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Developing New Appraisal Forms
There are numerous appraisal form templates available on the internet which can be downloaded free of charge. That’s great, but be careful. Yes, have a good look through some of these appraisal templates to get a feel for the type of appraisal forms companies are using. But don’t fall into the trap of using an appraisal form that just doesn’t suit your needs and employees. Ideally your appraisal forms should be tailored to suit your requirements and the culture of your business.
The key question to ask when developing an appraisal form is; what do you want to achieve from it? One way to clarify this is to involve your employees at the outset. For example, you could ask them which of the following criteria might suit them best?
> An appraisal form which enables you to appropriately describe and evaluate both what the appraisee accomplished and how he/she went about doing their job.
> An appraisal form which is simply a checklist with boxes to tick to assess competencies required in the role.
> A free flowing discussional document without a great deal of structure.
> An entirely results-focused appraisal form linked to goal achievement and competency assessment.
You’ll probably get a range of preferences across your company. The reality is, you can’t please everyone so the answer may well be to develop an appraisal form which contains a mixture of all the above. Whichever route you choose to take, the appraisal form should be simple, appealing and easy to use, yet it should also be a document which contains all the performance appraisal information your company requires for each of its employees.
> Do the appraisal forms consider both appraisee behaviour and appraisee results/achievement?
> Do the forms include a section for objective setting and assessment?
> Do the forms provide an opportunity for both appraisee and appraiser to record comments?
> What (if any) rating criteria do you plan to include on the appraisal forms?
> Do the appraisal forms include training and development needs for appraisees?
> Have you factored in behavioural competencies so that appraisees can be assessed using relevant criteria?
> Is there a section to record a summary of performance on the appraisal forms?
> Do the appraisal forms have a sign off facility?
Completing the appraisal forms mustn’t be an onerous exercise, otherwise employees will just get bored with it. This is completely counter-productive and may even demotivate your workforce. Employees need to feel that the appraisal process is a worthwhile exercise supported by user friendly and focused appraisal forms. If the appraisal forms are online, access to the appraisal system must be simple, efficient and confidential.
It’s essential that appraisers, and ideally appraisees too, are trained in the use of the appraisal forms. Even if the forms are simple, employees need to know how they should be administered and the timeframe for completion. For example, at the preparation stage, should the appraisee be using the same appraisal forms as the appraiser to prepare? Or should you have a separate pre-appraisal form for appraisees which, when completed, is given to the appraiser to help with their preparation for the appraisal meeting?
Some companies prefer to use the same appraisal forms for appraisee and appraiser. This also makes it possible for appraisees to carry out their own self-assessment. If a rating criteria is incorporated, appraisees can even score themselves so that the appraisers gets a feel for how they themselves perceive their performance to have been.
The annual performance appraisal meeting should be an opportunity to consolidate information about an employee’s performance throughout the year. The appraisal forms should capture the full period, not just the most recent weeks/months. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that the appraisal meeting is seen to be just one element of the performance management cycle. Ideally, the appraisal forms should be accessible whenever necessary so that both appraisee and appraiser can record comments on a rolling basis. This helps to ensure that events which occurred at the beginning of the year are not forgotten.
