Important functions of the successful Appraisal Interview process –assuming that the overall process has the willing participation of the employee are as follows:

• Support – The interviewee should be able to perceive a helpful and constructive attitude on behalf of the appraiser
• Analysing and solving Problems – Research has shown that the more the interview is focussed on identifying and solving problems getting in the way of the employee’s performance, the more likely performance improvement will be an outcome
• Limited Criticism – Research suggests that those areas of work that were the most heavily criticised were less likely to be followed by performance improvement than those that were more lightly criticised. As human beings this makes sense it’s a wonder it took research to tell us!
• Goal Setting – the process of setting small numbers of performance improvement goals in an appraisal interview is more likely to be followed by improvement than a more general review
• Coaching – As more organisations realise that performance management is a continuous process about getting things done well, and not a one-off appraisal then the skill of managers to support the employee through coaching to enhance the chances of goals being achieved is vital.  This, of course, means that managers have to become much more skilled in the less traditional “soft skills” and may mean they need support themselves.

How effective the process of Appraisal Interviewing is in any organisation, small or large depends on the organisational context within which these interviews take place (are they seen as threatening?) and the place which the Appraisal Interview takes in the company performance assessment process. There is Appraisal and HR software available to assist the process but the company has to own the system.

Performance appraisal cannot be seen as a set of techniques or a discrete  process apart from, any other management process in the business, but it is intrinsically part of the organisation’s culture, whether there is, for example a traditional paternalistic welfare-and personnel management eths or a more modern more detached  Human Resources model. The quality of trust between manager and employee is crucial-often when problems arise with appraisal interviewing it is a symptom of something wrong with relations between employer and manager.

There are, one expert suggests, six pre requisites for  a successful appraisal scheme: firstly it should be totally supported by senior manager, secondly, it must be predicated entirely on organisational needs, thirdly, employees must find it acceptable to use, fourthly it must be easy to administer, fifthly, it must be integral to the organisational style an culture (no use if it clearly sticks out like a sore thumb of misfit in organisational culture), and finally and most importantly, it must be backed by training and development to build skills and knowledge.  It also must not be the only plank of relationships between manager and employee and overall performance appraisal and valuing of staff.