201503 CM March

to become responsible for their own
development - a process that may
take time and patience, but one that is
necessary for two reasons. First, appraisal
is more likely to succeed if it is personally
owned, and second the appraisee is after
all in the best position to know their own
capabilities and aspirations within the
business.
It is easy to fudge the interview stage
by not treating it seriously, and accepting
that if the individual has generally done
their job without any problems that
everything is okay. But such an attitude
will help no-one. Most people value being
appreciated, yet such praise equally needs
to be earned – keeping out of trouble is
not a good indication in that regard!
The interview process should therefore
be honest, but fair, and it should seek
to accentuate the positive strengths of
the appraisee and establish how these
can best be used for the benefit of the
organisation. This is not to say that
weaknesses should be ignored however
– wherever these are identified, a method
of improvement should also be explored
through training for instance. On the
other hand, if the interview focuses on
weaknesses alone this will make the whole
process very negative whereas once
completed, the interview should have
provided motivation.
Setting targets
As mentioned, earlier the interview must
establish targets that are not only relevant
to the aims of the organisation, but focus
on how the employee fits into these
master plans. The initial interview can
sometimes be difficult if it becomes too
focused, so it should ideally try to open
up areas of performance for discussion
as in the following three examples.
These are leading questions that centre
on the company’s aims, the employee’s
job description and their developmental
aspirations.
Examples:
• The company is dedicated to reduce
customer complaints. How have you
contributed to this aim within your own
work?
• From your job description, you are
responsible for dealing with the public.
How do you feel you could improve your
relationship with them and therefore
increase the amount they spend?
• How would you like to develop your work
experience?
Over time these initial questions will
become more refined and relate back to
the previous interview – thus providing
effective monitoring and feedback on
progress. Eventually targets will be set by
the employee that are not only clear, but
achievable by identifying how they can be
measured.
Example :
Target: ‘I would like to study x, y and z
to allow me to progress to new areas of
work’.
Measurement: Enrolment at college,
completing course and achieving
qualification.
Within any environment, targets should
not be linked to quantity alone, but
instead, they should have a qualitative
element. Suggestions of targets on the
lines of ‘selling 10 more cameras per
week’ should therefore be avoided.
A better example is to consider
‘ensuring that there is no more than an X
percent return rate due to poor customer
satisfaction.’
The relevance of performance appraisal
for the individual and its positive effect
within the organisation is perhaps best
shown in the story you may have heard
about the workman at NASA. Apparently,
in 1969, a few weeks before the successful
Apollo 11 launch, a worker whose primary
job was to sweep the floor clean was
asked by a visitor just what his job was.
The caretaker proudly replied that he was
helping to send a rocket to the moon.
The recognised standard in credit management
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