Here is a conversation between 2 employees in an organization

Employee 1: I heard that the Employee Appraisal Process is going to start soon in our organization, hope our performances this year be bought to the notice of the top management

Employee 2: We can’t expect too much from the appraisal process as it is the same structure which we have been following all these years. The feedback will more or less remain the same as it was last year.

This is how conversations happen between employees around the time of appraisal. First and foremost, the organization should erase these thoughts and set a neutral ground for employees and managers to take part in the appraisal process.

An Employee Performance Appraisal System with a simplified approach in place would alleviate these problems to a large extent. In today’s high performing environment, every employee is a star of his own and it is the organizations responsibility to identify the best and emerging talent along with different ways to retain them for a longer period of time.

Things to be taken care of in the appraisal process.

1)      Make sure that even the minute details of the employee’s work are being captured. This can be done with the help of the HR Partner in getting the inputs from the respective team mates and his manager. This would make the employee instill confidence in the appraisal system and thereby also encourages in giving an honest feedback about him and his co workers in the appraisal process.

2)      The Manager has to give a structured feedback addressing how the growth of the employee in the organization would be and also let him know what has to be done to reach the next level and how this would result in the ‘win-win’ situation for both the employee and the manager.  It is also important to know the employee’s career aspirations and how organization is going to help the employee reach those aspirations.

3)      The Shortcomings of the employee during the appraisal period has to be mentioned and has to be projected in a way that the employee realizes the shortcomings himself/herself and it should not be thrust upon him/her.  Play by strength of the individual.

4)      The employee has to be judged based on his performance at work (deliverables met, team work, SLA Met) than the Managers Perception of how the employee is in terms of his behavior, attitude and attendance details.  Metrics are very important than water cooler talks.

5)      The Feedback has to be given then and there and waiting for an appraisal time to give the feedback does not go along as the employee needs constant motivation from his/her superiors which will help the managers to get the best out of the employee.

6)      A training session of how the appraisal system works has to be demonstrated across the organization prior to the appraisal.  This will help everyone familiar with the process and it can be completed on time.

7)      The HR Team has to give the Onus on the Managers to take the Performance Appraisal Process forward and the HR Team should act as a facilitator. In this way, the Managers are given a Free Hand in making the performance appraisal a success with the help from the HR Team.

8)      The One on One Meeting has to be an eye opener in terms of taking forward the expectations of both the manager and the employee to the next level and it has to be more transparent in knowing the expectations of each other which will help in team building

These points would promote healthy appraisal within the organization and also build trust between the managers and the employees which will act as a base in designing future appraisal systems in place in the organization.