performance appraisals

performance appraisals, performance evaluation and assessment of job skills,

personality and behaviour - and tips for '360 degree feedback', '360°
appraisals', 'skill-set' assessment and training needs analysis tips and tools

Ensure your systems, training and materials for appraisals reflect current
employment/equality laws. For example it is unlawful to discriminate against
anyone on the grounds of age. This has several implications for performance
appraisals, documents used, and the training of people who conduct staff
appraisals. For example, while not unlawful, the inclusion of age and date-of-birth
sections on appraisal forms is not recommended (as for all other documentation
used in assessing people). For further guidance about the effects of
Age/Equality/Discrimination on performance appraisals, and other aspects of
equality, see the Equality information.

Here is a basic performance appraisal form template, in PDF and MSWord

formats. Feel free to use and adapt it to suit your purposes.

performance appraisal form (pdf) sample/template - downloadable pdf

performance appraisal form (MSWord) sample/template - downloadable MSWord

file

For guidance on assessment centres/centers, graduate assessment

days and group selection recruitment see the group selection information on the
job interviews page.

Also on this page:

Individual Skill/Behaviours Assessments and Group Training Needs Analysis

(TNA) - tools, templates, process, tips and guidelines

360 Degree Feedback Appraisals - tools, templates, process, tips and explanation

Appraisals timing with pay reviews, and training and planning issues

Probationary reviews appraisals elements and factors

Tips on completing your own self-assessment performance appraisals

performance appraisals purpose - and how to make it

easier
Performance appraisals are essential for the effective management and evaluation
of staff. Appraisals help develop individuals, improve organizational performance,
and feed into business planning. Formal performance appraisals are generally
conducted annually for all staff in the organization. Each staff member is appraised
by their line manager. Directors are appraised by the CEO, who is appraised by the
chairman or company owners, depending on the size and structure of the
organization.

Annual performance appraisals enable management and monitoring of standards,

agreeing expectations and objectives, and delegation of responsibilities and tasks.
Staff performance appraisals also establish individual training needs and enable
organizational training needs analysis and planning.

Performance appraisals also typically feed into organizational annual pay and
grading reviews, which commonly also coincides with the business planning for
the next trading year.

Performance appraisals generally review each individual's performance against

objectives and standards for the trading year, agreed at the previous appraisal
meeting.

Performance appraisals are also essential for career and succession planning - for
individuals, crucial jobs, and for the organization as a whole.

Performance appraisals are important for staff motivation, attitude and behaviour
development, communicating and aligning individual and organizational aims, and
fostering positive relationships between management and staff.

Performance appraisals provide a formal, recorded, regular review of an

individual's performance, and a plan for future development.

Job performance appraisals - in whatever form they take - are therefore vital for
managing the performance of people and organizations.

Managers and appraisees commonly dislike appraisals and try to avoid them. To
these people the appraisal is daunting and time-consuming. The process is seen as
a difficult administrative chore and emotionally challenging. The annual appraisal
is maybe the only time since last year that the two people have sat down together
for a meaningful one-to-one discussion. No wonder then that appraisals are
stressful - which then defeats the whole purpose.

There lies the main problem - and the remedy.

Appraisals are much easier, and especially more relaxed, if the boss meets
each of the team members individually and regularly for one-to-one
discussion throughout the year.

Meaningful regular discussion about work, career, aims, progress, development,

hopes and dreams, life, the universe, the TV, common interests, etc., whatever,
makes appraisals so much easier because people then know and trust each other -
which reduces all the stress and the uncertainty.

Put off discussions and of course they loom very large.

So don't wait for the annual appraisal to sit down and talk.

The boss or or the appraisee can instigate this.

If you are an employee with a shy boss, then take the lead.

If you are a boss who rarely sits down and talks with people - or whose people are
not used to talking with their boss - then set about relaxing the atmosphere and
improving relationships. Appraisals (and work) all tend to be easier when people
communicate well and know each other.

