How can you make your performance appraisals fair and meaningful?

Our odds of success increase ?????? when we set effective goals ?? Smart goals are effective But they're not the only solution. Mixing techniques maximizes the likelihood of success! 6 goal setting techniques: ?? Smart - to set performance goals ?? Raw - to boost team or personal motivation ?? Woop - to facilitate behavioural change ?? Hard - to promote long-term vision ?? Mmm - to nurture growth ?? Pact - to start small and gradually move to a big goal #TheGoodBusy

Achieving fairness in the appraisal process isn't a one-off event; it's a journey that relies on what I call the "3 Cs" - Collaboration, Communication, and Clarity. These 3 elements need to be woven throughout the entire process to ensure fairness. Goal setting marks the beginning of the appraisal cycle. The key is to have clear objectives, defined with input from both employees and managers. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership and makes the process more meaningful. Communication tools like Regular check-ins, documented feedback, and 1-1 meetings are invaluable for keeping everyone on the same page throughout the review cycle. This way, there are no surprises/shock factors during the appraisal itself.

I agree, moreso line managers should be trained on how to give an unbiased appraisal to their team. Performance appraisal is not to be used as a punitive measure rather it should be used to identify where needs improvement, used as a feedback mechanism, identify training needs, and identify high performers to reward accordingly.

I’ve found it really helpful to collaborate with employee on this so input is from them as well as line manager. People generally dislike it when things are being done to them. Get buy in by creating goals together and showing how this links back to the bigger picture of the organisation and their personal / professional goals.

In my personal experience clarity really does matter but most aren’t even a little close to “clear”. So, that will take some practice & testing. Keep going one step deeper until it’s so precise as to what’s expected, by when, by who, to what degree, deeper, deeper. That aside, goals & targets need to mean something to that person. They need to get why it matters. If you can’t articulate that beyond “it’s your job” then you need to go back to the drawing board. Because even cleaning toilets has a bigger “why” than just a clean toilet. WHY does a clean toilet matter? To who? What does it give someone by having a clean toilet? What happens if we don’t achieve the clean toilet? What does it cost us? And so on. Every job needs to matters.

It's not talked about enough. But organizational network analysis (ONA) is an ideal way to do this. Why? Because: 1. We work in networks, not hierarchies. Employees have dozens of touch points every day. 2. Work is more collaborative and cross-functional than ever. Asking 2-3 people for cherry-picked peer reviews doesn't cut it. 3. Managers need more visibility. Work happens in DMs over Slack and Teams, and in video calls over Zoom. Asking the team or even an entire division questions like "who do you go to for help and advice?" or "who do you see making an outstanding impact, and why?" will reveal information that manager reviews and 360s simply can't.

Formal tools like 360-degree feedback surveys can be misleading. > fear of it not being anonymous > lacking context > it's a task Take opportunity to invite peers/teams for a coffee and genuinely ask for feedback. Explain the reason you're asking so they can help you learn. Give context to your feedback. If you don't package it it will go in all directions. Another one I like is to ask the team for feedback whenever you give them feedback. Take the opportunity and ask the question. #TheGoodBusy

Ensure that the feedback tells a consistent story, don’t mark someone down because of an isolated, badly timed piece of feedback. If your team member has bothered to get feedback don’t ignore it.

In my experience, clear goals help us and our team track progress, measure results, and identify areas for improvement. The purposes for each Team member would align with your company’s vision, mission, values, strategy, and the employee’s role, responsibilities, and career aspirations. Extra tip: align the strength character forces of each one and improve the positive environment and results.

To make performance appraisal effective, it is essential that organisation encourage managers to give constructive feedback to employees. Constructive feedback will act as prime mover for creating avenues for employee development.

In most organisations, performance management systems and appraisals are designed towards the annual merit increase/ hike process. This view often eliminates the scope for developmental actions which flow as a direct outcome of the goal setting, goal attainment, gaps and feedback loop. If these developmental needs are captured and addressed, this can create tangible business impact in subsequent quarters.

