In many successful companies, annual appraisals take place at the end of the financial year. These offer the opportunity for an intensive exchange, as they should not contain any operational content, but rather represent a constructive discussion at eye level between the manager and the team member. Annual appraisals can therefore become the highlights of the year.
The aim is to shape and improve collaboration between managers and employees. These valuable 1:1 meetings should therefore be time well spent and provide both sides with valuable insights. Constructive, open and motivating, they should usher in a new phase of successful collaboration.
However, annual meetings are often seen by both sides as tedious compulsory appointments that have to be quickly squeezed into the diary.
Annual meetings: unpopular mandatory appointments or profitable dialogs?
Annual appraisals - again? Both managers and employees are sometimes reluctant to hold annual appraisals. “Always the same! What's the point?” “Close your eyes and get on with it!” “I hope no unpleasant topics come up!” Thoughts like these might run through the minds of both sides when they think about the upcoming annual appraisals.
Often no one really feels like it, and some people even go into the meeting with a queasy feeling. After all, in most cases, annual appraisals also include a performance appraisal, which is often unpopular with managers and employees. As a result, annual appraisals are often carried out quickly and bureaucratically as an annoying compulsory appointment.
A rigid standard questionnaire, which only contains a few questions that open up the conversation, further reinforces these reservations.
Here is an overview of the possible modules:
1) Review of the past year
Goals and agreements: Which goals from the past year were achieved? Which of the agreements made were kept and which were not? What are the reasons for this? What successes and progress do we see? What obstacles and challenges were there?
Fundamental changes: Have there been changes in the area of responsibility? Have tasks been added or removed? Have there been personal changes in the life-work balance? What impact did these changes have?
Lived values: How are the company values lived in everyday life? This module is useful if corporate values have been defined and communicated and the company wants to reinforce them.
Performance evaluation: What is the view of the employees and what is the view of the manager? If there are discrepancies in the points of view, this is an opportunity for an exchange. It should also be possible to substantiate performance evaluations with examples and situations. The assessment should cover professional skills as well as methodological, social and personal skills. Exactly which performance should be measured is a process that should be carefully thought through by the company in advance. It also makes sense to define what is actually behind broad terms such as communication skills in order to have a valid basis for discussion and to avoid misunderstandings.
3) Future-oriented outlook
You can learn from the past, but ultimately it is important to shape the future in such a way that both the employee and the company can safeguard their interests and needs. These topics are relevant here:
Task development: What should the task area look like in the future? Should new tasks be taken on? Should tasks be relinquished? Which tasks have which priority?
Skills development: Which skills does the employee want to acquire or improve? Identify the skills that need to be developed further. Derive development measures from this together. What further and advanced training makes sense? What does career planning look like? What career paths and development prospects does the employee have?
Expectations: What are the expectations of the company and the manager? Where is there potential for improvement? What support is expected? How can the employee's development be supported? What expectations does the employee have of him/herself?
Goal setting and agreements: Set clear, measurable goals for the coming year.
Both sides should come away from the annual review with a good feeling for the future collaboration. Managers can use their attitude and professional preparation and conduct of the meeting to steer the discussions. These 7 tips will help.
Tip 1: Annual meetings need good preparation
The following points are part of the preparation:
Officially invite your team member to the annual review with adequate preparation time. Allow sufficient time (60 to 90 minutes is necessary).
Make sure that you will not be disturbed. Book a suitable room and avoid sitting in a frontal position. Instead, sit at a 90-degree angle to each other so that you are at eye level.
Gather the necessary information and documents such as performance data, feedback from colleagues and customers and the minutes from the previous year and read through them again before the interview.
Think in advance: What questions, expectations and objections may arise? What can I promise or agree to and what not?
Tip 2: Collect information for annual appraisals throughout the year
If you only gather information about the employee shortly before the interview, you may get a distorted picture. Perhaps the last month was a particularly good or a particularly bad one in terms of the employee's performance. In this case, it may have a strong influence on the view of the entire period.
Therefore, take notes on your direct reports throughout the year. Collect situations that you have noticed positively or negatively. This will give you concrete examples and a more unbiased view of the year as a whole during the annual review.
