This one-day appraisal course will teach delegates how to raise the motivation of employees and improve performance through setting objectives; giving effective feedback and praise. Our performance management course also provides tips and techniques for managing conflict in appraisals as well as showing delegates how to write effective performance reviews quickly, easily and effectively. Delegates who have taken our appraisal courses have gone on to see a dramatic increase in staff performance through applying the strategies they have learnt in the art of ‘appraising employees successfully’.
ASSESSING THE CANDIDATE
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
For the appraisal to be beneficial the manager should be in a position where they can assess accurately the employee’s performance. This is often the hardest part of planning and conducting an appraisal, i.e. what performance criteria should be used? These should be chosen carefully, especially for situations where performance is not easily quantifiable. A good example of this is management. There is little point in setting objectives that aren’t measurable in terms of actual performance. For some jobs, quantifiable assessment is easy, for others it is more difficult. For any assessment of performance the criteria chosen should be rational, allow systematic measurement, and remain stable during the period of assessment. Stability enables the organisation to monitor individual and organisational trends. Possible criteria include:
- direct financial indices, such as sales volume or profit
- direct quantitative measures, such as units of production or number of customers
- ratios, such as errors per l00 transactions or sales per 100 contacts
- time factors, such as time it takes to complete a task, or ability to meet deadlines
- judgemental scales, such as supervisor ratings or peer ratings
- open-ended questions
- descriptive opinion
These can be categorised into quantitative (usually defined as data that can be measured e.g. numbers produced, performance over time etc) or qualitative (usually defined as less measurable e.g. behaviour, attitude etc) criteria (becoming less quantitative as one reads down the list). Quantitative data is usually easier to obtain and analyse, but care still needs to be taken to ensure extraneous factors have been accounted for. For instance, if the criterion is ‘sales volume’ then account should be taken of size of sales territory, number of potential customers, number of actual customers, time spent in the field, experience, and any other factors that might have a bearing on the criterion.
Qualitative data may appear to be more vague and subjective, but in the end can offer much richer sources of information, as long as collected with care, or as long as the right questions are asked. It is often useful to use quantitative data as a starting point, and to expand on these with qualitative data. Appropriate interpretation of qualitative data is also critical. Such interpretations may be inevitably subjective, but should not be unfairly biased.
Examples of qualitative criteria could include many factors. To make it easier for both the appraiser to appraise and for the appraisee to understand how he/she is being assessed, criteria should be set and discussed regularly during the year. These could include:
- Team Working – role within existing team: experience of working with others as a team member.
- Relevant Experience – business focus, knowledge of client’s business sector
- Organisation Skills – management of time to achieve key priorities and fulfil assignments.
- Interpersonal Skills – how they relate to others
- Problem solving and decision making
- Communication Skills – written and verbal
- Influencing skills – how they persuade and influence others
When listing personal attributes, restrict yourself to those which are necessary for the job, and do not allow your subjective preferences to get in the way.
PERFORMANCE
- Quality of day-to-day work – measure against critical elements of the job description and skill requirements to that job. Is work accurate and consistent, fit for purpose, timely? Does person follow our company and quality procedures?
- Knowledge of job – has an up-to-date knowledge of job and knows how the role fits into the overall business plan. Knowledge of key objectives and how they relate to this role, importance of client relationships.
- Planning and organisational ability – manages time well, prioritises tasks in line with demands of job, analyses tasks and takes appropriate action.
PERSONAL SKILLS
- Communication skills – listening; pays attention, checks understanding. Speaking – clear and understood by others.
- Team work – is co-operative, helpful, works as part of the team and with other departments, communicates information to others, takes responsibility for own work and workload.
- Adaptability – adjusts to new situations and demands, responds in a crisis, can handle multiple tasks/issues, is flexible.
- Professionalism – represents the company well to colleagues and clients, presents a competent and professional image.
Performance Appraisal Training Courses
When it comes to employee performance appraisals, setting SMART objectives and giving constructive feedback are essential skills for any manager and our appraisal training courses show delegates how to carry out appraisal and performance reviews successfully.
Course Dates
[my_calendar_upcoming before=”0″ after=”12″ type=”event” fallback=”Contact us to request this course” category=”4″ template=”{date}”]Who will benefit from the course?
Our appraisal training seminars enable delegates to understand the processes which will make them more effective and increase their confidence and sense of achievement. Anyone who needs to master the principles and practices of an effective performance review; including senior/junior managers, supervisors, training/hr managers, directors, administrative and technical staff.
What will delegates learn?
- how to structure the interview
- how to build rapport and relax the appraisee
- how to avoid appraisal pitfalls
- how to praise and criticise constructively
- how to pre-empt and handle difficult situations
- how to complete the appraisal form clearly and objectively
- how to ensure great performance is maintained after the appraisal
