The effective appraisal - Business Works
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The effective appraisal

I n addition to regular assessment of your own performance as a manager you will also probably be involved in the appraisal and development of any people who work for you, both on a continuous basis and usually more formally by the completion of the appraisement form and associated counselling.

Gary Newborough

The formal part of the appraisal process is designed to:

  • record an assessment of current work performance, giving a structured opportunity to identify work related strengths and weaknesses;
  • record an assessment of training or development needs and to process appropriate action;
  • provide feedback to an individual through the open reporting/counselling process to assist development and improve work performance;
  • assess potential or suitability for promotion where appropriate.

The appraisal procedure is intended to be a constructive process, formally recording assessments of performance and potential, providing information to line managers, the individual appraisee and the HR function. The appraisal document must be completed honestly and objectively.

There is no benefit to the individual or to the company in providing a false impression of current performance.

Line managers need to make realistic assessments and be able to explain and justify those assessments in the context of a counselling interview. It should be borne in mind that most organisations these days are dynamic and changing and this entails changes in the nature of jobs, there will be changes in performance requirements. Your organization operates in a competitive commercial environment and line managers should assess performance and potential in the context of commercial awareness and adaptability.

Each employee should be provided with a reliable and realistic picture of his/her performance as seen by line management, including areas for development to enable the employee to improve his / her effectiveness. Line managers should where appropriate ensure that action is taken to improve the quality of manpower resources.

You need to understand your organisation’s process.

New employees tend to work through a 'trial period'. During this time, you should monitor their work performance (as well as other aspects such as sick absence. conduct, etc) even more carefully than that of people who have completed their trial period. More than likely you will be asked to formally appraise their performance more frequently than once a year. Your aim during this period should be to help newcomers to become fully effective as quickly as possible. If in any case an employee is failing to progress sufficiently, you will need to consult your HR department at an early stage to gain advice on the best way to handle the situation.


Poor performance

If one of your team is not performing their job to the required standard for their grade, procedures will exist to deal with the problem.

Deliberate poor performance is a disciplinary matter, and can be addressed using the relevant procedures.

There can also, however, be a performance problem that arises because a person is not able to do their job properly, due to over-promotion, a change in their personal circumstances (depression, stress, etc), or an inability to adapt to changed working conditions.

In this situation you should seek advice from your HR department. This will probably involve more frequent appraisals than the usual annual interval, together with counselling interviews, and could result in downgrading or dismissal of the person concerned.


You can contact Gary Newborough via:
e: editorial@biz-works.net



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