So sit down together and talk as often as you can, and then when the actual formal
appraisals are due everyone will find the whole process to be far more natural,
quick, and easy - and a lot more productive too.

appraisals, social responsibility and whole-person

development
There is increasingly a need for performance appraisals of staff and especially
managers, directors and CEO's, to include accountabilities relating to corporate
responsibility, represented by various converging corporate responsibility
concepts including: the 'Triple Bottom Line' ('profit people planet'); corporate
social responsibility (CSR); Sustainability; corporate integrity and ethics; Fair
Trade, etc. The organisation must decide the extent to which these accountabilities
are reflected in job responsibilities, which would then naturally feature accordingly
in performance appraisals. More about this aspect of responsibility is in
the directors job descriptions section.

Significantly also, while this appraisal outline is necessarily a formal structure this
does not mean that the development discussed with the appraisee must be formal
and constrained. In fact the opposite applies. Appraisals must address 'whole
person' development - not just job skills or the skills required for the next
promotion.

Appraisals must not discriminate against anyone on the grounds of age, gender,
sexual orientation, race, religion, disability, etc.

The UK Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, (consistent with Europe),

effective from 1st October 2006, make it particularly important to avoid any
comments, judgements, suggestions, questions or decisions which might be
perceived by the appraisee to be based on age. This means people who are young
as well as old. Age, along with other characteristics stated above, is not a lawful
basis for assessing and managing people, unless proper 'objective justification' can
be proven. See the Age Diversity information.

When designing or planning and conducting appraisals, seek to help the 'whole-
person' to grow in whatever direction they want, not just to identify obviously
relevant work skills training. Increasingly, the best employers recognise that
growing the 'whole person' promotes positive attitudes, advancement, motivation,
and also develops lots of new skills that can be surprisingly relevant to working
productively and effectively in any sort of organisation.

Developing the whole-person is also an important aspect of modern corporate

responsibility, and separately (if you needed a purely business-driven incentive for
adopting these principles), whole-person development is a crucial advantage in the
employment market, in which all employers compete to attract the best recruits,
and to retain the best staff.

Therefore in appraisals, be creative and imaginative in discussing, discovering and

agreeing 'whole-person' development that people will respond to, beyond the usual
job skill-set, and incorporate this sort of development into the appraisal
process. Abraham Maslow recognised this over fifty years ago.

If you are an employee and your employer has yet to embrace or even
acknowledge these concepts, do them a favour at your own appraisal and suggest
they look at these ideas, or maybe mention it at your exit interview prior to joining
a better employer who cares about the people, not just the work.

Incidentally the Multiple Intelligences test and VAK Learning Styles test are
extremely useful tools for appraisals, before or after, to help people understand
their natural potential and strengths and to help managers understand this about
their people too. There are a lot of people out there who are in jobs which don't
allow them to use and develop their greatest strengths; so the more we can help
folk understand their own special potential, and find roles that really fit well, the
happier we shall all be.
are performance appraisals still beneficial and
appropriate?
It is sometimes fashionable in the 'modern age' to dismiss traditional processes
such as performance appraisals as being irrelevant or unhelpful. Be very wary
however if considering removing appraisals from your own organisational
practices. It is likely that the critics of the appraisal process are the people who
can't conduct them very well. It's a common human response to want to jettison
something that one finds difficult. Appraisals - in whatever form, and there are
various - have been a mainstay of management for decades, for good reasons.

Think about everything that performance appraisals can achieve and contribute to
when they are properly managed, for example:

 performance measurement - transparent, short, medium and long term

 clarifying, defining, redefining priorities and objectives
 motivation through agreeing helpful aims and targets
 motivation though achievement and feedback
 training needs and learning desires - assessment and agreement
 identification of personal strengths and direction - including unused hidden
strengths
 career and succession planning - personal and organisational
 team roles clarification and team building
 organisational training needs assessment and analysis
 appraisee and manager mutual awareness, understanding and relationship
 resolving confusions and misunderstandings
 reinforcing and cascading organisational philosophies, values, aims,
strategies, priorities, etc
 delegation, additional responsibilities, employee growth and development
 counselling and feedback
 manager development - all good managers should be able to conduct
appraisals well - it's a fundamental process
 the list goes on..

People have less and less face-to-face time together these days. Performance
appraisals offer a way to protect and manage these valuable face-to-face
opportunities. My advice is to hold on to and nurture these situations, and if you
are under pressure to replace performance appraisals with some sort of (apparently)
more efficient and cost effective methods, be very sure that you can safely cover
all the aspects of performance and attitudinal development that a well-run
performance appraisals system is naturally designed to achieve.
There are various ways of conducting performance appraisals, and ideas change
over time as to what are the most effective appraisals methods and systems. Some
people advocate traditional appraisals and forms; others prefer 360-degree-type
appraisals; others suggest using little more than a blank sheet of paper.

