Towards an acceptance of performance assessment

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology
• Medical Education

Background:

• The effectiveness of performance assessment tools is contingent upon their acceptance by all stakeholders.
• Key stakeholders include patients, healthcare providers (doctors), and employers, who may hold divergent expectations.
• Conflicting beliefs necessitate a strategy to ensure universal acceptance of performance assessment processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore stakeholder beliefs and expectations regarding performance assessment.
• To present a change management model for increasing the acceptance of performance assessment.
• To outline practical strategies for implementing and sustaining performance assessment acceptance.

Main Methods:

• Drawing upon psychological literature on change management.
• Identifying key stakeholders in performance assessment: patients, doctors, and employers.
• Developing a phased approach to change management: initiation, transition, and consolidation.

Main Results:

• Stakeholder acceptance is crucial for the utility of performance assessment tools.
• Understanding and addressing stakeholder beliefs, expectations, rewards, and costs is essential.
• A structured change management model provides a practical framework for fostering acceptance.

Conclusions:

• Performance assessment tools require universal stakeholder acceptance for optimal utility.
• A systematic approach to change management, informed by psychological principles, can facilitate this acceptance.
• Implementing strategies for initiation, transition, and consolidation will foster widespread adoption of performance assessment structures.