Successful appraisals

Successful Appraisals Impression Training runs courses related to this topic.

Successful Appraisals

It is all too easy for an appraisal to go wrong; often without the appraiser being aware of what has happened or why. The dynamics of human interactions are complex at the best of times - in the vital process of appraisal, dealing as it does with people’s working lives, it is even more so. Just because a person is designated a manager does not mean that they are any more familiar with these dynamics than anyone else, thus training and skill development are essential.

To be successful, an appraisal interview must be able to help appraisees to improve their performance either by an increase in knowledge, a change in behaviour or an extension of skill. It should also bring about an increase in inclination to work, or an increase in motivation. Such changes can only be achieved in the light of accurate information.

Application of a cure demands accurate diagnosis of the cause, but diagnosing the cause is not always easy. If people feel in any way threatened or at risk, their immediate instinct is to protect themselves and either obscure the truth or present only those facts which are to their advantage. Appraisees must therefore feel free to talk about their failures as well as their successes. To do this, they must be sure that the process is designed to help rather than punish or threaten.

On the other hand, it is tempting for managers to jump to conclusions and apply their own solution to the employee’s problem. Managers should keep an open mind, using the interview as an opportunity to change their opinions.

Any attempt to tell anyone to change their opinions is likely to be doomed to failure. What individuals need is help in assessing what changes they should make and the next step towards making them. To do this, managers need to learn the effect they and their actions have on those they are appraising.

Skill on the part of the manager in both stages of the review process is likely to make all the difference between success and failure. It is important, however, to understand that there is no one right way of reviewing. Each manager is different and will have their particular style - what may work for one may not necessarily work for another.

Preparing for a Successful Appraisal Clearing the Mind When approaching an appraisal interview, appraisers should try to minimise the influence of their own prejudices, the so-called ‘horns and halo’ effect. It may be that an appraiser values one particular performance trait more highly than any other, e.g. attention to detail. Any employee who performs well in this area is likely to receive a favourable appraisal despite possible shortcomings in other areas.

The Venue The appraisal must take place away from any interruptions or distractions. To emphasise that this is a ‘two-way’ process, if space permits, it can be a good idea to hold the meeting on ‘neutral territory’ rather than the managers' office. If the appraisal is being held in the appraiser's office, he/she should ensure that there will be no interruptions by telephone or by other colleagues. A ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door is a good idea.

The Room Layout Thought should be given to the way in which the interview room is arranged. The appraiser will want to put the appraisee at ease and not make him/her feel intimidated or uncomfortable:  barriers, such as a desk between the appraiser and appraisee should be avoided  try to ensure that seating is at the same level  offer tea or coffee Building Rapport The appraisal is a two-way process with feedback from the appraisee being a vital part of the process. The appraisee should talk for at least 50% of the time. The appraiser must first listen to what the appraisee has to say about their own performance and development needs. The appraiser must also be prepared to review and even alter his/her assessment of performance given the appraisee's input. There may be events and circumstances that the appraiser was unaware of that need to be taken into consideration.

Active listening is also about encouraging the other person to contribute fully to the process. The appraiser's body language and gestures will send powerful signals to the appraisee. A firm handshake, eye contact and a smile will do much to put a nervous appraisee at ease at the start.

A fairly relaxed posture coupled with nods and smiles to encourage the flow of thought will contribute a great deal to this stage of the interview. The appraiser should concentrate on asking, rather than telling the appraisee what their performance has been like over the appraisal period. A reasonable level of eye contact, without obviously staring at the interviewee, should be maintained. Try to avoid creating barriers by folding arms across the chest or fiddling with pens.

Starting the Appraisal Appraiser and appraisee should have developed an agenda between them, either at the start of the meeting or in advance of it. The key decision is likely to be which agenda points to take first.

The first consideration must be whether the appraisee has a strong need to raise a particular point - has something been worrying them, have they a burning problem of which the appraiser is not aware? If there is an issue, they are not going to get anywhere unless it can be brought into the open for the issue to be aired. The appraisee may simply switch off on any other subject.

Knowing this, it would be logical to ask the appraisee if there is a particular subject they would like to start with and then get this problem, and any emotion associated with it out of the way.

However, this need not always be the case. For example, an appraisee may be concerned about their future or lack of promotion and prospects for development. In this case, going through performance in the present job may be profitable in helping the appraisee to appreciate what they need to learn and thus get things in perspective. Once you start with the future, it is very difficult to get back to the present. This is the start of a number of strategy decisions that must be made to ensure a successful appraisal.

Good News First Versus Bad News Some appraisers are so preoccupied with the weak points of an appraisee that they will launch straight into them. However, as we have said earlier, if people feel threatened, their instinct is to protect themselves and they may therefore withhold any information that could be to their disadvantage. Since the appraiser requires accurate information in order to affect a cure, this approach will be detrimental.

If appraisers are to help, they must gain the appraisee's trust and be able to demonstrate that they are there to help and not punish. Thus, if the good news such as praise, comes first, appraisees will at least know where they stand and are much more likely to be receptive to criticism later. If an appraiser can get across the concept of helping the appraisee to do even better, they are much more likely to get acceptance of the need for a change in behaviour.

