For many of us, the yearly appraisal is a trial rather than a positive event. But does it have to be that way? Gillian Morgan of Apodi Ltd looks at the pitfalls and the potential of appraisals.
How many of us actually look forward to our appraisal? Substitute if you wish the terms performance review, year-end review or performance appraisal for appraisal: they all mean much the same thing.
Do we relish the prospect of sitting with our boss, reviewing our work for the year? Do we anticipate a recognition of success and congratulations on good work done? Is your boss really looking forward to meeting with you and discussing your work? Do you look forward to your appraisal meeting like you look forward to your birthday?
My guess is probably not – but this is a real shame, especially when you consider how many hours are spent ‘doing appraisals’. It’s a big event that happens only once a year, so why does it often bring no satisfaction?
Why appraisals matter
Let’s consider the reasons why appraisals or performance reviews exist.
Appraisals are essential for the effective management and evaluation of staff. They help to develop individuals and improve organisational performance. They enable the effective management and monitoring of standards, agreement of expectations and objectives, and delegation of responsibilities and tasks.
Appraisals provide a formal, recorded, regular review of an individual’s performance, assessing it against objectives and standards for the trading year agreed at the previous appraisal meeting. They typically feed into company annual pay and grading reviews. They establish individual training needs and development plans, and enable organisational training analysis and planning.
Appraisals are times to say Well done and Thank you after good performance. They are important for staff motivation, attitude and behaviour development, communicating and aligning individual and organisational aims, and fostering positive relationships between management and staff. They are essential for career and succession planning – for individuals, key roles and the organisation as a whole.
Performance appraisals, whatever form they take and whatever name they assume, are therefore vital for managing the performance of people and organisations.
Breaking the silence
So why do managers and appraisees commonly dislike appraisals and try to avoid them?
To most people, the appraisal process is daunting and time-consuming. It’s not just the time spent in the meeting but the paperwork preparation and thinking time beforehand that takes time on both sides. The process is often seen as a difficult administrative chore, and one that can also be emotionally challenging. If you are expecting some level of disagreement about performance, you are likely to be stressed about the process.
Why are problems often anticipated? It may well be that the annual appraisal is the only time all year that the two people concerned have sat down together for a meaningful one-to-one discussion about the individual’s performance. It is easy, when the chips are down and workload is high, just to discuss immediate priorities and put off talking about underlying problems. So when the year-end comes along, both parties have their own view of where the appraisee is in terms of their performance – but their views and opinions have been unvoiced over the course of the year.
It may be that some agreed objectives have become more ambiguous, due to a change in circumstances or environment. They may even be no longer valid or realistic. There may be many reasons why things have changed over the last 12 months – but if the boss and appraisee have not talked about it, the forthcoming appraisal meeting may be difficult for both parties: neither knows what the other thinks, neither is sure of the other’s perceptions.
Appraisals that are dreaded and/or stressful defeat the whole purpose of reviewing performance in a constructive way, where the successes are recognised and the areas of underachievement reviewed, with plans being made to remedy any skill gaps. So if the main issue with appraisals is often a lack of sureness on both sides about what will be said and how it will be received, what is the remedy?
Meeting of minds
The remedy is in the age-old principle that ‘appraisals should contain no surprises’. The boss should meet each of the team members individually and regularly for one-to-one discussions throughout the year, reviewing the appraisal documentation and the objectives set. These should be meaningful regular discussions: quality time to discuss objectives, work, career, aims, progress, development – and then, if you get on with your boss, the other ‘stuff’ such as our hopes and dreams, interests and life outside work. Such discussions help to form bonds and make the workplace a happier one.
These discussions, which combine formal and informal aspects, make appraisals so much easier because the participants then know and trust each other, and are aware of each other’s views. There are no unpleasant surprises. All of which reduces the stress and uncertainty around the appraisal process.
Here are a few appraisal tips for appraisees:
• Don’t put off discussions – if you do, problems grow.
• Don’t wait for the annual appraisal to sit down and talk – especially if you seem to be drifting from expected performance levels, or you think things have changed and your objectives are not as relevant.
• Don’t leave everything to your boss to instigate – take the lead by asking for some review time.
• Prepare your facts and figures and think about your career development. This is your chance to say what you want and have it on record.
Here are a few appraisal tips for managers:
• Make time to sit with your staff over the year and get to know them, finding out about their work life and home life.
• If you rarely sit down and talk with staff, or your staff are not used to talking with you, then set about relaxing the atmosphere and improving relationships.
• Make sure you recognise good performance, both formally and informally.
• Remember appraisals are meant to be motivational – if you are dreading them, how well will you be able to appreciate and motivate your team?
Know your rights
What if it does go wrong? What if you feel your boss has bullied you and is recording information that is unfair or incorrect? This can happen. A colleague of mine tells of how one particular director in the company they worked for lost 12 staff in 8 years by using appraisals as a way to force resignations. The director appeared to be using the appraisal system to accelerate natural wastage and reduce redundancy costs. An extreme example perhaps, but there are situations where appraisals go unexpectedly badly for the employee. What is the best way to handle this?
In the first instance, if the meeting is not gong to plan and you feel that’s unfair, don’t sign any documentation at the end of the meeting. It is important to tell the appraiser that you don’t feel the process is fair and try to resolve the situation in the meeting. If this doesn’t work, it would be wise to ask to reconvene when both you and your boss have had a little more time to reflect and gather appropriate information. If there is still no progress, it may be time to use a formal grievance process, or to go to your line manager’s boss to get this resolved. Check your HR processes and ask to speak informally with the HR manager for your area. It goes without saying that the best thing for all parties is to resolve the problem informally if possible.
For both employee and employer, good communication is the key to successful appraisals. All parties should sit down together and talk as often as they can – and then the actual formal appraisals will be far more natural, easy and productive. By ‘productive’ I mean that they recognise good performance and support people who are underachieving in a fair way.
The current economic climate makes the appraisal process still more important. Without objective measures of performance that allow frequent review, how can companies compete with others and keep their best staff? Performance that is sliding behind plan is a lot easier to remedy at 95% of target than 75% of target. Staff achieving excellent results will inevitably be visible to competitors, so recognition for these top performers through effective review is important for keeping them and their skills.
Seize the day
Are you looking forward to your next appraisal? Be honest with yourself – and if there is any negativity, be honest about why. Think now about what can you do to make sure the meeting is as useful as possible. Remember that your future, as an employee, is in your hands. Be proactive, drive the agenda forward and communicate… it could just be that year-end appraisals this time around are the highlight of the year.
Go on, buck the trend. Have a great appraisal: treat it like a birthday, use it as a chance to celebrate, a day to plan your next career steps, a day when you and your boss agree what investment into your development the company will make next year – and what you will achieve within the organisation.
Gillian Morgan is Director of Resourcing and Development at Apodi Ltd. Gillian started her career as a representative with GSK, progressed to several second line management roles and then led operational departments for two major contract sales organisations, with responsibility for sales teams and internal service departments.
Apodi Ltd is a leading provider of outsourced solutions, including resourcing and HR services, to the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.
It is easy, when workload is high, just to discuss immediate priorities and put off talking about underlying problems. So when the year-end comes along, both parties have their own view of where the appraisee is in terms of their performance – but their views have been unvoiced over the course of the year.