Performance appraisals are a vital tool in increasing accuracy, productivity, and engagement in every organization. Organizations who utilize performance appraisals correctly acknowledge an employee’s strength and win while challenging the employee to continually evolve and improve. Unfortunately, however, many organizations fail to execute a useful motivational performance appraisal and instead realize negative results such as confusion, decreased engagement, and increase turnover. Following are 5 vital characteristics of an effective performance appraisal:
1. An effective performance appraisal is comprehensive. Performance appraisals should not be used in response to specific errors, omissions, or incidents. They should instead be scheduled periodically as specified in policy (most organizations choose to do appraisals annually or twice annually) and reflect upon overall performance over the entire specified period of time. It is also important to schedule the discussion several days in advance to give the employee an opportunity to prepare their goals and input before the discussion takes place and to prevent catching an employee off-guard or at a bad time.
2. And effective performance appraisal looks forward. All opportunities for improvement can be addressed in one of two ways:by focusing on an unchanging past or applying the lesson learned to future performance. For example, an ineffective appraiser might say, “Your presentations really miss the mark. We really expect more sales to result,” while an effective appraiser will say, “Okay, so your presentations haven’t been landing the sales. Let’s talk about what you’ve learned through this process that might improve your next presentation and close the deal.” An effective performance appraisal results in clear, attainable short- and long- term goals and doesn’t reprimand or discipline for past failures.
3. An effective performance appraisal is honest. Supervisors who consistently check the “exceeds expectations” box for every competency and every employee aren’t contributing to the success of their employees or their department. Instead, they contribute to a do-the-bare-minimum culture, which results in bare-minimum work and ultimately reflects poorly on the supervisor’s ability to lead and motivate. Employees appreciate honest feedback and most employees feel energized by new goals and challenges. While choosing “needs improvement” may not be accurate, it’s okay to select “meets expectations” and then add in the comments section that the employee has demonstrated through-the-roof potential and you would like to see them work toward a new goal, a new position, or take on additional responsibility.
4. An effective performance appraisal is accurate. Depending on the size and structure of your organization, it’s possible that the person completing the performance appraisal does not always intimately know the employee’s role, work history, or character. In these cases, the organization may consider implementation of a 360-degree feedback policy. If the organization deems 360-degree feedback to be a poor fit or unreasonable, it’s vital that the person completing the evaluation seeks input from peers, first-line supervisors, and available data. Has the organization received customer complaints or compliments on the employee? Is he or she arriving for scheduled shifts on time and prepared to work? Do coworkers value his or her knowledge and skills? Has he or she been placed on a work improvement plan in the past year? Only a performance appraisal that accurately reflects the employee’s performance can provide the right guidance, acknowledgement, and motivation.
5. An effective performance appraisal goes both ways. Not only is the performance appraisal a good time for supervisors to share their comments with their subordinates, it’s also a great time to receive insight from staff regarding their working conditions, their perception of workplace culture, and their overall engagement and satisfaction. In a busy organization, one-on-one time with employees in every role should be maximized and utilized. In an effective performance appraisal, employees are given the opportunity to set goals for themselves and their departments. They are asked if they have adequate education, resources, and support to perform to the best of their abilities. They are asked if their working conditions are safe, comfortable, and free from harassment and discrimination. They should be given the opportunity to share their ideas for process improvement. Integrating this additional time into your performance appraisal process always pays off; it improves employee morale, helps you identify and resolve issues, and might even help you simplify or improve processes.
Training supervisors to master the performance appraisal is an investment in the future of your organization. Employees who feel challenged strive to raise the bar; those who feel appreciated go above and beyond to excel; and those who feel valued and supported in their roles enjoy coming to work. And, of course, when your employees enjoy coming to work your organization excels.
Still have questions? The team at Bridge Between is here to help.