It seems that UK workers have fallen out of love with appraisals – with many of them regarding annual appraisals as a waste of time, research from Investors in People suggested in December 2007.

Gareth Chick, director, Spring Partnerships

According to its survey of almost 3,000 workers, 29% of people felt the experience was a waste of time; 44% believed their appraiser had been dishonest and one in five felt the system was ‘unfair’. Other concerns included managers failing to address issues raised and a lack of continuous feedback during the year. So why have people lost trust in the appraisal process? What positive steps can companies take this year to regain that trust? Why do we have appraisals?

Firstly, companies need to question why they hold appraisals and their effectiveness. Are appraisals simply a tick box exercise designed to appease staff or are they a genuine tool to motivate and develop employees? If is it the former, the whole appraisal system should be re-evaluated and really the process needs to start from scratch.

One size doesn’t fit all

Businesses shouldn’t fall into the trap of adopting the ‘one size fits all’ approach to appraisals and instead, design a system that works for their and employees. They should involve staff and senior management in the appraisal design and implementation – asking them what would work for them. By getting everyone’s buy-in to the process, a culture change is far more likely and a workable scheme will be achieved more easily.

Who is carrying out the appraisals?

Many companies often delegate appraisals to line managers, who have little or no HR experience and view the process as a management chore. What’s more, they are often ill prepared for the task. It is little wonder then that their ambivalence is picked up by employees who end up feeling deflated and unmotivated.

Companies need to ensure managers prepare well for the appraisals by providing training on how to manage appraisals effectively. Issues such as how to deliver positive feedback and tackle difficult subjects should be included. According to the people polled in the Investors in People survey, difficult issues were often shirked which adds to employees feeling that the process is dishonest.

Preparation

Preparation is the key to successful appraisals. Meetings should be arranged well in advance to allow the appraiser and appraisee ample time to gather the necessary data to support a constructive dialogue at the meeting. Time should be allocated to appraisees to prepare for their appraisals.

Role of appraisee

Appraisees should assume ownership of the process. It's also important that they demonstrate commitment to their own performance, training and development and are prepared to talk. It's suggested that as a rough guide, appraisees should do 80% of the talking during an appraisal meeting.

Focus on the positive

Often, too little time is spent focusing on things that are done well by employees, with goals achieved and projects that run smoothly sometimes being taken for granted. Companies must understand that an employee will tend to remember only the negative feedback so they should take pains to ensure that the appraisal is more balanced towards the positive.

Everyone is different

Just because two workers are doing the same job, they are individuals with different goals and ambitions - what works for one, might not work for the other. When putting in place objective and goals for the future, companies should ensure that they really address the appraisees’ needs and will contribute to their future career development.