Effective Staff Performance Appraisal

Effective Staff Appraisal

How can you make appraisals effective and powerful sources of staff motivation?

Appraisal

As a manager or leader, you will no doubt have responsibility for undertaking staff appraisals.

If you have been appraised in the past by your manager it can appear easy and it should be.

So how can you make appraisals effective and powerful sources of staff motivation?

Planning

Planning is the key to effective appraisal.

Make sure that:

1. Schedule

You schedule appraisal meetings at least two weeks before the appraisal date.

2. Book Room

You book a room for the appraisal.

3. Documentation

All of the pre-appraisal documentation goes out to the employee at least two weeks before the appraisal with clear instructions on how to complete it.

Within this documentation include a draft agenda.

4. Pre-meeting Work

Make sure you set time in your diary to carry out the pre-meeting work.

5. Block Out Appraisal Time

You block out sufficient time for the appraisal in your diary.

Ideally, I suggest that you block out a minimum of 2 hours for the meeting and have a gap of at least 30 minutes before the start time and your previous meeting

6. Revise

Re-familiarise with any company guidelines and training materials that might exist.

Appraisal Meeting

The key to an effective appraisal meeting is to put the appraisee at ease.

One of the easiest ways of doing this is to spend a few minutes at the start chatting more generally about how things are going in life.

As the appraiser is important that:

1. Set The Scene

You set the scene including being clear what the meeting is about and what it is not about.

2. 70/30

At least 70% of the talking should be done by the appraisee not you.

3. Self Assessment

You give the appraisee the opportunity to give their own self-assessment of their performance before you

4. Do Not Interrupt

You don't interrupt them even if you don't agree with something they are saying.

5. Be Specific

When you are giving your feedback, you are as specific as possible and ideally include examples to illustrate.

For example, I notice that you are always really well prepared with all the key information for your meetings with the divisional managers.

6. Commitment

You ensure that the appraisee is fully committed to and in agreement with objectives for the next period.

7. Development

You should spend time looking at the development needs and career plans.

8. Next Steps

Make sure the appraisee is clear on the next steps and timescales.

After The Appraisal Meeting

After the appraisal, you must do the following:

1. Summary

Produce a meeting note or completed summary.

2. Provide Copies

Provide two copies of the meeting note or completed summary and ask the appraisee to sign and return one copy to you if they are in agreement that it accurately reflects what was discussed and agreed.

3. Be Available

Make yourself available to discuss concerns that the appraisee might have about the meeting note.

It could be that you have misinterpreted something or incorrectly recorded it.

4. Review

Set up a time to review progress on objectives.

At the end of the day, a well planned and run appraisal meeting can have a powerful motivational impact on your staff, so don't miss out on this opportunity.

This article was contributed by Duncan Brodie