Roles in appraisal meetings

The manager’s role in an appraisal meeting is not to talk at the employee. The employee should do at least 50% of the talking (ideally nearer to 70%) and the meeting should be seen as a discussion process. Consider the following:

• Appraisal is a collaborative means of getting from A to B.
• It should be ‘done with’, not ‘done to’ an employee.
• It should be rational not emotional.
• The manager is there to facilitate the process not to dictate.
• The employee is there to clarify what is expected of them and to get help and support in achieving these expectations.
• Questions are more likely to get you to a useful outcome than accusations.
• Difficult issues should be tackled (or they will remain difficult issues), but should focus on outcomes not personality traits.
• If there is a personality clash between the manager who is carrying out an appraisal and the employee who is being appraised, it may make an appraisal meeting difficult. Ideally, any manager should be sufficiently professional to put aside personal issues, but not every employee will be able or willing to respond in the same way. A solution may be to have someone else present, or in some circumstances to have them carry out the appraisal alongside the manager concerned. This would usually be the manager’s immediate superior or, occasionally, the manager’s deputy.

An appraisal should be a positive and productive experience for both parties.