Appraisal Policy

Appraisal should be about how to catch people doing things right.  So often it's more about catching people doing things wrong!  In some organisations it seems that employees are ignored while they are performing well and only gain attention when at fault.

There can be a culture that focuses on problems and weakness.  Positive psychology and appreciative inquiry have drawn attention to how much we all miss out if the focus is only on problems.  See the 3D HR Book Store for recommended reading on the benefits of focus on what is going well and building on organisational and individual strengths.

Appraisal policies and procedures are an integral part of managing performance.  In some organisations, pay is related to performance.  But whether that is the case or not in your organisation, you need mechanisms to manage performance.  As the name implies, appraisal should be about praise.  It is not about ignoring weaknesses but is should be about building on strengths in order to deal with weaknesses.

Good effective appraisal procedures are more than an annual chore.  A process that managers and staff go through for its own sake.  Done well, appraisal policies and procedures help the organisation and individual employees be more effective in their work.  People are then enabled to flourish in the workplace and the organisation is more successful.

Management training is essential to enable managers and staff to get the most out of the appraisal scheme.  Appropriate paperwork, regular review and effective monitoring and evaluation will help everyone get the most out of the appraisal process.  We have conducted appraisal training for various organisations and can really help to make this a process that is effective and helpful to the business, to teams and to individuals.

360 appraisal is a growing feature in many organisations.  This is an appraisal policy which is not just top-down when managers appraise their staff.  In 360 or peer appraisal, staff appraise their managers and team leaders and comments are invited from other people who come into contact with the appraisee - the person being appraised.  In some cases this extends to external stakeholders such as customers or clients.  Various on-line providers can help with an efficient web-based system to facilitate 360 appraisal.  3D HR can help with this process.  A useful guide to 360 appraisal is available from our parent website.