For many, the dreaded appraisal process is simply a meaningless, superficial, box ticking exercise. This is such a shame, as when used effectively, it is a massive opportunity to re-affirm your clarity of purpose, inspire and empower your people.

CLARITY OF PURPOSE

  • As with all aspects of leadership, the appraisal is personal and starts with you.
  • Sadly many individuals are not focused on why they are here or indeed whether they are the right fit because leaders haven’t established and articulated clarity of purpose, i.e., whats the ultimate goal?

TRUST is vital to a successful appraisal …

  • Trust allows you to have an honest conversation and the appraisee to respect your opinions
  • Trust gives you confidence to convey difficult messages and ensure no surprises
  • Accessibility enables your people to trust you and you to really know and understand them.
  • Trust enables you to grow a team around you

FOCUS ON THE OUTCOME … How do you want the appraisee to feel when they leave the room?

  • Your appraisee will, without doubt, forget some of what you say, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.
  • They will accept constructive feedback much more effectively if they also feel like their value is recognised and appreciated.

THE GOLDEN THREAD

Your conversation needs to be about the value (not forgetting the value of difference) your appraisee brings to achievement of overall business goals and how you can help them to maximise their value going forward:

  • Instead of ticking boxes on a scale of 1-5 on how well an appraisee is carrying out the tasks outlined in their job description, you will get much more value from aligning your appraisal process to your business strategy.
  • Each and every member of your team should be able to see clearly how their personal goals align with your business purpose and each of your strategic objectives.
  • Equally, they should be able to see and understand how they contribute and the value of their contribution to the outcomes you are striving to achieve.

360 feedback focused on who you are rather than what you do …

Some great qualitative questions asked of a handful (6) of people inside and outside the business help to create a more rounded story:

  • How do I make you feel?
  • What are my key atributes?
  • What could I do differently?

If you would like to discuss further with me, how to make this work effectively, please email me at:bev.lockwood@unlockedltd.com or give me a call at 07747 456351.