Employee appraisal forms

1. Employee appraisal forms
As a general rule, managers are apprehensive about having to give performance
appraisals to their subordinates. And no wonder. It involves an uncomfortable face-to-
face interaction with an employee, who might be performing below his capabilities. In
addition, most managers are united in their emphasis that paperwork and standardized
forms don't really give a true picture of an employee's worth for the simple reason that
there isn't just ONE type of employee in the company.
Why Performance Appraisals Lose Value
Perhaps the biggest reason why performance appraisals lose relevance is because
managers are not fully trained and equipped to handle them. In most companies,
managers are handed forms, given a couple of basic no brained instructions about how to
fill them out and little else. Managers need to be trained in-depth regarding the
performance appraisal process, including why it plays such an important role in
performance management and the delicate nuances of conducting performance appraisals
without insulting or negatively influencing an employee's overall performance. Issuing
ultimatums and deadlines to managers to hand in performance appraisal forms is hardly
the way to go about a process that plays such a key role in the development of the
company's human resource pool, arguably its biggest asset.
Another major reason why performance appraisals (which are unique to American
business culture) often fail is because of their standardized nature. Any executive who
thinks that evaluating a group of people across many departments of the same company,
based on the same rating criteria, is a good enough measurement of their prowess, is
living in a fool's paradise. Employees, it has often been noted, perform at different levels
depending on the department they are in. A standardized form is, therefore, hardly the
way to gauge performance and give recognition.
One more reason performance appraisals fail so miserably is because of the comparing
and rating of employees that goes on. If employees pitted against each other and you
don't have a motivated team; you get a bunch of resentful, bitter people who are united in
their common dislike of the manager!
How to Better Your Performance Appraisal Process
Luckily, performance appraisals in the new millennium has begun to evolve and move
away from the old model which was confrontational and loathed by all. New techniques
of performance appraisal focus more on the future and ways to improve on the
employee's performance rather than harping on past mistakes or shortfalls.
In today's corporate scenario, the appraisal process is more goal oriented and centers on
feedback and regular performance review. Whereas in the past, performance appraisals
were conducted once a year, the latest methods advocate an ongoing series of face-to-

2. face, discussions between the manager and the employee. This ensures that employee
performance remains the focus instead of adopting a criticizing tone as in the past.
Companies that want to stay ahead in the 21st century must be able to hold on to their
most talented people. This will happen only when managers are trained to honestly
evaluate their employees and extract the best characteristics and talents out of them.
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performance appraisal.