The people skills behind the appraisal process
| Published date | 12 August 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390980000973 |
| Pages | 4-4 |
| Date | 12 August 2007 |
| Author | Terry Gillen |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
4Volume 6 Issue 4 May/June 2007
METRICS
,
The latest ideas on how to approach
measurement and evaluation of HR activities
The people skills behind the
appraisal process
T
he quality of organizational
performance measurement is
dependant on the quality of
performance discussions and actions
between managers and staff. HR and
training professionals contribute by
giving managers good performance-
appraisal processes. However, argues
training specialist Terry Gillen,
irrespective of how good those
processes are, their effectiveness is often
restricted by two facts: managers’
enthusiasm for appraisal rarely matches
that of HR and, despite some training,
managers are usually more skilled at the
technicalities of their function than at
working with staff to manage and
develop their performance. He
recommends a focus on the people skills
that will back up the appraisal process.
The skills managers need
The performance-management skills
managers need are based on a simple
premise – the “people” part of a
manager’s job is to connect staff’s
motivation and behavior to the results
the organization needs to achieve.
There are five steps to achieving this:
1. Establishing a clear understanding
of expected behavior and
performance levels. Most managers
want better performance from their
staff, but they don’t know how to
explain to staff what they mean by
“better performance.” Left to their own
imaginations, staff interpret “better
performance” as “working harder” and
understandably resist. Clarifying
performance expectations involves
much more than job descriptions,
corporate-produced broad-brush
competencies and the use (or often
misuse) of SMART objectives. It involves
managers being very clear in their own
minds exactly what differentiates
acceptable, better than acceptable and
less than acceptable performance and
communicating that clarity to staff in a
way that enthuses them.
2. Monitoring and assessing
performance. Monitoring can be formal
or informal and done by managers,
staff themselves or even third parties,
but above all, it needs to be timely, easy
to do, accurate and accepted by staff.
When monitoring is done badly, it
demotivates staff. Where it is done
well, it becomes a catalytic part of the
performance-management process.
3. Giving staff the best quality
feedback possible.Feedback comes in
two broad categories: observations
about what areas met or exceeded
expectations, and information about
what fell short of expectations. Both
categories, delivered at the right time
and in the right way, are essential for
performance development, but too
many managers are unskilled at giving
feedback and helping staff learn from
it. Consequently, providing feedback
becomes an uncomfortable process that
people subconsciously avoid. When
managers are skilled at giving feedback,
however (and this involves much more
than the outdated “praise sandwich”),
not only does it have a beneficial effect
on performance, but the process of
giving feedback becomes a relationship-
building activity.
4. Correcting performance shortfalls.
Sooner or later, most managers
encounter a staff member whose
performance or behavior is below par.
Handling such situations positively is a
crucial performance-management skill
because how a manager handles an
under-performer can have a huge effect
on the performance of the staff
member, the motivation of the rest of
the team and the manager’s credibility.
5. Building on performance successes
and developing people to their full
potential. Good people-managers
develop their staff to contribute better
within their current role and, where
appropriate, to tackle more challenging
roles. They tend to do this not by over-
reliance on courses but by capitalizing
on the learning potential that comes
from work itself, by coaching and by
making development a continuous
theme throughout the performance-
management process.
These skills are vital to both formal
appraisal processes and to effective
management generally.
Source:Terry Gillen (2007),
Performance Management and Appraisal,
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development,
http://www.cipd.co.uk
© Melcrum publishing 2007.For more information visit our website www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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