It's that time again! Appraisals - who needs 'em?
For many businesses this is the time to do appraisals. You can almost hear the despondent sighs accompanied by the excuses ‘we’re doing OK , we can all see that’, or ‘I’m too busy delivering the work to have time to see how we are doing’ or – worst of all – ‘what’s the point? We never do anything with the information.’
If we are honest we’ve all shied away from doing an appraisal. But why? Partly because we aren’t sure what we appraising; possibly because we think do it all the time anyway as good managers; sometimes because we don’t like giving or taking ‘criticism’; often because it’s ‘ticking a box for someone else’.
How can we make it better? In a small organisation it’s actually quite straightforward. The point of appraisals is that we do make things better.
We need to develop a culture where all of our people take responsibility for the work they do and the way they do it – continuous improvement of business processes, their own skills, behaviours and contributions.
That means that people need:
- to know what is expected of them
- to have the skills, ability and resources to deliver
to get feedback about what they are doing, the way they are doing it and how it fits into the bigger picture (how it affects other people)
So what we need to do is:
- tailor targets to genuine organisational aims
- make sure that targets are mutually supportive across groups in the business
- encourage support groups, be objective, don’t leave it all to the line manager
Consider 360 degree appraisal – see our psychometrics page and look at our product list.
Above all remember – an appraisal is not about the paperwork, it’s about the quality of the discussion.
We can help contact us for a free 1 hour consultation.
First published in February 2010
John Spoerry Chartered FCIPD, is director of the independent , Buckinghamshire based, Daedis Human Resources Consultancy. (www.daedishr.co.uk or info@daedishr.co.uk)