have reported that appraisal systems are not effective or are perceived as unfair. Some issues are a lack of leadership, lack of training, lack of goals, insufficient feedback, political intrigue, excessive paperwork, and weak connections between appraisals and promotion/pay. Trust among employees as well is crucial. If workers are not part of the process of setting goals or designing the system, they may perceive the entire process as a form of control and not a means of improvement. Conclusively, it can be stated that appraisal is effective in enhancing public service performance when it is simple, well supported and fair and linked to staff development and organisations goals.