Doing it for themselves? Performance appraisal in project‐based organisations, the role of employees, and challenges to theory

Abstract

We explore performance appraisal in project‐based organisations and provide novel insights into appraisal processes in this context. These include the central role of employees in orchestrating the appraisal process, the multiple actors that have input to appraisal including project managers, the distance between employees and their official line managers, and the weak coordinating role of human resource specialists in these systems. We draw attention to the drawbacks of current theorising on appraisal to predict and explain outcomes from appraisal systems that are not premised on stable line manager/employee dyads. Theorising based primarily on social exchange theories needs to be reconsidered in this context and new theories developed. We also question how human resource specialists can better support employees, and managers of all kinds, in their implementation roles in polyadic human resource management systems to ensure transparency, equity, and fairness of appraisal processes in a project‐based organisational context.

Human resource management in project-based organizations: revisiting the permanency assumption

“…It seems that these departments mostly play a coordinative role between the temporary and permanent parts of the organization (Keegan et al, 2012). In a similar vein, Keegan and Den Hartog (2019) explore performance appraisal in PBOs. They not only point out the important role of actors beyond the "HRM triad" (Jackson et al, 2017), but also explicate the "central role of employees" vis-a-vis the "weak coordinating role of human resource specialists" in the appraisal process.…”

“…Despite widespread neglect, some scholars have noted the important implications of temporary organizations for HRM (Keegan et al, 2012;Keegan & Den Hartog, 2019;Raja et al, 2013;S€ oderlund & Bredin, 2006;Welch et al, 2008). For example, Nuhn et al (2018) find that the turnover intentions of employees in temporary organizations are different from those in permanent ones.…”

Senior Project Leadership Skills and Career Stallers: Analysis of Perception Differences and Implications for Careers

“…Following project success research, where perceptions of project success differ among assessors (Dvir et al, 1998; Freeman & Beale, 1992), we can infer that perceptions of skills will differ among assessors (rater groups). Second, we expect that managers may have differing performance evaluation mechanisms in non-project-based organizations (Bredin & Söderlund, 2011; Keegan & Den Hartog, 2019), because project managers and leaders are frequent “job hoppers” or are expected to manage several projects simultaneously (Havermans et al, 2019).…”

“…Furthermore, in the current post-industrial economy, which is characterized by widespread organizational restructuring and economic uncertainty, the hallmarks of the traditional organizational career are waning (Dries, 2011; Savickas, 2000). The parallel rise of project-based work (Keegan & Den Hartog, 2019; Schoper et al, 2018) further signals the need to (re)examine how project managers navigate career success in the current context. Within the context of project management, an important challenge is to gain a better understanding of the evolving nature of careers and career success, as well as associated issues like determinants and predictors of career success.…”

Work motivation and temporary organizing – an overview of the state and perspectives of reward practices in project-based organizations

“…Previous research in the field shows that the motivational environment in which teams operate is of critical importance in determining employee behaviour, while the effective collaboration among project team members is of the utmost importance for the project success [4,33,34]. This is especially important since team members can have multiple roles, work in different projects at the same time, and with multiple project managers, teams, clients and line managers [11,35].…”