Performance appraisals, you either loved them (ie mostly HR people) or hated them (ie the rest of the organisation). I can see why the performance appraisal has received such negative sentiment from leaders. The document is often complicated, the process is often time consuming, and the results often meaningless. I can also understand why they aren’t being used in some companies today.
Historically the performance appraisal process was important because a manager and an employee had to meet at least twice a year and talk about the employee’s performance. Today most leaders do this on a far more regular basis and without the formality of a performance appraisal.
However I still see the potential in the appraisal process.
I have always believed that the essence of the performance appraisal was the conversation. If the conversation was poor, the process failed. Unfortunately this was often what happened.
One of the leadership skills that sets great leaders ahead of the rest is their ability to communicate. In a performance appraisal process this skill is used in providing valid and relevant feedback that is specific and helpful. So what is good feedback?
Well it might be easier to point out what is bad feedback. Have you heard these lines
- Your performance is fine
- You work well in the team
- You’ve got great communication skills
- You’ve met all your KPI’s well done
- I need you to focus on how you collaborate with others
- You need to improve your communication skills
To provide great feedback a leader needs to
provide specific examples to explain what you are meaning
- don’t use “umbrella” words such as communication, attitude, always
- ask for input from the employee
- be genuine
It’s not just up to the leader to provide clear and concise feedback. Employees have a significant role to play too. If a leader providing general feedback, employees can step up and ask questions to gain clarity. Simple questions such as Can you provide me an example?, what do you mean specifically? How can you support my improvement?
Feedback is really important for an employee to seek and gain if they are wishing to develop in their career or their role. Without it they have no way of knowing what they need to improve. It is up to all leaders to help their team members by learning how to provide great feedback. It is a skill that will set them up well themselves.
