How do you know you are getting the best out of your staff?
Well there is one way to find out and that is to talk to them! And the best way to do this is through the form of an annual appraisal.
What is an appraisal?
The annual appraisal is essentially a dialogue between your employee and you as the employer or manager. It is not intended as a stick to beat anyone with, but a two-way conversation that allows you to review how your employee has performed over the last period and gives the employee the opportunity to express their views on what they have done and what they would like to be doing going forward.
Once the appraisal has been conducted and agreed it will form the basis of what the employer and employee can expect to be delivered over the next year. It is a plan by which you can both be held to account.
Spending time conducting appraisals correctly, takes you away from your general business tasks, so it is vitally important that you have the right preparation in place and do it right first time.
Top 10 tips to getting the most from the appraisal and the best from your staff:
- Make sure you have drafted the appraisal document and both have time to review
- Set a date and time well in advance and conduct the meeting in a private environment
- Do not rush the process and allow plenty of time for the discussion
- Establish the purpose of the review and outline what you are going to discuss
- Review past performance against the agreed set of parameters
- Listen to the employee’s views and needs and agree on areas of development
- Consider areas of development that you believe are required
- Never leave an area of contention and adjust views if necessary
- Always summarise the appraisal and agree performance for the next review period
- Ensure that the appraisal is documented and copies are held by both parties
If appraisals do not currently feature in your HR activities or could do with stream lining, then please contact Charlie Lloyd who has a wealth of experience in this aspect.
You can email Charlie or call 01737 336336.