1. The document discusses the importance of performance reviews for aligning employee goals with business objectives and ensuring high performance. However, many companies have dysfunctional review processes. 2. A successful review process includes setting SMART goals, creating action plans, regularly monitoring progress, obtaining objective feedback, and linking performance to compensation. It should not be a single annual event but rather an ongoing dialogue. 3. Training managers is key so they can effectively conduct reviews, provide feedback, and identify development areas for employees. With an effective system in place, companies see benefits like increased motivation, retention, and success.

1. Performance
Reviews/Appraisals:
Why Should We Do Them
& How Do We Do Them Well?

2. Why are
performance
reviews/appraisals
important?

3. For many managers (and employees) the
performance review process is not an enjoyable
one, many don’t feel it is worthwhile, and research
suggests that some managers and employees feel it
is a waste of time or a box ticking exercise.

4. Yet, what could be more important to a business, than
ensuring that your staff are performing at a high level
on a consistent basis, and that the effort they are
putting in, is aligned with the goals of the company?
Probably very little, but through a lack of
understanding of the performance review process,
and a lack of training, many businesses have
dysfunctional performance review processes.

5. A performance review or appraisal is a review and
discussion of an employee’s duties and responsibilities.
The performance review is an objective process based
on the achievements of the employee. The target of the
performance review or appraisal is to identify areas for
improvement or growth in performance, training needs
and to align the individual’s goals with those of the
organisation.
What is a performance review?

6. While this often takes the form of annual appraisal
meeting, effective performance reviews are an
ongoing process and dialogue between the manager
and employee.
Successful performance review or appraisal
processes depend on a two way dialogue between
manager and employee where the manager is
constructive and objective, and the employee is
willing to learn and develop.
What is a performance review?

7. An effective performance review process
consist of:
• Ensuring day to day activity is aligned
with business goals.
• Being clear about performance
expectations.
• Documenting individual performance in a
uniform and structured way.
• Creating a focus on training and
development.

8. There are a whole range of benefits for organisations,
managers and employees of an efficient and well run
performance review system, some key benefits are:
Why should we have a performance
review/appraisal process?

9. • SMART goal setting along with regular
measurement of success, contributes to the
businesses’ success.
• Creates an environment where employees can be
rewarded for exceptional performance.
• Increases motivation as employees feel their work
is contributing to business success.
• Identifies skills gaps.
• Increased staff retention.
• Clarity of accountability (so jobs don’t get missed).
Why should we have a performance
review/appraisal process?

10. • Wasted time and resource through misaligned
goals and objectives.
• Low employee engagement and motivation.
• High staff turnover.
• Low morale as there is less opportunity for top
performers to demonstrate their growth and
ability and be rewarded for it.
Looking at it another way, what are the issues
created by a poor performance appraisal system?

11. • Difficult to make training and development decisions.
• Annual only reviews will not identify issues early enough.
• Lack of documentation may create legal issues.
Looking at it another way, what are the issues
created by a poor performance appraisal system?

12. 1. SMART Goals
Using the employee’s job description and
responsibilities, we need to ensure that we are setting
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results Orientated
and Timed goals. Measurability and time orientation
are very helpful to both employee and manager as
they allow success to be tracked and set clear
milestones along the way to review them.
What does a successful performance review look like?

13. 1. SMART Goals Continued
Setting achievable goals means staff retain motivation
as they don’t lose interest in impossible targets, and
having them results orientated means that the staff
member can see that their goal contributes to the
overall success.
What does a successful performance review look like?

14. 2. Planning
Working together, manager and employee should use
the agreed goals to create action plans as to how they
are going to be achieved. This process is vital as it will
identify any obstacles in the way of achieving the goals
– an example is skills where we can then identify
training and development requirements.
What does a successful performance review look like?

15. 2. Planning Continued
For all major goals, a clear action plan should be in
place. Once this is in place, this document creates a
template to review progress and performance on a
regular basis thus preventing the ‘annual review’
becoming a one off chat that is soon forgotten.
What does a successful performance review look like?

16. What does a successful performance review look like?
3. Monitor Success
Within the goal setting and planning process, we
should be structuring the activity to include regular
opportunities for review, analysis and support, so that
manager and employee are working together to
achieve the goals.

17. 4. Be Objective
When reviewing performance, we need to capture
information from as many places as possible. Where
possible, data (sales, calls made etc.) is important as
this is not opinion but fact and is easy to deal with.
What does a successful performance review look like?

18. 4. Be Objective Continued
At the same time however, we do want to get
feedback from other people in the organisation, and
vitally, employees should be encouraged to give their
own view of their performance. It is imperative that all
of this information is captured in a structured and
uniform way, so people know that all assessment is
conducted equally.
What does a successful performance review look like?

19. 5. Train the Appraisers!
Managers are more likely to prepare for and conduct a
performance review process well, if they feel confident
in the process they are conducting. They need to
understand things such as how people are motivated,
coaching techniques and how to deal with more
difficult issues such as conflict. Managers must also be
prepared for and know how to deal with employee
feedback.
What does a successful performance review look like?

20. 6. The Review Itself
Rather than being the only thing, really this meeting
is a summary of the discussions that have already
taken place. It is important to define an agenda for
this meeting and ensure that all the ongoing work on
goal setting and planning is included in the
discussion. This meeting formalises some of the
previous discussions, and then is forward looking.
Both parties should be well prepared in advance of
the meeting.
What does a successful performance review look like?

21. What does a successful performance review look like?
7. Pay on Performance
Once you have established a transparent and fair
performance review system, the way to truly make it
central to the importance of managers and employees
is to link performance with remuneration. Linking
these key things together shows that if you achieve
your goals, which are aligned with the increased
success of the business, then the business will reward
you.

22. Pathway Group deliver training on the performance
review process, our courses are aimed at managers with
the responsibility for managing an individual or team
and who has the need to carry out annual performance
reviews.
How Pathway Group can help you

23. • What performance reviews are.
• An understanding of why performance reviews are important.
• How to manage effective performance review meetings, your
own personal review & giving effective performance feedback.
• How to set clear, effective goals & objectives & review
performance.
• Effective planning & preparation strategies for a performance
review.
• Managing an effective performance review meeting.
• How to identify development goals with an employee.
Our Courses Cover

24. For more information
Call: 0121 707 0550
E-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk
Visit: www.pathway2grow.co.uk/blog