The ideal annual appraisal

There are people who question the purpose of annual appraisals. And there are people and organisations that use the annual appraisal as an instrument despite possible criticism. This article is aimed at the second group, discusses the image, common mistakes in its use, provides tips and identifies opportunities.

Let’s get started!

The difference between the annual and the year-end appraisal?

Is there a difference between the annual and the year-end appraisal? Yes, no, maybe?

Strictly speaking, there is a difference: the year-end meeting takes place at the end of the year. Sounds logical, but on closer inspection it takes place at the end of a company’s financial year. If a financial year ends on 31 July, the year-end meeting cannot take place in December. Well, there are certainly things in companies that don’t really sound logical but are still done. Regardless of this, the annual appraisal takes place once a year, at some point during the year, presumably usually at the beginning of a financial year.

Does it make sense to hold an annual appraisal only once a year? Semantically, certainly, but not in terms of content, as this would mean that the past and current year would be discussed in one meeting. Sounds like a very long discussion and not really ideal.

Could an annual appraisal at the beginning and a year-end appraisal at the end of the financial year make sense? Definitely.

Are annual appraisals and year-end appraisals used synonymously in companies? Yes. Although this is not precise, it is often the case. And that’s why I use the terms interchangeably in this article. “Our” annual appraisal takes place in December.

The image of annual appraisals

When you tell your friends that your annual meeting is coming up – what is the reaction? “Great!”, or rather “Oh, you poor thing!”? Do you get a roll of the eyes, a shrug of the shoulders or a beaming, encouraging smile?

For many employees, the image of annual appraisals is probably more negative than positive. In fact, I fear that no one in your circle of friends will shout “Oh, cool!” at you, regardless of whether your friends have had the pleasure of attending such meetings themselves. Often the very idea of an institutionalised format causes pure rejection. That sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, many organisations earn this judgement because

• they only advertise communication on websites and in company brochures, but don’t really practise it in their day-to-day work and interactions.
• they organise the annual dialogue in such a way that it provides little or no value for employees.
• they see dialogue as a chore and thus negate potential opportunities in advance.

Of course, a negative image does not simply fall from the sky. Organisations often – unconsciously – contribute to this by making key mistakes.

Mistakes in conducting annual appraisals

There are three key mistakes in annual appraisals:

Mistake 1: Unclear discussion content

What is the interview about? Is it about personal performance over the past 12 months or individual development potential? Is it about responsibility, leadership, working methods, communication skills or salary? Is it about mutual feedback or the evaluation of projects and developments? In project management or in the development of products, one likes to speak of clarifying the order. And this is exactly what is often missing: an agreement on topics that will be discussed together. A definition in advance that provides a structure for preparation and subsequent implementation.

Mistake 2: Missing information

What was discussed at the last meeting? Those who do not document findings or results – here both parties are required, whereby mostly the manager looks “bad” if he or she does not remember contents or agreements – will almost certainly forget aspects that are important to the other party. With 12 months between the last and the current annual appraisal, with numerous meetings with employees and what feels like a thousand things going on every day, anything else would be a miracle.

Mistake 3: Monologue instead of dialogue

How can an unpleasant discussion situation be resolved? For example, by one party – usually the manager, but sometimes also the employee – talking endlessly and thus taking time off the clock on the one hand and on the other hand filling the vacuum that both sides do not really have anything important to say to each other. If a manager cannot say anything about an employee’s individual performance, e.g. because he or she has simply not noticed him or her, he or she does not have an eye for individual performance or the number of employees is too large for individual feedback, he or she can try to conceal this by endless monologues about the past business year or general ideas for the future. And suddenly the time for exchange is over, a lot has been said and very little has been said.

In addition to these three key mistakes, there are many small and large slip-ups such as

• clumsy timing (talks take place in the phase with the highest turnover, in the final phase of projects or parallel to important budget planning),
• lack of flexibility in terms of content (instead of addressing “new” topics such as managing employees in the home office, old interview templates or criteria are used for evaluation),
• lack of role model function (how do you think an employee will act in discussions with his or her staff if his or her superior does not give any priority to the exchange with him or her?),
• too many issues.

