"Also, make sure that employees can see the value in participating in performance appraisals by focussing on the positive outcomes. That is, opportunities for promotions or transfers, extra training and development opportunities, higher salary or benefits such as time off or flexible working arrangements"
The structure of a good review
To get the most out of a performance appraisal, companies need to structure it properly.
Work needs to be done before and after. In the period leading up to the interview, the parties have to agree on key performance indicators and how they are measured and relevant information from many sources needs to be collected.
During the review, key performance indicators need to be identified first, appropriate ways of measuring performance need to be established and relevant performance data needs to be collected.
After the appraisal, the company needs to follow through on what has been discussed. Whether the parties have agreed on further measures, such as training, a transfer or mentoring, the managers need to ensure it is implemented. They also need to keep collecting information on how things are tracking.
Emma Lloyd, who manages the HR consulting area for the Slade Group, says reviews should be done every six or 12 months but feedback and discussion needs to go all year to ensure people meet requirements. "There needs to be ongoing conversations that happen monthly or quarterly with individuals because they need to ensure they are meeting the requirements," she says.
The aim is to prevent surprises.
"If managers are leaving that and expecting their employees to just get on with it, at the end of the 12 months, it's going to come at a shock and will be difficult to manage. The ideal situation a management team should get into is that at the 12 month review, it's just going over what they already know."
She says a lot of companies now save time by using online performance management systems that already have the KPIs and competencies in place. Using these systems, employers can put down their thoughts before the appraisal on how things are going. "You spend 10 or 15 minutes sitting in front of the computer and then an hour or half an hour with the employee developing a plan for the next 12 months,'' she says.
Getting employees interested
And how do companies avoid the groan factor from employees?
"Employees will hate them if they're not getting anything out of them," she says. "If they're sitting down for an hour to have a discussion and at the end of it they know nothing will come of it, then of course you are going to get a groan factor. The way to engage employees into this process is to show them what they are going to get at the end of it and stick to what you promise them."
She says that the evidence shows that most employees value encouragement and development opportunities over monetary rewards. The performance appraisal process needs to take that into account.
Just as importantly, the owners of the business need to tell managers that the appraisal system is important. It's part of their job.
In other words, managers should not be giving performance appraisals simply for the sake of doing them or because they were told to do it by HR. Employees will pick that up. Performance appraisals are only worth doing when there is a plan.
