Performance Appraisal On Purpose

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From NetSpeed Leader Volume 30, December 2006

The goals of most performance appraisal processes include things like increasing levels of communication and cultivating staff development, providing data for compensation decisions and identifying training needs. These are all well and good, but it is key to remember that these outcomes don’t just happen. They are the result of well-planned and executed performance appraisal systems.

What’s more common in many corporate environments? Hit and miss or subjective or ill-planned feedback sessions. We’ve heard the horror stories, such as:

• the secretary whose boss hinged her reviews on intangibles such as “whether I was difficult to manage because I refused to accept her professional mentoring, which included attending her church to pray for personal and professional improvement.”



• the man whose former manager seemed to look for reasons to degrade employee performance so the company could keep within its budget for raises



• the woman who received her performance appraisal forms in the interoffice mail with a sticky note on the front that said, "Please sign and forward to HR."

For these employees the performance appraisal process resulted in less communication, reduced productivity, poorer performance, and even emotional pain. Morale and motivation killers, these types of performance appraisals are not unusual and, at the very bottom line, can leave a company open to legal repercussions.

How could things go so wrong? And what’s the fix?

Successful managers and supervisors invest time and attention in their staff’s appraisal processes. They:

• prepare by laying a foundation of expectations and providing a path to fulfilling those expectations


• link performance evaluation to clearly stated expectations, ensuring that those expectations are understood


• use descriptive and objective language to coach for improvement, giving clear and concise feedback that motivates and develops talent


• as an extension of the performance appraisal, build trust and rapport through regular coaching and feedback

Sounds simple, but creating this developmental performance appraisal environment requires commitment and a willingness to invest time and money in the process. Companies that are willing to make the investment, however, reap the benefits in the form of increased worker satisfaction and productivity, more effective hiring processes and solid legal protections.

So, what’ll it be? The purposeful outcome, or the accidental one? Let NetSpeed Leadership support your efforts in building a purposeful performance appraisal process with its training module, Appraising Performance. It will help you develop a systemic approach to the appraisal process and provide you and your supervisory staff with great tools for performing individual performance appraisals.