For some just the title of this article will send a shiver down your spine. Love them or hate them performance appraisals are key to the current and future success of your business, which cannot be achieved without the commitment, skills, experience and talent of your people who operate within it every day.

The performance appraisal is a process to maximise your employee’s performance so they are able to utilise their talents. It is only by developing your employee’s and providing a workplace that encourages continuous learning, growth and recognises talent that your business will continue to be successful in the future.

Performance appraisals are a great way to motivate employee’s but if managed poorly can have the opposite effect. Below are five tips to assist you in carrying out a productive performance appraisal review meeting:

1. Preparation is key!
Ever been to a review meeting where your manager winged it? Do you remember how it made you feel? Disappointed, undervalued, demotivated, even angry, then why put your staff in that position.

Make time to plan the performance appraisal meeting from booking a suitable day, time and room through to reading the individuals previous appraisal and being clear on the team objectives for the coming year.

Allow enough time for the review to be held, slotting it in between meetings is not ideal, and can lead to ill feelings if half way through you have to rush off to another meeting.

2. Compile an agenda to be circulated prior to the meeting
As any other business meeting having an agenda is a great way of keeping the meeting on track and ensuring all points are covered.

Most organisations will have a formal performance appraisal process in place which can be used as the basis of the agenda.

3. Discuss challenges and successes
There should be no surprises for the appraisee, now is not the time to tell them all the positive feedback or areas they need to improve on for the first time, these conversations should be taking place daily or weekly with the employee outside of the appraisal review process.

4. Discuss development plans
Now is the perfect opportunity to discuss career aspirations and start to look at an appropriate development plan for the appraisee with realistic timeframes.

Development plans don’t need to be expensive external courses, look to up skill current employee’s by tapping into the apprenticeship levy, which includes degree level apprenticeships.

5. Agree actions and next steps
Ensure actions and timeframes are recorded in the appraisal form for both parties to be able to refer to. Also be one step ahead, put the dates in the diary for the next review meetings which will help keep the appraisee focused.

Sue Potter set up SPotter Talent as a consultancy with a vision to create learning cultures within business, and a mission to motivate, inspire and empower people to do things they never thought were possible.

With over 22 years’ experience as a highly accomplished HR professional combining generalist HR and learning & development experience spanning financial, medical, oil & gas and container port sectors with over 10 years experience in leading apprenticeship programmes. An experienced line manager who understands how initiatives that effect culture support commercial strategy and drive revenue and profitability.

If you would like to find out how Sue can help your business, get in contact with her via email: info@spottertalent.com, telephone 07486 073844 or via her website www.spottertalent.com