An overview of Performance Appraisals as an important tool in managing people.
Effective use of performance appraisals can have many benefits including a more engaged workforce, greater productivity, less poor performance, fresh ideas and innovation and overall general performance improvement for your business.
For more information on how to carry out performance appraisals see our How to Conduct an Appraisal guide or register for a place on our next Appraisals Skills Training Course.
Pure Human Resources offer a full range of HR Services including support with setting up a Performance Appraisals system in your workplace.
What is performance appraisal in Human Resource Management?
Performance appraisals are the regular review of an employee’s performance in their role and is an opportunity for the employer to assess the skills and achievements of their team, provide and receive feedback and discuss future objectives.
Why are performance appraisals useful?
Employers may use performance appraisals to guide decisions on rewards, bonuses, promotions and pay reviews. Equally they may be useful in establishing any underperformance issues which may lead to further action and potential dismissal.
They can also inform the overall performance of a business in general.
Appraisals can highlight skills gaps within your business, helping you to identify potential training needs, learning & development opportunities, as well as recruitment requirements.
How often should employees get a performance review?
Performance Reviews are often held annually (and may be known as Annual Performance Reviews) sometimes with mid-way reviews held during the year.
It is important to remember though, that performance should be monitored throughout the year, not just in the run up to a formal review meeting, and feedback should be given regularly and in a timely fashion – particularly in relation to issues or poor performance. Saving all your feedback up for the formal review and then telling someone all their failings in one go, without warning can be devastating and is not a good way to motivate anyone. (It will also leave you vulnerable to an unfair dismissal claim if you don’t give someone a fair chance to improve before taking disciplinary action or steps towards dismissal.
On the flipside, it’s also good practice to provide positive feedback through the year as this can have a positive impact on morale and motivation, leading to further performance improvements.
How do you review performance?
For an introduction to performance appraisals, refer to our How To Conduct an Appraisal resources where we share useful information on carrying out a performance review.
It is best practice to measure employee performance against SMART goals and objectives. This allows you to clearly see whether or not acceptable levels of performance have been achieved – particularly useful if underperformance is an issue.
Feedback is also a key part of the performance appraisal process – both giving and receiving it. Good communication and effective listening skills are essential. In addition to our Appraisal Skills Training course, we offer a Difficult Conversations training session, which includes effective listening and feedback skills, and maybe useful in situations where you need to address underperformance.
