Oct
31
Looking at performance appraisal from both sides
Filed Under Personal development, Human Resource Management ( HRM)
I attended a very interesting breakfast seminar this morning on the topic of appraisal and performance management hosted by Edinburgh law firm Shepherd & Wedderburn. A bunch of HR practitioners came together to learn more and as this is the third in a series I guess that says that it is a tricky area to manage in many organisations.
After a sketch showing how not to underake an appraisal meeting we discussed how things are done in our own organisations ( well at Cameron Consulting it is me and my husband - but for the purpose of today I was thinking about school staff)
I was taking the view from both sides. The presenter was an employment lawyer so there was of course a thread of legal ramifications of bad practice running through it but what he said was a lot wider.
He got me thinking about my own experiences mixed up with some of those shared with my by others
Like
- the line manager who says that they don’t see the point - you are doing fine
- or who score everything as “good” because it is easier than making an accurate assessment of performance which would lead to having to give feedback on specific examples ( or takes less time?)
- or cancels the meeting at the last minute because something more important has come up
- or looks at their watch at the start and says that they don’t have long let’s just whizz through this
- or takes the opportunity to bring up an issue that should have been addressed when it happened and now assumes a whole new level of importance or apparent relevance
- or who makes assumptions about what you want - and does not check those with you
- or who does 90% of the talking at the meeting
- or who introduces goals/targets/objectives which are not clear but does not have time ( or the desire) to explain them
I could go on ( what do you mean I just did!)
The outcome of today’s session and discussions was agreement that there is no one best way do appraisals. (I really don’t like that word.) I agree and I think that if they are viewed as feedback and planning sessions they can take on a new and more attractive perspective.
We got to talking about training managers in appraisal skills. Of course it should go without saying that anyone tasked with such an important part of the employer/employee relationship should know what they should do. I wonder how often anyone discusses how they should be though. Some managers should probably not be given the responsibility - others are naturals. I realise that this might be seen as allowing some to “opt out” of an important aspect of their role but the impact on an employee should be considered. I have been appraiser for team members for whom I was not line manager. (because they had more than one to report to ). I heard stories of line managers who are given clear instruction on what to do ( and probably more important - what not to do) and they still go ahead and do their own thing anyway. I wonder if buddying someone like that in the meeting might work so that they too can get feedback and hopefully see a different way?
It is a hobby horse for me, I admit. That is because all too often I have had conversations with people who believe that their employers don’t care, have let them down or have ulterior motives. I feel sure some of them will end up in court one day( not at my instigation you understand - usually when we work together new ways of how to approach things are uncovered).
The speaker said that there is an implied term in every employment contract relating to a relationship of “trust and confidence”. Employees often take employers to court when they consider that they have behaved in a way that is “likely” to destroy that relationship. That should put a fresh complexion on how line managers work with their employees in the appraisal process.
For more information and contact details for Shepherd & Wedderburn take a look at their website. www.shepwedd.co.uk
