Performance rating accuracy: Convergence between supervisor assessment and sales productivity

The role of seven variables in predicting supervisor rating accuracy was examined. The study was conducted in natural settings, and the criterion for rating accuracy was the rated salesperson's productivity in terms of sales. The predictors examined were the supervisor's gender, the amount of time the supervisor spent working with the subordinate, the length of the supervisor-subordinate relationship, depth of acquaintance, the subordinate's sensitivity to expressive behavior in others, the ability to modify self-presentation and the subordinate's age. The participants were 208 supervisors and 268 female salespersons. The results of a discriminant analysis showed that the variables predicting accuracy-inaccuracy were different from those predicting overestimation-underestimation. Accuracy was best predicted by the length of the supervisor-subordinate relationship and by the supervisor's female gender. The direction of the inaccurate ratings was best predicted by high acquaintance, which pulled the ratings in a positively-biased direction.