The Effectiveness of the Performance Appraisal of Public Sector Employees During Covid-19 Pandemic

The spread of the Covid-19 virus has obligated many organizations to restructure the means to conduct daily tasks and responsibilities. Employees were given the possibility of providing the service online from homes. Nevertheless, their work performance needs to be assessed using a transparent and fair policy. This paper is based on previous research from Bahrain Institute of Public Administration (BIPA), which measures the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employee performance in the public sector of the Kingdom of Bahrain, especially those employees who graduated from the National Program for the Development of Governmental Leadership. The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of the current appraisal system in measuring the performance of employees remotely in the public sector. The researchers used a mixed-method approach. A questionnaire was developed and validated to collect data. The results show that the majority of respondents believe that the evaluation process needs to be revised and improved to align it with the organization's vision and mission. The current appraisal system is not motivating and therefore somehow ineffective. Results from this study are beneficial to the Kingdom's public sector to adequately set an effective method of evaluating the employees' performance. The paper highlighted the importance of the involvement of all stakeholders to strategically develop the plans and objectives of the organization, which should reflect on the overall goals of the firm.