Introduction

Performance Appraisals, or evaluations, are a process where job performance is measured, documented and evaluated.  This can occur as a formal process or in a more informal way. Either way there needs to be a goal to be achieved and an outcome that can be measured. It all sounds very black and white and process driven, with very little room for humanity. This is where many companies go very wrong. If we can't allow the human side to enter our performance appraisals we are setting ourselves up for failure, as we are cutting out a key part of what makes our business function. People are your greatest assets in any business, and you need to think of all of your internal processes from this view point, if you really want to build a sustainable and successful business that is run by engaged people.

If you are still in the start-up phase, then planning for your business evolution is very important, and is often your sole focus. Early in the development of organizations processes tend to be very fluid, as people are asked to step in and perform multiple roles.  The performance evaluations during these early stages may be more informal, occurring over a series of conversations that are suitable for the changing environment.  As the company grows there is a need to move toward formal performance evaluations that is part of a systematic approach used to help manage employee performance, and conversely employee engagement and success. Whilst also establishing internal accountability and acceptance. At this point this needs to be done in a way that is positive and accepted, otherwise people start to feel like they are being watched and judged in a way that creates distrust and fear. Many organizations suffer from this, in fact often performance appraisals are feared by both the appraisee and the appraiser. This does not benefit anyone. Performance appraisal should, and can be largely positive experiences. To allow this to happen in your business you need to focus on more than just metrics, and open the process to all aspects of what engages your people in the workplace.

Show Objectives

This week’s show focuses on maximizing your performance appraisal process and establishing it so that you are actually engaging your people, and not just judging them unfairly or suddenly. Done well you will find that Formal Appraisals can be a big positive in an organisation, but they do take focus to get them right. So why do they have the habit of generating so much fear and unrest for everyone involved. In essence formal appraisals were once mostly just used to judge success against very black and white parameters and metrics, often unexpectedly or without prior communication. Regularly forgetting that you are dealing with people, not just numbers.