Employee Performance at Workplace: Conceptual Model and Empirical Validation

Abstract

The present study explores the concomitant areas for extending the scope of employee performance as a major domain of human resource (HR) effectiveness. We have interviewed researchers and corporate practitioners regarding their understanding of performance at workplace. On the basis of literature and feedback from academicians and industry professionals, a conceptual framework along with 42-item instrument on employee performance was proposed for empirical validation. The instrument obtained empirical views from experts on its proposed dimensions and statements. The initial analysis of content validity ratio (CVR) of the instrument had resulted in 38 items having CVR value of 0.49 and above with 75 percent acceptability from expert analysis. The retained items were taken for field survey. In total, 361 executives from Indian manufacturing and service organizations responded to the 38-item employee performance scale. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three distinct factors of employee performance that constitute the new scale: task performance, adaptive performance, and contextual performance (TAC). Reliability study on the sample reported significant internal consistency on the total scale ( a = 0.80) along with the three subscales ( a ranging from 0.80 to 0.91). The prescribed framework offers an inclusive understanding of the nature and subtleties of employee performance. It is proposed that, HR managers and organizational behavior (OB) practitioners must use the insights from the explored factors to create and maintain a better work environment. In applied perspective, the proposed instrument and its corresponding findings are expected to provide insights for designing organization-specific policies for improving employee performance.