Praising in itself needs skilful application. It is easy to be seen as patronising, particularly if general praise is made, for example “You’ve done a really good job in your little section”, or “Keep up the good work”, and so on. The appraisee wants to know that the appraiser is sincere and this can best be achieved by saying specifically what was good and what the appraiser liked so that it can be repeated.

Handling The Bad News - Criticising It is vital to consider the effect of insensitive criticism. Telling people what they did wrong and what they ought to have done may get results - of a sort. It does not guarantee that the same thing will not happen again.

On the other hand, if the appraisee is led back over the incident or events in a neutral atmosphere, it is more likely to encourage self-criticism and recognition of what the appraisee should do next time. It is generally not possible to get someone to change their behaviour unless the person concerned can see the effect of that behaviour and thus the need for change.

Getting Information - Asking The Right Questions In essence, helping people to get better at their jobs is a matter of comparing: What did you want them to do? with: How well did they do it?; and if there is a difference: Why was this?

The answer depends upon accurate information, which in turn requires skill in using the right questions.

Open questions are effective in encouraging the individual to talk, such as “Tell me about…” “What happened…”. However, the questioners must not let their values show, for example “The boss was a bit upset that you weren’t able to meet the new deadlines.

What happened?” is a question which indicates that the employee is at risk. They may then obscure the real facts in self-protection, whereas “Tell me how you got on with the new deadlines”, being value-free, is more likely to be met with truthful feedback.

“What do you see as your main achievement during the year?”

“Tell me more about your involvement in the Total Quality Project?”

“Why do you feel that you performed less well in this area?”

“Overall how do you feel you’ve performed this year?”

“What can we do to improve the situation?”

“How do you feel you have performed on the renewal sales compared to new business?”

“Tell me how you got on with the new deadlines?”

Probing questions are designed to check and clarify the information and elicit more detail, for example “What happened next?”, “What did she say then?”, “Why did you do that?” and so on.

This technique is sometimes known as ‘funnelling’, starting with a broad, open question at the mouth narrowing this down by probes and still further by closed questions at the neck, until pure, usable information leaves the funnel.

“That is an interesting observation. Give me some examples so that I can understand exactly what you mean.”

“What other factors contributed to your achievement of this goal?”

“Why was that significant?”

“What happened then?”

“How did you go about that?”

“Were there any factors within your control which could have come into play here?”

“So what happens if the paperwork is either late or inaccurate?”

“If you were to train someone else to do your job what would you ensure they could do?”

“What external factors which helped to achieve the target?”

“What changes did you make to get past that difficulty?”

“Why do you think that worked for you?”

“How will you tackle this project?”

In both examples of questioning, i.e. open and probing, it is important to allow pauses. If a difficult or thought provoking question has been asked, the appraisee needs to be given time to think. Silence is not something to fear in an interview situation. It will be obvious from the appraisee's facial expression whether they are thinking about an answer or whether they are just puzzled.

Closed Questions (requiring a yes/no answer) can be useful for clarifying a point but should not be used frequently. For example: “Do you agree with my summary of the points you were making?”

“Do you understand the point that I am making?”

Listening To the Answers It is easy to concentrate on the question you are going to ask next, at the expense of not hearing the answer to the question before. This comes about by appraisers forgetting what they are supposed to be doing. The key is determining the information you need, selecting the question that is most appropriate and listening to and evaluating the answer. Only then is it safe to formulate the next question. This is an obvious course perhaps, but one that requires self-discipline to carry out effectively.

Pre-judging any issue is dangerous here. If you make up your mind about the solution, you may well solve the wrong problem or miss something vital, such as a cry for help.

Summarising Conducting an appraisal can be likened to taking the chair at a meeting. Each agenda point should not be left until each person knows what exactly is required, who is going to do it and when. An interim summary ensures that the participants are not at cross purposes during subsequent discussion.

It is important to understand that memory and perception are selective and that individuals often hear what they would like to hear, not necessarily what was said. To safeguard both participants against misunderstanding, it is beneficial to ask the appraisee to do the summing up. By this means the appraiser can ensure that the main points have been remembered accurately and can gauge the degree of the appraisee’s commitment to the various actions. If necessary, the discussion can be re-opened to clear any misunderstanding or find out the cause of any apparent lack of commitment.

Questions That Are Best Avoided - They Get Poor Answers

Leading Questions are so called because they lead the subject to the answer required, such as: “I suppose you checked it out first?”

“I take it you won’t have any trouble sorting it out?”

“I suppose you did that because…”, “I assume you’ll have no difficulty in…”, Multiple Questions, where candidates will either answer the last question or the question they can most easily answer. The others will be forgotten.

“So why did you go there? How long were you there? What did you do? Did you have a chance to carry on your research?”

Hypothetical Questions frequently get a hypothetical answer. The answer you get cannot be relied on to decide whether a candidate really can do a particular thing. For example: “What would you do if the client threatened to cancel in the middle of an urgent order?”

“Well that would depend on….”

This article has been extracted from one of our training course books. Our training materials are developed by experienced trainers and consultants.

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