Appraisals and performance reviews

With business expansion and change comes the challenge of how to effectively communicate and share business goals with staff whilst helping them to connect what they do to the wider organisation. Business success and growth, and just being plain busy, often make it harder to ensure regular feedback and to guarantee that new objectives and goals are communicated.

Implementing a simple appraisal or performance review process can help ease these concerns.

A simple process involves three main elements:

  • Reviewing the year’s performance
  • Setting objectives for the coming year
  • Discussing personal development plans
  • Organisations can benefit from introducing simple forms to support this process. Key to successful implementation is making them easy to understand and hassle-free to complete.

Some straightforward prompts can act as a guide to managers when completing appraisals or performance reviews:

  • Discuss ‘what’ has been achieved as well as ‘how’ it was achieved
  • Link individual contribution to key objectives and business results
  • Seek out feedback from colleagues, clients and customers where appropriate and share the key themes

Managers may also wish to consider:

  • Does your organisation have values or a leadership model these discussions can link to?
  • Are performance ratings in place?
  • Will appraisals and performance reviews link to rewards such as bonus and salary?

An effective appraisal and review system will motivate as well as boost morale. Use these three steps to ensure appraisal success:

  • Remember the three Ms – make objectives meaningful, motivating and measurable
  • The ‘how’ is just as important as the ‘what’ – it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it
  • Review, review, review – review in every 1:1 meeting, revise and refocus as necessary, be open and generous with your feedback

How can we help you?
We can support your organisation in many ways, eg:

  • Assisting in creating the right appraisal process and systems for your organisation – or improving what you’ve already got, to make sure it’s fit for purpose
  • Coaching managers and teams on how to use the appraisal system – with an emphasis, where necessary, on the communication skills required for effective performance appraisal, so that managers and staff alike don’t see it as just a form-filling exercise
  • Guiding managers on how to link the appraisal process with business strategy, performance and reward

 

Our thanks to Ruth for writing this page.

For a no-obligation discussion about how our employee relations support services could help your organisation, please just give us a call on 01582 463462 and we’ll happily put you in touch with a consultant, so that you can discuss it directly with them.