In fact performance appraisals of all types are effective if they are conducted
properly, and better still if the appraisal process is clearly explained to, agreed
by, the people involved.

Managers need guidance, training and encouragement in how to conduct

appraisals properly. Especially the detractors and the critics. Help anxious
managers (and directors) develop and adapt appraisals methods that work for them.
Be flexible. There are lots of ways to conduct appraisals, and particularly lots of
ways to diffuse apprehension and fear - for managers and appraisees alike.
Particularly - encourage people to sit down together and
review informally and often - this removes much of the pressure for managers and
appraisees at formal appraisals times. Leaving everything to a single make-or-
break discussion once a year is asking for trouble and trepidation.

Look out especially for the warning signs of 'negative cascaded

attitudes' towards appraisals. This is most often found where a senior manager or
director hates conducting appraisals, usually because they are uncomfortable and
inexperienced in conducting them. The senior manager/director typically will be
heard to say that appraisals don't work and are a waste of time, which for them
becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This attitude and behaviour then cascades down
to their appraisees (all the people in their team) who then not surprisingly also
apply the same 'no good - not doing it' negative attitude to their own appraisals
responsibilities (teams). And so it goes. A 'no good - not doing it' attitude in the
middle ranks is almost invariably traceable back to a senior manager or director
who holds the same view. As with anything, where people need help doing the
right thing, help them.

All that said, performance appraisals that are administered without training (for
those who need it), without explanation or consultation, and conducted
poorly will be counter-productive and are a waste of everyone's time.

Well-prepared and well-conducted performance appraisals provide unique

opportunities to help appraisees and managers improve and develop, and
thereby also the organisations for whom they work.

Just like any other process, if performance appraisals aren't working, don't
blame the process, ask yourself whether it is being properly trained,
explained, agreed and conducted.
effective performance appraisals
Aside from formal traditional (annual, six-monthly, quarterly, or monthly)
performance appraisals, there are many different methods of performance
evaluation. The use of any of these methods depends on the purpose of the
evaluation, the individual, the assessor, and the environment.

The formal annual performance appraisal is generally the over-riding instrument

which gathers together and reviews all other performance data for the previous
year.

Performance appraisals should be positive experiences. The appraisals process

provides the platform for development and motivation, so organizations should
foster a feeling that performance appraisals are positive opportunities, in order to
get the best out of the people and the process. In certain organizations,
performance appraisals are widely regarded as something rather less welcoming
('bollocking sessions' is not an unusual description), which provides a basis only on
which to develop fear and resentment, so never, never, never use a staff
performance appraisal to handle matters of discipline or admonishment, which
should instead be handled via separately arranged meetings.

types of performance and aptitude assessments, including formal performance

appraisals

 Formal annual performance appraisals

 Probationary reviews
 Informal one-to-one review discussions
 Counselling meetings
 Observation on the job
 Skill- or job-related tests
 Assignment or task followed by review, including secondments (temporary
job cover or transfer)
 Assessment centres, including observed group exercises, tests presentations,
etc.
 Survey of opinion of others who have dealings with the individual
 Psychometric tests and other behavioural assessments
 Graphology (handwriting analysis)

None of these methods is mutually exclusive. All of these performance assessment

methods can be used in conjunction with others in the list, depending on situation
and organizational policy. Where any of these processes is used, the manager must
keep a written record, and must ensure agreed actions are followed up. The notes
of all review situations can then be referred to at the formal appraisal.
Holding regular informal one-to-one review meetings greatly reduces the pressure
and time required for the annual formal appraisal meeting. Holding informal
reviews every month is ideal all staff. There are several benefits of reviewing
frequently and informally:

