Business Appraisers Bristol

Mark Housley, Axiom Software

Appraisals are also useful for you to get a feel from employees on how they think the business is working. In growing companies, people often feel a real sense of personal attachment and responsibility for the business. Smart managers tap into that loyalty and use it and make people feel their ideas are appreciated and welcome.

Mark Housley, the CEO at 20-strong Axiom Software couldn’t agree more. “In business nowadays we have to work very much as a team so it’s important for our employees to realise that they are all equally important. An appraisal system helps us to see quite clearly where people excel and where their deficiencies are.”

He continues: “I think one of the other ways a company can show value is by offering individuals time and training and to look at them not only on a skills basis, but on aptitude and competencies too.”
The company claims it is on the verge of rapid growth both in terms in terms of customers and in terms of staff required, so the informal appraisal system it had would not cope.

Feedback

Housley handed the task of introducing an appraisal system at Axiom to Paul Stanhope his technical resource manager who used forms from a previous company as the basis for the system. “We have the extremely subjective ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ type categories, that leaves us with the problem of defining what is ‘good’?”

Stanhope says there was a certain amount of resistance initially, but once they’d gone through the process, feedback comments were extremely positive. “It was clearly beneficial to both employee and employer,” he says. “Obviously, it wasn’t perfect, and the subjective nature of appraisals and the time burden were the main problems.”

The company is considering staggering the appraisals, plus making them easier to fill in to cope with growth. “ I don’t want people sitting down thinking ‘am I good?’ You want them sitting down thinking ‘I’m supposed to have achieved this much, and I almost have done, therefore I’m here in terms of my progress and I still have this to achieve’.”

But does his CEO get appraised too? Housley laughs. “Only by my shareholders,” he says, “so I suppose not. I have my own set of guidelines that I work to and a set of things that I want to achieve. I’m a fairly open person, so I can always get my managers to tell me where my weaknesses are. Nobody’s shy at doing that.”

Elspeth Watt, director of Calibre HR & Training (www.calibrehr.com), highlights what to avoid if you want your appraisals to make a difference

Being unprepared

Few managers enjoy appraisals and many fail to prepare. But not planning what you might say results in a paper operation with little value to anyone. The appraisal review should be the culmination of informal meetings with staff members over the year and you need minutes from those to get the most out of it.

Choosing the wrong place

Modern meeting rooms are often not soundproof and can be like goldfish bowls. If you have difficult messages to get across, you need a private and confidential space. You also need a business setting – not the pub or coffee shop.

Not covering the ground

Inexperienced managers can try to be too nice and fail to cover areas of concern for fear of opening up old issues. Planning the meeting and making notes on problematic areas beforehand will ensure you tackle issues in a positive way and appropriate to the objectives of the appraisal process.

Rushing the meeting

Clockwatching will not relax either of you sufficiently to have a thoughtful review of the previous year or an objective discussion of objectives for the coming one. Don’t book appraisal meetings with your team back to back and don’t book too many on one day.

Being taken by surprise

The appraisal meeting is not the place for unexpected news. Rather it should be the culmination of discussions throughout the year. If you do hear something unexpected, you’ve not been communicating effectively or encouraging staff to share issues with you on an ongoing basis.

Cancelling or postponing

Delaying appraisals gives the impression you do not take the process seriously. If staff members are to value the appraisal system you need to demonstrate you do too.

Allowing interruptions

Interruptions damage the flow of the meeting and will destroy the staff member’s confidence in your commitment to the process. As well as turning off phones and putting up a do not disturb note, ensure the employee has their back to any windows or glass doors so they will not be distracted by anyone outside. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted either.

Not listening or asking the right questions

A lack of questioning and listening skills and the wrong body language can all hinder the appraisal meeting. It’s not the same as an interview, so make sure you have the right training and approach it in the right way. You need to be familiar with the paperwork so you can give the conversation sufficient attention.

Laying blame

Appraisals should be motivational and give the employee something to work for in the year ahead, not simply a negative rerun of past performance problems or the allocation of blame. Such issues should be dealt with under your managing poor performance or disciplinary policies.

Expecting too much

Often managers and staff expect too muc...