Performance Appraisals

In Management Today (March 2011), Dr Tim Baker presents a suggestion about how to improve the employee performance appraisal process. He proposes that the following five 10-minute conversations be repeated each six months:

Topic	Content	Key Questions
Climate review	Job satisfaction, morale and communication	How would you rate your current job satisfaction? How would you rate morale? How would you rate communnication?
Training and development	Development over the next 6 months	What are some skills you would like to learn? What courses would you like to undertake?
Innovation and continuous improvement	Ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the business	What's one way you could improve your own working efficiencies? What's one way we could improve our department?
Improved performance	Improving performance and standards	What are some opportunities for improved performance? How can I assist you to do that?
Career	Career direction and guidance	What part of your job do you enjoy? What would we need to do to help you develop?

I like the idea of a continuous process rather than a scary once-a-year meeting. This needs to be balanced, however, with a couple of things. First, it is essential that these are conversations - not just the manager asking questions. The questions should lead to agreed goals. And second, the process needs to be augmented with specific times when the manager rates progress and advises about salary increases.