Why Performance Appraisals Don’t Work

I recently worked for a client that struggled to get their annual performance appraisals completed. Less than 20% of their staff received an appraisal at the end of their financial year. The challenges that they faced reminded me of a study undertaken by Investors in People a number of years ago that found a third of employees think that performance appraisals are a complete waste of time. The study identified that for many the annual performance 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 in my opinion is an invaluable performance improvement and development tool when used properly. This got me thinking about why these issues arise in the first place and what can be done to prevent them from occurring? From my own personal experience I believe that there are a number of reasons why personal appraisals don’t work: • I have worked with and have been managed by people who think that an appraisal is simply an annual event. Yet, I have always believed that managing an individual’s performance and development is a continual process. In my opinion it is vital that people are given continual feedback and support to ensure that that they perform to the best of their 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. bi-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, than attempting to discuss these things on an annual basis. The annual appraisal should be 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. The problem is then 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 appraisal 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 conduct my appraisal who clearly did not know or understand even the basics. The consequence of this was that it left me extremely frustrated and de-motivated. In my view, 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. Sadly performance appraisal has a bad name in many organisations. However, by addressing the issues that I have highlighted above organisations and their staff can gain the full benefit from their performance appraisal processes.