 The manager is better informed and more up-to-date with his or her people's
activities (and more in touch with what lies beyond, e.g., customers,
suppliers, competitors, markets, etc)
 Difficult issues can be identified, discussed and resolved quickly, before
they become more serious.
 Help can be given more readily - people rarely ask unless they see a good
opportunity to do so - the regular informal review provides just this.
 Assignments, tasks and objectives can be agreed completed and reviewed
quickly - leaving actions more than a few weeks reduces completion rates
significantly for all but the most senior and experienced people.
 Objectives, direction, and purpose is more up-to-date - modern
organizations demand more flexibility than a single annual review allows -
priorities often change through the year, so people need to be re-directed and
re-focused.
 Training and development actions can be broken down into smaller more
digestible chunks, increasing success rates and motivational effect as a
result.
 The 'fear factor', often associated by many with formal appraisals, is greatly
reduced because people become more comfortable with the review process.
 Relationships and mutual understanding develops more quickly with greater
frequency of meetings between manager and staff member.
 Staff members can be better prepared for the formal appraisal, giving better
results, and saving management time.
 Much of the review has already been covered throughout the year by the
time comes for the formal appraisal.
 Frequent review meetings increase the reliability of notes and performance
data, and reduces the chances of overlooking things at the formal appraisal.

performance appraisals process

 Prepare - prepare all materials, notes agreed tasks and records of

performance, achievements, incidents, reports etc - anything pertaining to
performance and achievement - obviously include the previous performance
appraisal documents and a current job description. A good appraisal form
will provide a good natural order for proceedings, so use one. If your
organization doesn't have a standard appraisal form then locate one, or use
the template below to create one, or download and/or adapt the appraisal
forms from this page. Whatever you use, ensure you have the necessary
approval from your organization, and understand how it works. Organize
your paperwork to reflect the order of the appraisal and write down the
 sequence of items to be covered. If the appraisal form includes a self
assessment section and/or feedback section (good ones do) ensure this is
passed to the appraisee suitably in advance of the appraisal with relevant
guidance for completion. A sample performance appraisal template is
available free below, which you can adapt and use to create your own form.
Part of your preparation should also consider 'whole-person' development -
beyond and outside of the job skill-set - as might inspire and appeal to the
appraisees. Many people are not particularly interested in job skills training,
but will be very interested, stimulated and motivated by other learning and
development experiences. Get to know what your people are good at outside
of their work. People's natural talents and passions often contain significant
overlaps with the attributes, behaviours and maturity that are required and
valued in the workplace. Use your imagination in identifying these
opportunities to encourage 'whole-person' development and you will find
appraisals can become very positive and enjoyable activities. Appraisals are
not just about job performance and job skills training. Appraisals should
focus on helping the 'whole person' to grow and attain fulfilment.
 Inform - inform the appraisee - ensure the appraisee is informed of a
suitable time and place (change it if necessary), and clarify purpose and type
of appraisal - give the appraisee the chance to assemble data and relevant
performance and achievement records and materials. If the appraisal form
does not imply a natural order for the discussion then provide an agenda of
items to be covered.
 Venue - ensure a suitable venue is planned and available - private and free
from interruptions - observe the same rules as with recruitment interviewing
- avoid hotel lobbies, public lounges, canteens - privacy is absolutely
essential (it follows also that planes, trains and automobiles are entirely
unsuitable venues for performance appraisals......)
 Layout - room layout and and seating are important elements to prepare
also - don't simply accept whatever layout happens to exist in a borrowed or
hired room - layout has a huge influence on atmosphere and mood -
irrespective of content, the atmosphere and mood must be relaxed and
informal - remove barriers - don't sit in the boss's chair with the other person
positioned humbly on the other side of the desk; you must create a relaxed
situation, preferably at a meeting table or in easy chairs - sit at an angle to
each other, 90 degrees ideally - avoid face to face, it's confrontational.
 Introduction - relax the appraisee - open with a positive statement, smile,
be warm and friendly - the appraisee may well be terrified; it's your
responsibility to create a calm and non-threatening atmosphere. Set the
scene - simply explain what will happen - encourage a discussion and as
much input as possible from the appraisee - tell them it's their meeting not
yours. Confirm the timings, especially finishing time. If helpful and
appropriate begin with some general discussion about how things have been
going, but avoid getting into specifics, which are covered next (and you can
 say so). Ask if there are any additional points to cover and note them down
so as to include them when appropriate.
 Review and measure - review the activities, tasks, objectives and
achievements one by one, keeping to distinct separate items one by one -
avoid going off on tangents or vague unspecific views. If you've done your
preparation correctly you will have an order to follow. If something off-
subject comes up then note it down and say you'll return to it later (and
ensure you do). Concentrate on hard facts and figures, solid evidence - avoid
conjecture, anecdotal or non-specific opinions, especially about the
appraisee. Being objective is one of the greatest challenges for the appraiser
- as with interviewing, resist judging the appraisee in your own image,
according to your own style and approach - facts and figures are the acid test
and provide a good neutral basis for the discussion, free of bias and personal
views. For each item agree a measure of competence or achievement as
relevant, and according to whatever measure or scoring system is built into
the appraisal system. This might be simply a yes or no, or it might be a
percentage or a mark out of ten, or an A, B, C. Reliable review and
measurement requires reliable data - if you don't have the reliable data you
can't review and you might as well re-arrange the appraisal meeting. If a
point of dispute arises, you must get the facts straightened out before
making an important decision or judgement, and if necessary defer to a later
date.
 Agree an action plan - An overall plan should be agreed with the appraisee,
which should take account of the job responsibilities, the appraisee's career
aspirations, the departmental and whole organization's priorities, and the
reviewed strengths and weaknesses. The plan can be staged if necessary
with short, medium and long term aspects, but importantly it must be agreed
and realistic.
 Agree specific objectives - These are the specific actions and targets that
together form the action plan. As with any delegated task or agreed
objective these must adhere to the SMARTER rules - specific, measurable,
agreed, realistic, time-bound, enjoyable, recorded. If not, don't bother. The
objectives can be anything that will benefit the individual, and that the
person is happy to commit to. When helping people to develop, you are not
restricted to job-related objectives, although typically most objectives will
be.
 Agree necessary support - This is the support required for the appraisee to
achieve the objectives, and can include training of various sorts (external
courses and seminars, internal courses, coaching, mentoring, secondment,
shadowing, distance-learning, reading, watching videos, attending meetings
and workshops, workbooks, manuals and guides; anything relevant and
helpful that will help the person develop towards the standard and agreed
task. Also consider training and development that relates to 'whole-
person development' outside of job skills. This might be a hobby or a
 talent that the person wants to develop. Developing the whole person in
this way will bring benefits to their role, and will increase motivation
and loyalty. The best employers understand the value of helping the
whole person to develop. Be careful to avoid committing to training
expenditure before suitable approval, permission or availability has been
confirmed - if necessary discuss likely training requirements with the
relevant authority before the appraisal to check. Raising false hopes is not
helpful to the process.
 Invite any other points or questions - make sure you capture any other
concerns.
 Close positively - Thank the appraisee for their contribution to the meeting
and their effort through the year, and commit to helping in any way you can.
 Record main points, agreed actions and follow-up - Swiftly follow-up the
meeting with all necessary copies and confirmations, and ensure documents
are filed and copied to relevant departments, (HR, and your own line
manager typically).

