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How can I run a better appraisals process?

People & Team questions

If done badly, appraisals are a process carried out on no consistent timeline that both manager and employee dread. Conducted well and they serve as a way to unlock potential and keep individuals consistently motivated and understanding where their day-to-day efforts are helping a business with its wider ambition.

Ways to help you deal with it:

Action plan

Improve your employee appraisals process

Appraisals are a process conducted in very varying degrees of quality by businesses of all types. Done well and they provide clarity, direction and a renewed sense of purpose.

ACTION PLANS are a structured list of steps designed to help you approach tackling a particular business challenge.

We explain why each step is important
Customise by setting your own completion dates and assign tasks
Helpful tools are provided for certain steps
A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available

Action plan

Improve the way you performance manage staff

At the heart of it, performance management involves a business and its employee getting the most out of the relationship. For the business, the process involves ensuring it is able to best leverage the skills and experience an individual has while, or an employee, it helps drive learning and development key to their current job role and future career. Taking the time to ensure the way your business performance manages staff will help both sides and drive important improvements and change.

Action plan

Establish your company culture

Effort : Medium

In an age when the reason people stay in a job is shifting away from pay and towards cause, establishing a company culture and the values it lives by help entrench some of the key reasons your people work for your business. Let them take a part in helping form them and they will end up driving key improvements in other areas of the business.

Guide

An introduction to running a better appraisals process

Does your appraisals process effectively monitor and improve staff performance – or is it a box-checking exercise that’s endured? It could be time for a change.

GUIDES break a challenge down, providing important context and real-world experiences.

Based on SME experiences, not corporate jargon
Filled with real-world stories
Achievable steps every business can take

Other support that’s available

Conduct effective staff appraisals

Conduct effective staff appraisals

Staff appraisals are vital to both the company and the employee. Find out why they work best when both sides prepare, a good environment is found and there is a clear structure.

Ensure each staff appraisal is worthwhile

Ensure each staff appraisal is worthwhile

Learn how to make every appraisal effective by following this step-by-step guide, which includes proven examples and methods, from Valamis.

How other businesses have tackled something similar

Dez Perry, CEO mmadigital

Real business story

Getting the best from your staff every time

Appraisals are an important part of both employee and business development, so it’s vital that these meetings are productive for all involved.

Alan Furley, director of ISL Recruitment

Real business story

Use what really drives your people to get the best results

Thinking creatively, businesses from all corners of Britain have introduced work incentives both big and small to keep staff motivation high. Each have learnt that the more inspired a workforce is the more productive they tend to be.

Real business story

Double-down on employee engagement during difficult times

Employee engagement is rooted in culture and communication. How leaders engage with staff on a daily basis can have a huge impact on performance and productivity across the business.

The questions lots of businesses are trying to answer

What issue is keeping you awake at night? A bit of targeted support is often all you need to overcome those challenges.

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Digital

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Leadership & Strategy

How do I learn to become a better leader? How do I improve the communication in my business? How do I get staff interested in our vision and values? How can I reflect on my own strengths and weaknesses as a leader? How do I give my team autonomy and get better at delegating? As a leader, how do I learn to trust others within my organisation? How do I apply learnings from other businesses to my own company? How should my role as a business leader evolve with the company’s growth? How can I balance short-term needs with long-term targets? How do I get better at noticing and reacting to warning signs?

People & Team

How can I develop the skillsets of my workforce? How can I reduce employee turnover? How can I run a better appraisals process? How can I keep my best members of staff? How do I manage an effective remote workforce? How can I develop career paths for my staff? How can I increase staff engagement and motivation? How do I deal with a challenging member of staff? How can I improve my hiring and onboarding practices? How should I performance manage my staff?

Planning

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Sales & Growth

How can we better serve our most loyal customers? How can I identify new customers to target? How do I create targets and KPIs for my staff? How can I get a better return on investment from my marketing? How do I make sure my team and processes are ready for growth? How do I develop a clear unique selling point? How do I financially plan for new opportunities? How do I build a network to support my business? How do I benchmark my business against competitors? How can we develop new products and services?