Criteria for Performance Appraisal in Saudi Arabia, and Employees Interpretation of These Criteria

Abstract

This study explores the criteria for evaluating performance, established as recently as 2017, by the Saudi Civil Services body (SCS), and which defines the methods and techniques for a fair and rational implementation of the appraisal system, and examines how employees perceive these criteria. Throughout, the research looked at the attitude of employees within public agencies, in the city of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, vis-a-vis the newly implemented appraisal system, and at how they interpreted its’ modus operandi and its’ findings. The study made use of Qualitative methodology, wherein data collected from five public agencies on the basis of face-to-face interviews, sought to understand the employees’ perspective of the application of the current appraisal system and to fathom their experience of it. The sample size comprised 10 employees, two from each agency. The findings reveal significant public sector employees’ concern regarding the new appraisal system, the degree of accuracy in implementing the appraisal process. Employees’ concerns extended to the mechanisms are used to link between the appraisal grade and the allowance (pay for performance), to the nefarious influence of nepotism on the factors of fair play and accuracy. The question of how to raise the level of awareness of the new system among raters and ratees came to the fore during the face-to-face interviews.