performance appraisal form template guide and process

This performance appraisal template and process guide has been created to support
the downloadable appraisal forms available from this page, but the process and the
forms can be adapted to suit your own situation.

Here is a free performance appraisal form in pdf format, and here is the
same performance appraisal form in MSWord format. Both versions of the
appraisal form were revised August 2006. These free forms are based on the
template and process below, which also act as instructions and guidelines for the
form.

The structure is formal but the process and content does not have to be constrained
by work and job issues. Always be looking for opportunities to help the person
develop beyond their formal work responsibilities. Not everyone is interested in
promotion, and lots of people find job-skills training less than riveting, but nearly
everyone has something in them that they want to pursue and develop. When
appraising someone if you can tap into these desires and help the other person to
achieve their own personal aims, then everyone wins. If the connection with work
don't seem obvious at first, the benefits from personal growth generally produce
dramatic and positive benefits for employers and work performance.

Obviously a certain amount of work-related training is necessary for good work

performance and advancement, but the biggest advantages accrue to the employing
organisation when people grow as people, outside of their job skills sets. In fact
most of the really important attributes for work are distinctly outside of the typical
job skills: factors relating to emotional maturity, self-esteem, relationships, self-
awareness, understanding others, commitment, enthusiasm, resoluteness, etc., are
typically developed far more effectively in people when they follow their own
paths and fulfil their own natural desires, rather than on endless (and for many
people somewhat meaningless) job-skills courses.

