Six Stages of Appraisal and Feedback

Significant changes in how business leaders work with feedback and development have occurred during the past few years. More and more of the organisations we work with have begun to recognise the connection between clear, relevant feedback, employee development, and the subsequent improvement of business results.

Being transparent and open in giving and receiving feedback, with the aim to set clear expectations and support employees’ development processes, is an important element in creating psychological safety. In return, an organisation that is able to establish a culture with psychological safety will experience a faster development process and higher levels of motivation.

In the past, annual appraisals, where employees received a performance review from management, were rarely likely to happen more than once a year. Luckily, that trend has changed. Today’s agile organisations fully understand that true development and constructive feedback are vital to short-term and long-term excellence. We have seen a clear movement towards monthly or even biweekly appraisal/feedback sessions that utilise annual surveys and more frequent shorter surveys to target the key elements of the company strategy.

This in combination with regular micro-feedback loops establishes a culture of continuous development clearly linked to the ambitions of the organisation. If people grow the business will grow.

A Football Analogy: What League Do You Want to Play In?

Consider a parallel between a football team and a business team. What would happen if top-level football teams stopped receiving continual feedback and only received feedback once a year? What would their rate of progress be? Imagine if football players only received a yearly appraisal and then played for a whole year before receiving feedback again.

Continuous feedback given before, during, and after the game, as well as during training sessions, is a well-established process for developing individuals and teams. What if you invested the time and effort into providing employees and colleagues with feedback in the same way top-level football coaches do?

The Six Stages of Appraisal and Feedback

Here is a summary of some of our observations split into six stages of ambition levels regarding the connection between feedback, appraisal, and company success. Companies that have made this connection invest more time and effort into individual employees’ development and have shifted the feedback task from HR to all company leaders. Integrating the feedback process into daily operations has, in all cases, led to improved business results.

Stage One: Minimal Feedback

• Limited feedback.
• Issues addressed only when problems arise.
• Irregular employee surveys with minimal follow-up.

Stage Two: Annual Appraisals

• Feedback limited to yearly appraisals.
• Appraisals seen as a “box to tick” rather than a development tool.
• Annual surveys with low participation and little connection to performance.

Stage Three: Useful Annual Appraisals

• Yearly appraisals supporting the development process.
• Ad hoc feedback focusing on reinforcing and corrective actions.
• Surveys lead to some follow-up activities.

Stage Four: Quarterly Follow-Ups

• Yearly appraisals seen as valuable.
• Quarterly follow-ups to support development.
• Good survey participation with clear connections to strategy and activities.

Stage Five: Monthly Feedback

• Appraisals align people with company strategy.
• Monthly feedback sessions for encouragement and corrective actions.
• Leaders receive more feedback through 360 tools, fostering alignment with strategy and culture.
• Feedback is seen as “feed-forward.”

Stage Six: Continuous Feedback and Development

• Feedback is essential for motivation and growth.
• Reinforcing and corrective feedback is natural.
• Continuous leadership and employee development activities.
• Employee surveys, pulse tools, and 360-degree tools are integral to the strategy.

Summary and Benefits

The benefits of being at stage five or six are immense for both individuals and the organization:

• Higher psychological safety.
• Increased motivation and engagement.
• Stronger commitment to company targets and higher productivity.
• Enhanced creativity and problem-solving capacity.
• Stronger employer brand attracting more talent.
• More high-performance teams.
• Lower stress levels, reducing sick leave.

Reflection and Next Steps

We hope this article serves as a catalyst for you to start reflecting on where you are and what could be the next step for you and your organization. Consider these questions:

• Where are you today with your organization?
• What would be a desired next step for you?
• What do you see as a possible outcome?
• What could be the first step to take from here?

By understanding and implementing these stages, you can drive significant improvements in both individual and organizational performance.