Effective Staff Appraisal
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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. You schedule appraisal meetings at least two weeks before the appraisal
date
2. You book a room for the appraisal
3. 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. You set time in your diary to carry out the pre-meeting work
5. 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. 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. You set the scene including being clear what the meeting is about and what
it is not about
2. At least 70% of the talking should be done by the appraisee not you
3. You give the appraisee the opportunity to give their own self assessment
of their performance before you
4. You don't interrupt them even if you don't agree with something they are
saying
5. 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. You ensure that the appraisee is fully committed to and in agreement with
objectives for the next period
7. You spend time looking at the development needs and career plans
8. Make sure the appraissee is clear on the next steps and timescales
After The Appraisal Meeting
1. Produce a meeting note or completed summary
2. 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. 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. 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.
About the Author
Duncan Brodie is a Leadership Development Coach and Management Trainer at
Goals and Achievements
http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk
He specialises in helping accountants and professionals to make the
transition from technical expert to manager and leader.
As a former Finance Director he has real experience of the challenges faced
by professionals moving from technical expert to manager and leader.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2007-06-12 00:51:03 in Employee Articles
