The Delicate Matter Of Performance Appraisals

Whether as a line manager conducting it or an employee on the receiving end performance appraisals are traditionally dreaded affairs. Commonly conducted annually and when there is a potential pay rise in the offing they can be overly formal and stiff with the emphasis on generalities and jargon. A straw poll of both managers and staff would likely reveal dissatisfaction with the process on both sides and yet it remains the benchmark for professional feedback well into the twenty first century.

Many managers and supervisors would dearly love to change the system but simply do not have the power and authority to do so; bureaucracy decrees that the relevant paperwork must be all present and correct by the given date. But there are ways and means of adapting and subverting the system to ensure a better fit for everybody involved in the process.

Firstly, just because an official appraisal must take place annually there is no reason why unofficial, informal appraisals should not be carried out on a weekly or even daily basis. Regular feedback sessions are essential to ascertaining whether employees are meeting standards, whether they have work satisfaction and whether there are any issues that they wish to raise. Leaving this all till the end of the year is crazy and can result in team members stewing over specific issues and managers fire-fighting because they have not discovered the root cause of any long term problems.

The key thing for a manager to remember when conducting an appraisal is that it is a two way process. All too often managers see appraisals as an opportunity to reel off dry facts and their particular point of view with scant regard to the concerns and arguments of the staff member being appraised. It is all very well informing a colleague that they are not performing to the expected standard but if you do not give them an opportunity to explain why that situation has arisen then all you will accomplish is to disillusion or antagonise that colleague further.

It is also crucial to balance criticism and praise and be careful about when you implement each. If there is too much negativity at the outset of the appraisal the likelihood is that the employee will simply 'switch off' and focus on the criticism rather than any positive messages that may follow. Similarly too much praise at the beginning of the appraisal runs the risk of the employee becoming cocky or complacent and likely to dismiss any criticism that comes later.

A further problem with performance appraisals is that there is usually an ulterior motive at the heart of them. Normally this is the tantalising prospect of a pay rise and this possibility will dictate the course of the employee's responses and arguments. The chances of getting honest replies to enquiries when the level of the employee's income is on the line is distinctly remote. Weaknesses will be dressed up and levels of competence professed to that may not necessarily be accurate. Conducting frequent, informal discussions with team members solves this problem as both sides are aware that there is no hidden agenda muddying the discourse.