Getting the most out of your staff appraisals

The annual appraisal is a method employers use to keep staff motivated and on track. But many bosses and workers treat the review as no more than a box-ticking exercise, with the minutes from the appraisal meeting left to gather dust with little or no action taken. We chatted to Simon Wright, director of specialist job boards Careersinaudit.com and CareersinRisk.com, to hear how to ensure appraisals are effective.

Be clear of the purpose

Make sure everyone understands the reason for the appraisal – is this a chance to review certain working practices and remove obstacles? Does it provide an opportunity to review and map out the next steps for an individual’s career? Will it offer the chance to discuss promotion and/or pay rises? With focus you will avoid disappointment and expectations not being met.

360-degree reviews

The most inspiring bosses are the ones who listen – creating a work culture that’s democratic so employees can have their say.

An open workplace, via 360-degree reviews where senior management’s performance is also assessed, can go a long way to making an employee feel part of the business and not just a workhorse.

Make time

Workers often remark that appraisals find their way fairly far down the to-do list and frequently get bumped to another date. The hour slot becomes a rushed 20 minutes. This gives the impression someone else in the organisation is more important than the appraisee. Allocate sufficient time – ideally 45 minutes to an hour – and stick to the arranged time. Twice yearly appraisals are a good idea to check any agreed targets and needs are still relevant and being achieved.

Prepare ahead

Filling in a form covering key areas to be discussed before the meeting is a useful first step – but only if the appraiser takes time to read it and offers detailed responses.

You may also want to discreetly ask other team members for their feedback and ask whether/how the staff member you’re meeting has made a valuable contribution.

Post appraisal

Within a few days of an appraisal make sure whoever held the review sends a summary of agreed actions with relevant timelines attached to each point. This is to help stop drift and ensure progress is made.