Being the boss is far from just sitting back and letting everyone else get on with all the hard work. When you’re in charge, the weight of responsibility rests firmly on your shoulders.
From overseeing the sales and marketing of your goods or services to making sure you hire the right team members for the job, your time and priorities are pulled in many different directions, all at once.
But as all great bosses know, your workforce is your greatest asset, so getting them working at their best is one huge priority for you. In this short article we’re taking a look at how to get the best from staff appraisals and how to make sure your team is happy, hard working and helping your business grow.
Get Prepared
When you want to show your staff that you take them seriously, do your research before meeting with individuals. Take a good look at their performance reviews for the last few years and think about where they’ve grown and improved, where they can continue to show improvement and exactly what you can do to help get them there.
Ask yourself what motivates that individual and what you could do to increase that motivation. Could you offer more training, greater responsibility for example? Are they ready to go up the pay grade? If their performance has weakened, what’s going on? Are there issues that you’re not aware of in the workplace or outside that’s made such an impact?
Set aside a good hour, if not more, to fully talk through the appraisal process with your staff member and leave plenty of time for discussion and questions.
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Use Praise
It may sound forced but starting off with some positive praise is the best way to help your staff member feel relaxed and valued. Single out something specific that has impressed you, rather than general praise to show you’ve taken notice.
You should also encourage your staff member to use self-appraisal to flag up their accomplishments and developing skills and to raise any queries or concerns they have about their own performance. This certainly makes it easier for you to explore the issue with them.
Agree a Plan of Action
Strive to end your meeting as it began, on a positive note. Take time to draw up an action plan to tackle any problem areas, extra training and so on and thank them for the work they’ve done that year. Your employee should leave the meeting feeling valued, heard and motivated.
There shouldn’t have been anything raised that took your employee by surprise but instead you should both have found that reviewing the previous six months was a satisfying and helpful process. Make sure you adequately write-up your employee’s appraisal feedback document as soon as you can to accurately recall your discussion points and record anything you need to in HR. If you need to update your tech then calculate the ROI of performance management software.
You’re a great boss and it shows with your happy, motivated workforce.
