subject: Painless Performance Appraisals In 3 Simple Steps [print this page] How can you make performance appraisals a less painful process for everyone? By understanding what makes them such an agonizing procedure and actually utilizing the age old concept for its intended use: as a tool used to promote learning, provide valuable feedback on your employees, and encourage employee development. This galvanizes the company machine as a whole. Managers often overlook the many ways to transform the usually arduous and negative process, choosing to ignore it instead when they in fact have a potentially powerful tool at their disposal. The fundamental misunderstanding of performance appraisals and how they should be carried out is a shame. Dont discard something as useful as a Performance Appraisal, instead alter the procedure to make it a much more streamlined and precise process, as you want your entire business to be.
Conduct Performance Appraisals More Frequently
One of the reasons that Performance Appraisals have become such a reluctant undertaking is the fact that they are generally held annually. At the very least, use your appraisal documents quarterly, if not more often, to enhance communication with your employees, facilitate more effective goal-setting, and keep a record of job performance throughout the year. This not only helps your employees learn ways to set and meet their goals more effectively, but allows you to look back at what techniques worked and when. Regularly having Performance Appraisals keeps the official date set by your Human Resources department from filling you with dread like your 50th birthday. Updating your employees with regular feedback is not only a great motivational tool that employees like, but makes you more skilled as a manager at providing it, making it less painful when the fateful day eventually comes around. The database of information that consistent appraisal utilization creates is excellent for identifying problems before they escalate.
Performance Appraisals are a Two-Way Process
Whenever your Performance Appraisals are being conducted, be sure to make it a two-way process. Ensure it is maintained as a discussion, not a lecture. If an appraisal is allowed to develop into a speech by the manager, the employee tends to shut their ears off the second anything negative is said about their performance, regardless of any positives that may be brought up. The 360 degree method of performance appraisal I talked about in my last post is a fantastic way of maintaining it as a more productive discussion.
Empower Your Employees with Self Assessment
Another great way to ensure the only consequence of your performance appraisal is an enhanced team atmosphere is to give your employees themselves a self assessment form to be filled out prior to the meeting itself. This communicates to you how your employee feels about their performance and is a good discussion point.
Looking at all of the steps mentioned, it is clear that communication is the key to an effective performance appraisal. The communication breakdown that occurs during the appraisals and the many days between them is what surrounds the useful tool in such saturated negativity. Implementing the steps outlined ensures that it remains a smooth and mutually beneficial process for both you and your employees. Well-conducted appraisals do nothing but promote growth in employees, management, and the entire organization.
