Writing the effective performance appraisal.

Ellen, a customer service supervisor in a large insurance company, finds writing annual reviews one of the hardest parts of her job. The rigid format of the appraisal form used by her company, as well as the limited space provided to document a year's worth of employee performance, stifle her

A claims supervisor in the same company, Bob prides himself on being able to write a review in 20 minutes. His style is crisp and to the point. Yet, when going over appraisals with his employees, Bob notices they usually listen to his observations in silence. He wonders why his staff is so unresponsive during something as important as the discussion of their performance.

While their difficulties differ, both Ellen and Bob share the same desire to make the performance appraisal a more relevant and motivational experience for the employee. They understand the positive impact this would have on their unit's performance -- and on their own appraisals. But in order to achieve this, these supervisors must change their perception of the entire appraisal process. Doing so will enable them to both write and deliver more effective reviews.

Preparing The Annual Review

Long before sitting down to write an appraisal, supervisors must realize the existence of several fallacies surrounding the process:

Fallacy No. 1: Reviews are "given" to employees.

The expressions "my boss gave me a bad review," or "I am giving my employee reviews today" belie how deeply this misconception runs for both employees and supervisors. The fact is, employees write their own reviews every working day -- each time they arrive promptly or late for their shift, volunteer for or avoid additional assignments, meet or fall short of department quality and productivity standards. From this standpoint, the supervisor is merely a journalist of sorts, documenting the workplace behavior of staff members. It is the employee who "gives" daily information to be utilized in the review.

Fallacy No. 2: Reviews are an annual event.

Although companies with formal appraisal systems most often structure them on an annual or semi-annual basis, the review should be seen by both supervisors and employees as a year-long, ongoing process. Periodic one-on-one meetings between management and staff ensure that the employees know which areas they are on target and which require improvement. Not only do these meetings help to keep the employee on track, they eliminate any element of suspense from the annual appraisal. In other words, reviews should contain no surprises. Employees will already know what they've accomplished vs. what goals lie ahead in the coming year.