Do you consider Staff Appraisals important?

Is it the job that gets pushed to the side as there are way too many other more important tasks needing your attention.

In a busy working environment of meeting deadlines and balancing workloads perhaps the most overlooked benefit to staff is to give an opportunity for our employees and managers to focus upon the development and performance required by each member of the team to successfully fulfil the role and meet the potential of that individual. By having these meetings it may even address issues that might in turn free up more of your time in the future.

There is often a lot of scepticism about the value of the annual or bi-annual appraisal but done well they give an opportunity.

• To focus on work activities and the goals of both the business and its individual employees.
• It should not be forgotten that reviews are not just about addressing difficult work issues, but they can also be valuable opportunity to review and assess the success of the Company recruitment and induction practices.

Performance appraisals are intended to support the individuals’ personal and professional development, they should not be linked to systems of remuneration or promotion although can be used to support these. Carried out correctly they give an opportunity.

• To identify and correct any perceived problems,
• Encourage improvements to future performance by setting measurable goals and targets.
• Identify future training requirement and budget for them.

For many employees, the annual performance review may be the only time they get to have exclusive, uninterrupted access to their manager. It can have a positive impact –

• Upon employee motivation and satisfaction as for some it may be the only time, they get true feedback on how they are perceived or for them to receive recognition for their efforts.
• It can provide an opportunity to discuss workloads and delegation of tasks or roles as the company evolves.

Your employees may never have the same commitment and passion and dedication to your company as you do, but there are ways to incentivise them to do their best.

Communication is most often the key, but also giving them responsibility and accountability for their role. Someone who has to do a job unthinkingly with no ability to initiate beneficial changes will become bored and demoralised relatively quickly.

• Challenge them to find better ways to do things and an open channel to communicate their suggestions and you will generally have a much happier and productive team.

Team is the word to aim for. In all sports each part of a team is chosen to do specific tasks according to their skillset. The same should apply to your team. Ideally you want everyone to do their best and to develop as they do, and you should know when and more importantly, why, if they are not.

Staff appraisals should be valued,  never overlooked, or pushed aside.

Done well they will be highly rewarding for the individual and the business as a whole.