Perhaps unsurprisingly, a high proportion of calls we receive into our helpline relate to employee performance. Managers and supervisors want to know what courses of action are open to them to either improve the performance of an individual or to exit them from the organisation. Often the person in question is a relatively new employee but sometimes it is a more established individual.

In a significant proportion of these cases, the need for our intervention would never have occurred if there was a regime or policy of conducting regular and effective staff appraisals and performance reviews.

Appraisals and reviews shouldn’t be seen simply as a ‘nice to do’ or box-ticking exercise. Executed effectively and properly planned they are an essential management tool that will maximise employee performance, increase staff retention, improve morale and establish the training needs for both the individual and the wider organisation.

Quiet quitting is a phrase that has entered the lexicon recently. A post-covid phenomenon, quiet quitting is where employees just do the bare minimum of work to get by. Just enough so they cannot be accused of underperforming and not enough to earn them praise or make them stand-out amongst other employees.

Regular appraisals or reviews enable managers to monitor quiet quitters and review performance and objectives, ensuring that they are making a positive contribution to the organisation. Keeping individuals’ performance records from regular meetings can be a useful tool should re-structuring becomes necessary and jobs need to be shed.

Considering how beneficial performance reviews can be, it’s surprising that more businesses do not make them a compulsory management policy. Not having enough time is on often cited excuse for not doing so but we would argue that the benefits far outweigh the time spent in actually carrying them out.

Some suggestions of format and frequency follow and whilst there is no universally recognised design, there are a few common elements that would be seen as best practice.

• Probationary Reviews: New recruits usually need a lot of support and regular checks of their understanding of their job roles and objectives. There is usually a lot to take in when starting a new job so little and often can be a good approach. We would suggest weekly as this also gives you a clear opportunity to fail quickly should it become clear that your haven’t recruited the right person. Don’t forget a formal probationary sign-off (or extension) meeting so that the employee’s status is clear.
  
  
• Performance Reviews: We recommend that you hold performance reviews with all members of staff at least monthly. You might want to call these one-to-one sessions and keep them relatively informal but don’t allow that to detract from their importance or use it as an excuse not to hold a meeting. A frequent meeting like this enables managers to keep on top of issues as they arise. If an employee isn’t meeting expectations then the reasons why can be uncovered and acted upon promptly. Targets can be set and evaluated or more training is required then it can be arranged. Conduct issues can be tackled quickly then.
  
  
• An annual appraisal, as the name suggests, is a once per year meeting with your employees to have a conversation about their performance over the previous 12 months. It’s an opportunity to discuss short, mid and long term plans, goals and expectations, on both sides. The annual appraisal is also an appropriate time to discuss a pay increase, which, provided you have maintained your regular performance reviews can be performance related, enabling you to reward hard-working staff more.

In all cases, prepare your meeting so that you know what you want to discuss and what outcomes you are looking for. Ask the employee to prepare too so that they are ready to present on their own performance.
Review against previous objectives and set new objectives to be attained over the coming month, quarter or year. Discuss aspirations and if there is any training support you can offer or your employee would like to help them meet their current objectives or to extend themselves.

We can provide appraisal and performance review training for managers as well as providing forms and checklists in our toolkits. We can also support your employees with their development including management and leadership. Call us for further information on 01422 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.