Developing the Performance Appraisal Process as part of Customer Centric Employee Development and Performance Management

The purpose of the thesis is to develop the performance appraisal process of the case company in order to improve and make the process adaptation for the case organization. The case company of this Thesis is a large-sized software company operating globally and located in Nordics, India, Baltic, Central Europe, and China. The company employs around 24 000 experts globally. The company serves thousands of enterprises and public sector customers in more than 90 countries. It is a leading digital services and software enterprise with the mission to create a digital advantage for businesses and societies. The Thesis is implemented for the business unit in Finland with approximately 700 employees that focuses on software maintenance, development, and consulting services across all industries, such as public, manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunications, and others. The research approach selected for the Thesis is applied action research based on using qualitative research methods. Applied action research is based on observation, action and measurement, and the researcher is a participants in them. The data is gathered and analyzed using qualitative data collection methods. The results are aimed at introducing change to the better in a real-life business setting. The theoretical framework of the thesis consists of the topics such as performance management and building and improving the appraisal process by introducing clearly articulated steps, roles and responsibilities, process timelines, and process actors. The theoretical framework also includes the topics related to the appraisal process enablement, such as service and project managers´ soft skills, as well as organizational shift forward self-directed culture. The thesis outcome is the improved appraisal performance process that is adapted to the needs of the case organization. It will serve the case company on a practical level as a tool and documented guidance for conducting development discussions, but it can also contribute in a wider sense, by developing the professional practice in this business field, especially for resolving challenges faced by similar organizations in similar contexts