So be imaginative and creative. Use the template and process as a structure for the
appraisal process, but don't constrain the areas of personal development to those
only related to the job and work standards and organisational objectives. Be led by
the people about what they love and enjoy, and what they want to develop and
experience in their lives. And then look for ways to help them achieve these things.
This is the true way to develop people.

performance appraisal form template/sample

Remember this is just a structure for the process - the content and the direction of
personal development is as flexible as your organisation allows, or can be
persuaded to allow. Use your imagination to develop people in the way they want
to go, not just the way the organisation thinks it needs people to be.

A free sample appraisal document in this format is available from this site in
MSWord or pdf (acrobat) versions:

performance appraisal form (pdf) sample/template - downloadable pdf (revised

August 2006)

performance appraisal form (MSWord) sample/template - downloadable MSWord

file (revised August 2006)

Obviously the first part of a formal document like this needs to contain essential
identifying data:

 organization, division and department

 year or period covered
 name
 position
 location/site/based at/contact details (e.g., email)
 months in present position
 length of service

N.B. It is unlawful (UK and generally in Europe too) to discriminate against

anyone on the grounds of age. As such, while not unlawful, the inclusion of age
and date-of-birth sections on appraisal forms is not recommended (along with all
other documentation used in assessing people). See the Age Diversity information
for more details.

Part A (to be completed by the appraisee before the interview and sent to the
appraiser x days before the appraisal)

A1 State your understanding of your duties and responsibilities.

A2 Discussion points: (not exhaustive or definitive - for more ideas look at

the interviews questions)

1. Has the past year been good/bad/satisfactory or otherwise for you, and why?
2. What do you consider to be your most important achievements of the past
year?
3. What do you like and dislike about working for this organization?
4. What elements of your job do you find most difficult?
5. What elements of your job interest you the most, and least?
6. What do you consider to be your most important tasks in the next year?
7. What action could be taken to improve your performance in your current
position by you, and your boss?
8. What kind of work or job would you like to be doing in one/two/five years
time?
9. What sort of training/experience would benefit you in the next
year? Broaden this question to include 'whole-person development'
beyond job skills - for example: What do you have a personal passion
for that we might help you to pursue? (It's a fact that when person
develops interests, talents and experiences that they truly love and enjoy -
even if the area seems completely unrelated to work - then the person
becomes more valuable, mature, and motivated at work too, because they
have grown as a person. Within reason, employers can and should help
people to develop in any way they wish, and often even the most
unconnected development or experiences hold much valuable learning that
are directly transferable and usable at work - all it takes is a bit of
imagination.)

A3 List the objectives you set out to achieve in the past 12 months (or the period
covered by this appraisal) with the measures or standards agreed - against each
comment on achievement or otherwise, with reasons where appropriate. Score the
performance against each objective (1-3 = poor, 4-6 = satisfactory, 7-9 = good, 10
= excellent):

A4 Score your own capability or knowledge in the following areas in terms of your
current role requirements (1-3 = poor, 4-6 = satisfactory, 7-9 = good, 10 =
excellent). If appropriate bring evidence with you to the appraisal to support your
assessment. (This list is not exhaustive or definitive - the list should reflect the
requirements of the job and the career path.) See the skills and behaviours
assessment tools for other aspects to include in this list. Other roles in other
industries, for example technical, engineering, healthcare, legal, finance, leisure,
transport, construction, etc, will require different skill sets. These are examples of a
typical commercial or management skill set.

1. commercial judgement
2. product/technical knowledge
3. time management
4. planning, budgeting and forecasting
5. reporting and administration
6. communication skills
7. delegation skills
8. IT/equipment/machinery skills
9. meeting expectations, deadlines and commitments
10.creativity
11.problem-solving and decision-making
12.team-working and developing/helping others
13.energy, determination and work-rate
14.steadiness under pressure
15.leadership and integrity
16.adaptability, flexibility, and mobility
17.personal appearance and image
18.appreciation and application of social responsibility, sustainability, and
ethical considerations

A5 In light of your current capabilities, your performance against past objectives,

and your future personal growth and/or job aspirations, what activities and tasks
would you like to focus on during the next year. Include in this any 'whole-person
non-work-related development that the person feels would help them to grow and
become more fulfilled as a person.