Appraisals Bristol

Why Appraisals Matter

Appraisals, when done well, provide the perfect opportunity to give feedback, motivate employees and find ways to improve their performance. They also give line managers the opportunity to identify staff training needs, provide career counselling, spot high flyers of the future and manage poor performers.

The reality

However, the reality can be somewhat different. Mike Day, the CEO of KS Paul Products, a London-based lubricants-manufacturing company was open about his problem with appraisals. “We haven’t been allowed to do them,” he said. “In the past, our directors simply wouldn’t let us. But we’re under new ownership now, part of a public company rather than a private one. “

The thought of directors vetoing appraisals is a strange one – why would anyone block one of the country’s most widely used management tools? Especially one that gives managers and team members a rare opportunity to step out of their day-to-day working roles and take a look at what’s working for them and what isn’t.

Sadly, all too often, appraisals are rushed discussions where performance ratings are handed out, lapses in performances are exposed, or where performance-related pay is awarded. A report by Office Angels highlighted the importance of getting appraisals right, and perhaps explains why some companies don’t bother with them. A quarter of employees start looking for a new job within two weeks of a ‘bad’ appraisal and 40 per cent begin a job search within a month.

Getting it right

If, like Mike Day, you take the view appraisals are a good thing, then it is essential to ensure you do them well. Imogen Daniels, an adviser to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is an expert on the subject.

“The first step is to ask employees to prepare for the appraisal discussion – some companies get them to fill in forms to make this easier. But the ideal is to get people coming in prepared to talk about what’s worked and what hasn’t,” she says.

In practical terms, this means that the person doing the appraisal (it should be the immediate line manager) needs to have a good knowledge of the employee’s work over the past six to 12 months. You must be ready to talk about what has worked, what the problems have been, and identify training opportunities. It’s vital to put a set time aside and to ensure there are no interruptions. The person being appraised will feel that you value the time you spend with them.

When it comes to feedback you have to be very specific and really spell things out. This is even more important when you’re giving negative feedback, says Daniels: “If you say, ‘I don’t think your strength is customer service’ – you need to elaborate, for example with, ‘when you told the lady who wanted the full refund to “get stuffed”’.”