Performance reviews and appraisals

Published on April 30, 2023   28 min
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0:00
Hello, everybody. My name is Dr. Andy Brown, and I'm a lecturer in human resource management at the University of Plymouth. And my PhD was in performance management in a higher education context. The talk today is particularly around performance reviews and appraisals.
0:18
Before we get into the main aspect of the talk, it's important to recognise what performance appraisals are about from a layman perspective. Some of you have possibly had some experience with performance appraisals, but others haven't, so this description will work with the assumption that you haven't had a performance appraisal before, or you've got limited experience around the topic area. Organisations might approach performance appraisals quite differently, or place different emphasis on certain aspects of the appraisal. Many organisations have an annual appraisal system, and others complete this on a six-monthly basis. In practice, line managers invite staff to an appraisal meeting and might ask them to provide some comments in advance of the appraisal discussion, before the appraisal meeting takes place. Most organisations have some form of appraisal template for completion, and any comments in advance might also be on a template. Staff might be expected to comment on their performance for the year, or the previous six months. How they are progressing with their objectives, if these have been achieved, and possibly comment on why this might not be the case. Comments in advance are useful for guiding the appraisal conversation. Broadly speaking, the appraiser should look to evaluate past performance against existing objectives, set future objectives, and consider any development needs for the employee.
1:32
The specific session aims for this talk include a discussion around what performance appraisal is, the benefits of the performance appraisal from the organisational perspective, the types of performance appraisals that are used in organisations, a brief discussion on ratings and the use of feedback, and a discussion on the role of managers and issues with subjectivity, training and development. The session will finish with a practical example from Hollows University, which will outline some of the key features of performance appraisal.