It may surprise you to hear a Human Resources Consultant recommending that you don’t appraise your staff. Times have moved on. In order to attract and retain good calibre staff, communications should be two-way. The days of the manager delivering a one-sided appraisal on his or her staff should be well behind us. Of course, every manager has some important feedback on performance which needs to be discussed with the employee but the member of staff also has some valuable comments on his/her own performance as well as ideas on how the manager can motivate him/her.

Clarifying your objectives

When clients ask me to assist them in (re)designing and implementing their appraisal systems, one of the first requirements is to clarify exactly what they wish to achieve via the "appraisal". Apart from being misnamed, many appraisal systems fail because they try to achieve too many objectives. Far better to concentrate on a few key points and succeed than to try and address too much and fail.

Having completed this exercise, the process starts to take shape. The next step is to concentrate on the content, style and supporting guidelines which should all be piloted and adjusted according to feedback.

Introducing the process

Finally, and very importantly, the process needs to be implemented correctly. Very few organisations would expect to install an important piece of equipment or software without providing an explanation as to its introduction and how it works. Yet "appraisals" are sometimes launched on unsuspecting staff who are left to draw their own conclusions and muddle through as best they can.

Skills Training

Unfortunately, most of us have been "appraised" at some time in our life and we still bear the scars! So providing the right climate and skills training is fundamental to the success or failure of whatever approach you decide to take. Both parties need to learn to be receptive to feedback. Communication and facilitation skills often need to be enhanced. Neglecting this stage of the process can be a false economy and can give rise to a damage limitation exercise at a later date. If it’s worth doing at all, it’s worth doing well.