Tip 3: Pay attention to your mental preparation
Go into the interview with a positive and open attitude, even if the employee has not fully met your expectations recently. You want to understand how this person in your company and your department is feeling at the moment. Your attitude should therefore be benevolent. So take on the role of a mentor.
So check your attitude: How do I approach the conversation? Am I open? Do I have a benevolent attitude?
Create an undisturbed, relaxed atmosphere and stay focused on the matter at hand.
Tip 4: The focus is on dialog
A good annual meeting is an open dialog in an appreciative atmosphere. Boxes in a questionnaire that are mechanically ticked are not enough. The annual meeting should offer space for open questions and targeted exchange formats.
Make sure you listen actively. Ask appropriate questions and repeat in your own words what you have understood. The employee is the focus of this discussion. So keep this in mind:
Tip 5: Annual appraisals as an opportunity for a fresh start
When taking over a new department or team, annual appraisals offer a good opportunity to talk about unfulfilled expectations and needs. Perhaps there are still promises left unfulfilled by the predecessor. Experience shows that although these points are often asked by the new manager during the initial meetings, some people only speak openly once they have gotten to know the new manager a little better and trust them.
Now is the chance to develop new perspectives together.
Tip 6: See criticism as an opportunity for growth
The hallmark of an annual meeting is that criticism is also expressed and received. This applies to both sides.
Not everyone is practiced in expressing criticism constructively. Equally, not everyone is good at accepting criticism as a well-intentioned suggestion for improvement. For many people, the ability to accept criticism is a learning process.
So talk to your employees regularly about the fact that criticism is not intended as an attack, but can be seen as a gift and opens up room for improvement and growth.
Tip 7: Careful follow-up of annual appraisals
It is customary for annual appraisals to be documented and for the minutes signed by both parties to be sent to the HR department.
However, it is just as important that the direct manager conscientiously follows up on the agreements made. So make sure that information is subsequently submitted and promises are kept. Make the promised tools available.
Also schedule follow-up meetings to discuss progress made in the context of target agreements and training measures.
It is important that the annual appraisals do not replace the regular meetings with employees. Rather, they are the icing on the cake of the regular employee appraisals held during the year.
There are many good reasons to see and use annual appraisals as an opportunity:
1. better results through personal growth
By discussing development goals and training measures, annual appraisals provide a platform to support employees' professional development. This not only helps the employee to expand their skills and achieve career goals, but also benefits the company.
2. more effectiveness through the right focus
When team members know exactly what you expect of them and what goals you want them to achieve, they are able to do their work more efficiently and with greater focus. This can lead to higher productivity and better performance.
3. strengthen relationships and build trust
Annual appraisals promote dialog between managers and team members. They provide an opportunity to talk openly about needs, successes, challenges and potential conflicts. This strengthens the trust and relationship between both parties and contributes to a better working atmosphere.
4. increase job satisfaction and reduce staff turnover
Recognizing successes and highlighting development opportunities can significantly increase employee motivation. When people feel that their opinions are heard and that they are actively involved in shaping their work goals and development, this increases their satisfaction. A high level of job satisfaction in turn contributes to lower staff turnover and greater loyalty to the company.
5. early identification of problems
Well-managed annual appraisals offer the opportunity to identify dissatisfaction, problems or grievances at an early stage, be it with regard to work performance, teamwork, unfulfilled expectations or the employee's personal challenges. These problems can then be addressed in a targeted and proactive manner before they develop into major difficulties or even lead to dismissals.
6. strategic personnel planning
Annual appraisals provide valuable information for strategic HR planning. They help to record the development status, identify potential managers and plan future personnel development measures. This contributes to the long-term securing of talent and sustainable personnel development within the company.
7. Increased transparency and fairness
Structured and regular annual appraisals create a uniform framework that promotes transparency and fairness. Everyone then has the same opportunity to receive feedback and voice their concerns. This strengthens trust in the company management and promotes a culture of openness and fairness.
8. legal protection
In some cases, annual appraisals can also contribute to the legal protection of the company. Documented discussions about an employee's performance and agreed measures can serve as evidence in the event of labor law disputes.
Would you like to redesign your annual appraisals and better prepare your managers for them?
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