Especially the last point offers a lot of potential for improvement. What could you do, for example, if there were too many topics for a meeting? Well, maybe there is a small tip for this … 😉

Tips for an ideal exchange

When is an exchange between different parties ideal? When both parties consider it valuable. BOTH parties. If, for example, the annual appraisal only benefits the supervisor because she now understands her employee a little better, but the employee gets the impression that his feedback and suggestions are not taken seriously, then the exchange is NOT ideal.

Some publications recommend dividing the annual appraisal into three parts, as this provides both a structure in terms of content and time:

• Part 1 deals with individual employee performance,
• Part 2 revolves around common goals, and
• Part 3 covers personal development opportunities and individual goals.

In principle, such a structure makes sense; it could even be extended by 2 parts:

• Part 4 covers an evaluation of the supervisor by employees¹ (which of course presupposes that there is an appropriate culture in the company and that feedback does not have negative consequences) and
• Part 5 is an opportunity to talk about “other issues”. Some employees may want to reduce their working hours, others may want to work more often in a home office and third are a fountain of ideas they would like to pitch.

Divide the conversation into five parts, then the talking points of the first four parts should be identical in all conversations between supervisors and employees, and the fifth part should offer space for individual points.

What other tips are there for an ideal exchange?

• A conversation without a set agenda quickly becomes a “chat”. As a supervisor, you should agree on an agenda in advance so that employees know what they can prepare for (3, 4 or 5 parts).
• An agenda is one thing, but a serious exchange with each other is another. From the employee’s point of view, it is very demoralising if the supervisor ends the conversation because the time has “run out”. Supervisors should build in buffers and add 5 or 10 minutes if necessary or arrange a second appointment if needed. For this to work, it makes sense to have a buffer between different appointments, and conversations should not take place at the last minute on 23 December.
• From zero to one hundred rarely works. If annual meetings are seen as a compulsory event, then you will not be able to change this with a snap of the fingers and a smile. But that doesn’t matter. Just make the most of the format. Exchange ideas with your counterpart on how to improve the format in the future. As a supervisor, ask how your employee would like to work together. And as a co-worker, provide your supervisor with ideas on how to improve communication in the future (ideally step by step).
• Notes are allowed and useful, especially if there are different topics to discuss.
• The conversation should be between two people. If an employee has more than one manager, then the managers could divide the conversations, or each manager has one conversation per employee. Opinions vary as to whether additional minute takers should or can be present.
• The participants should mutually ensure that each side has a similar share of speech. It is about a dialogue and not a monologue.

And last but not least: Both parties should see the dialogue as an opportunity and ideally agree on a continuous exchange beyond the annual meeting.

Continuous dialogue as an opportunity

Continuous dialogue sounds nice, doesn’t it? Continuous dialogue is an opportunity for all involved, isn’t it?

In fact, dialogue is also exhausting. It feels like we are constantly exchanging ideas, synchronising work, addressing impediments, conducting retrospectives – it’s always about talking, dialogue, exchange. One could almost get the impression that there is more talking than actual work. But: communication is the only way to cooperate efficiently and effectively with each other. It is the basis for successful development. It is the source of ideas and the improvement of services or products. Yes, communication is exhausting, but there is simply no alternative.

And it is precisely in this sense that an annual meeting can, may and possibly should also be exhausting. Ideally, it is a format that, although in name only takes place once a year, fits into a series of formats for communication, exchange, learning and alignment of ideas. It is formally the last conversation in a year, but it may be one that makes a loop around a common year of collaboration. And it should be a great basis for the first formal conversation in the new year, not an anachronism.

It is up to you and your organisation to make the ideal out of such a format. So make the ideal out of it!

“I have my year-end meeting coming up!” – “Really, what do you think about that?”

“We exchange ideas regularly, it’s just another conversation. But I have an idea for the new year that I want to present to my boss.” – “Oh, cool!”

Notes:

If you like the article or would like to discuss it, please feel free to share it in your network.

[1] Not only managers can give employees feedback, employees can also express their opinions about their managers. If colleagues, customers or partners are also asked for their impressions and opinions, this is often referred to as 360-degree feedback.

Here are compliments to take away – a template you can easily use to put a smile on employees’ and colleagues’ faces.

Michael Schenkel has published other articles in the t2informatik blog, including

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