Why Appraisals Don’t Work

I was reminded the other day of a study undertaken by Investors in People that found that around a third of employees think that appraisals are a complete waste of time. Sadly, for many managers and staff the annual appraisal ranks as one of the most unpleasant aspects of their job, as well as the most pointless.

The same study found that half of those appraised believed that their bosses were being dishonest during the process, a quarter thought that it was just a tick box exercise and a fifth thought that their manager did not put any preparation in before their appraisal. All of these findings are a sad indictment of a process that when used properly is an invaluable performance improvement and development tool.

But why do these issues arise in the first place and what can be done to prevent them from occurring? From my own personal experiences I believe that there are a number of reasons why appraisals don’t work, and get such a bad press.

• I have met and been managed by managers who believe that an appraisal is simply an annual event. Yet, managing an individual’s performance and development is a continual process. We all value continual feedback and support to ensure that that we perform to the best of our ability. Rather than sitting discussing performance once a year, I believe firmly that managers need to formally sit down with each member of their staff on regular (e.g. monthly) basis. This enables both the manager and employee to have full and frank discussions about progress and performance and nip any issues in the bud before they become a serious problem. I have found this approach a far more successful way of managing someone’s performance and development. Following this approach, the annual appraisal is simply a summary of all the discussions that have taken place during the year, and consequently not a surprise to either the employee or their manager.

• I have worked for organisations who dictate that appraisals must be undertaken/completed within a specific time frame, for example, during December, in time for the year end. However, the problem with this approach is that a manager may have 10 or more staff that they have to appraise. This becomes too much of a burden in the time available and so the manager cuts corners to get them completed. This problem is compounded if the manager concerned has staff based in different locations nationally or internationally. To combat this problem, I have seen more enlightened organisations use other approaches such as the date an employee joined as the appraisal anniversary date. In this way the manager’s task becomes spread across the year.

• Finally, too often managers do not have the skills necessary to manage the performance of their staff effectively. I have had managers review conduct my appraisal who clearly did not know or understand the fundamentals and in the process let me very de-motivated and confused. I believe that performance management training should be an integral part of a manager’s recruitment or promotion. The training should include the principles of performance management as well as providing the opportunity for a manager to practice their appraisal interview and feedback skills in a safe environment.

The study that was undertaken by Investors in People highlighted a number of important issues that need to be addressed if performance appraisals are to be seen as valuable to employees and not simply a tick box exercise.