Are appraisals a waste of time?

A resounding Yes, according to my friend today, who feels they add no value as a manager, or as an employee. He said that in all his years of employment, he has got nothing useful out of an appraisal session. In particular he hasn’t received any feedback to help him develop.

My friend was hoping for feedback in his appraisals – what do you look for?

In some organisations there may be expectations around money or promotion. Aside from that, each of us might hope for something different as we walk into our appraisal meeting.

I always sought affirmation that I had added value in the year. You may be looking for your manager to understand the challenges you have faced, the progression you have made, your successes, or your future career aspirations. Not many people are wanting an operational discussion or to be talked at.

Whatever you look for, do you get it?

I only remember the disappointments, sadly. My most memorable appraisal was the one that ended with us both in tears!

How to ensure your staff benefit from appraisals

As a manager, set aside any disappointing personal experience and try adopting a coaching and mentoring approach.

If your staff member may be nervous, start with one or two minutes of general talk. Then mention the forms, which may have been completed before the meeting. Make sure you have access to the forms, confirm you have read them (you have, right?), and then put them out of the way.

After this, aim to use questions throughout, leave time to reflect, and talk as little as possible. An initial open question might be, “How were you feeling as you came into this meeting?” or “What are you hoping to get out of this session?”

Their answer will tell you about their motivation drivers, which may be about Making progress (learning), Having fun, Achieving success or Adding value. You don't need to remember these drivers - just that everyone's are different.

Ask follow-up questions to use what is important to them, as the perspective for the discussion. For example, if your staff member says they are hoping to get useful feedback/learning in the session, you can ask them to share what they feel they have learnt and developed during the year, as well as what they might have done differently. Find out what feedback they would find useful. It may not come from you - it may be more valuable to gather feedback from their most significant stakeholders, and then schedule a follow-up session to talk through it.

If staff talk about wanting to have fun in the meeting, be curious. Ask what is behind that, ask how much fun they’ve had during the year and explore how to have a laugh while maintaining performance and credibility.

If they talk about success or impact, you can follow up with questions about what that means to them, how it has manifested in their work, and how they might increase it.

Whichever direction the conversation goes, try to listen to what they are saying, be curious about what that means to them, keep an open posture and be conscious of their body language.

Once they have completely finished, you can offer your own thoughts. When offering feedback, give them the choice to refuse it. Some staff find appraisals very stressful, so if they don’t wish to receive feedback in the meeting, set up another time to discuss it.

When you have completed the discussion, ask if there is anything else they were hoping to get from the session. Allow time to ask about those additional aims too.

Towards the end, ask whether there is anything further to discuss – for example, in the forms. Then close by asking them to list any actions to complete the forms, and to share their reflections to wrap up the meeting.

As well as filling in forms, appraisals can motivate your staff to stay with the organisation and perform better.

That can’t be a waste of time, can it?