Performance Appraisal and Workers' Motivation in Gombe State Civil Service Commission

Performance appraisal is a system whereby workers’ contributions to organizational objectives are accessed either quarterly or annually. This performance appraisal exercise has been grossly abused in many organizations, so competent and highly skilled workers have been frustrated out of many organizations. It is for this reason that this study attempts to examine the effects of performance appraisal on workers’ motivation in Gombe State Civil Service Commission. Descriptive survey design method was adopted with the use of 70 copies of questionnaire distributed to the management and staff of out of which 59 representing 84.3 % were valid for the research. Data was also generated from scholarly articles and textbooks. A null hypothesis was formulated to guide the study. Simple percentages and tables were used to present the data while chi square was used to test the hypothesis.. The findings of the study are that victimization through Performance Appraisal is rampant in Gombe State Civil Service Commission. Lack of training for officers involved in rating staff is the key factor responsible for the subjectivity in the appraisal system of Gombe State Civil Service Commission. It is recommended that the management of Commission should ensure that those officers involved in rating employees lay emphasis on fairness and objectivity in the Performance Appraisal exercise. To serve as motivation, in developing an appraisal system for organizations, the Commission needs to think through pay increases and promotions