Interesting & Effective approach of dealing with Appraisals.

Dear All,

As I always maintain, one of the most critical & important functions of a good HR Professional is Performance Management. With the season of Performance appraisals coming closer with the advent of the Financial year end, I thought of sharing a mindset/approach towards effectively executing the same. There is a lot of content available on the web for you to refer, but I thought of putting it in a way that is simple, effective & that which makes Sense.

Please note that I have taken reference from a lot of articles I read recently while adding my experience to it.

Q. How do I write/create the perfect appraisal form /process ?

Ans: The appraisal process is the most critical process among the various processes carried out by an HR Professional. The key to creating a Perfect appraisal form is to have a realistic mindset & good pre & follow up documentation.

It begins with good planning, goal setting with your line managers, departmental heads and agreeing on what the expectations are and how you are going to measure them. It is mandatory for a good HR professional to have a clear understanding of the organizational goals set last year, their outcomes and the current goals. One of the most productive approaches to use to help write/create an effective Appraisal Form is using the "SMART" principle:

• S - Specific (Parameters to be rated upon)
• M - Measurable (Clear differentiation between Tangible & Intangible Parameters)
• A - Achievable/Attainable (Goals & Targets)
• R - Results oriented/Realistic/Relevant ( Future steps to meet the set Goals & Targets)
• T - Time bound (Clear deadlines & timelines for achieving the set goals)

The inclusion of the above criteria results in a goal that is understandable and easily visualized and evaluated. An unachieveable goal is just that, it is unrealistic & finally unachieveable. An employee knows when he/she does not stand a chance of reaching it and their effort to achieve the goal will be affected. At the same time, it does not at ALL mean that we set low goals/targets. That is the fine-line to be tread by the Managers in consultation with HR team & Top Management based on previous year's outcomes and future organizational goals.

Remember that the Appraisal form is not just any tool, but the final outcome of the entire appraisal process, would/could be based on the output reflected by THIS FORM ENTIRELY, THE RATINGS! A small mistake while making the form could impact the next year's salary of some employee/s, which could have a negative snowballing effect yielding unwanted outcomes like attrition, a feeling of dissent & disappointment, re-hiring & re-training (which are a huge cost) and most importantly, PRODUCTIVITY TIME LOST BY THE ORGANIZATION.

So keep it simple, straight and measurable! Something we do at SenseHR on a daily basis.