Focusing on development and growth when conducting performance appraisals can help us to motivate our employees to perform better and achieve more. We should assess our employees' past performance and plan for their future potential. Helping people recognize their career aspirations and offering diverse avenues for growth and education is fundamental. Equally important is providing them with the necessary tools, resources, and guidance to manage their advancement.

For enhancing effectiveness of performance feedback, strength based feedback plays a vital role. Focusing on strength rather than on weaknesses creates positive impact on gaining employees' acceptance and buy-in for their development and performance improvement.

I fully recommend contracting with each team member on what conditions would get the best from them in all things not just performance. This gives both EE to be clear on what to expect, what support and challenge needs to look like etc. Agree to frequent quality conversations and what frequency works best. As their manager I expect them to own their performance. The point here is they are in control of that. Focus on a strengths based approach. Although uncomfortable at first, I say, I will ask them to self review their performance throughout, this includes 121s. This is key to moving from done to feelings to I own and drive my own performance. As the manager you create the conditions for people to feel safe and thrive.

We should be aware of the different cultures and contexts that our employees work in. We should respect and appreciate the diversity of our workforce and adapt our performance appraisal process accordingly. Also, consider the contextual factors that may affect our employee’s performance, such as market conditions, regulations, competitors, customers, etc.,

A thousand times, this. ?? To encourage your employees to see the value, share the potential impact of their self-evaluations. Furthermore, ensure they understand what is included and why. The why behind the task will support their understanding and motivation. Ultimately, increasing the potential to receive all employees’ evaluations within the timeframe and making it a lighter lift on the manager and supervisors that utlize these insights to make decisions and give tailored feedback.

This is one major moment to show your people how dedicated you are to their success. ?? Give them their own assessment: Where did they feel they truly succeeded? How do they feel about this review period? Give them enough opportunity in the assessment to fully recant their time and contribute to their experience and career. ?? Give them the safety net to review their manager: In black and white encourage them to speak up about their manager(s) and separately work with managers on accepting negative, constructive feedback. ?? Do a check-in after the review: Not every Mgr-EE relationship is solid, so many performance reviews may have the employee feeling unheard. Give them the opportunity to speak to someone else about their performance!

- One thing I’ve found helpful is periodic performance review. Set a monthly/quarterly/ Semi-annual target and evaluate the performance on the set benchmarks. Give constant feedback to employee for them to analyze their strength and improvement areas! With constant feedback a huge improvement can be observed which bridges the gap between what is expected and what is delivered!

I strongly believe that feedback against goals should be an ongoing occurrence, never saved for a month, quarterly or annual proceed. Two way feedback in the moment is so much more impactful.

Ensure the assessment is holistic. I have seen people receive poor appraisals based on one mistake they made; the rest of their work was negated, and it was so frustrating to see. Not only was it unfair, but it essentially sent the message that failure is unacceptable, so don't take any risks. Also, consider where the person wants to go next. Which skills should they really hone to get to their next role? What metrics can showcase those skills?

In large organisations the performance appraisal processes are well structured with opportunities to appeal, escalate and more. In SMB and promoter driven organisations, biases unfortunately often creep up- decisions and rewards are discretionary, which create employee dissatisfaction also leading to attrition.

It’s very much about the conversation and not just a tick box exercise. This is one of the most challenging messages to get across.

I think there is an alternative approach to 'Performance Management' and for the last 15 years I have focussed on Structure/Clarity/Support. 1. Structure: Are the right people in the right setup to do the job effectively. That can be their place in the team structure or the structure of their role? 2. Clarity: Does the individual know what is expected of them, what good looks like and how they will know if they're doing a good job? 3. Support: If they are setup effectively and know what is expected of them, then you are there to support them, remove blockers and provide stretch. A simplistic view for the space available but this simplifies appraisals as you circle back round the steps, with more focus on what you have done as a leader.

From my experience Performance Apprasial system doesn't work if: ? It is not clearly? and fairly linked to reward/motivation system ? If the Company is mostly process-driven vs goal-driven ? If corporate culture is immature and heavily depends on managerial discretion So answering the question in the headline: ? Build up clear efficient motivation system ? Build up and nurture goal-driven culture in the company ? Instill culture of collaboration in the company, train and develop line managers