How to Conduct Your First Appraisal
Performance appraisals are more than just a routine “people management” exercise - they’re a pivotal opportunity to recognise achievements, address challenges within the workplace, and set clear expectations that empower your employees to grow and excel within their role. However, delivering your first appraisal is a significant milestone in your own career, and therefore requires its fair share of thought as to how you’ll go about this.
This guide is designed to support first-time managers in planning and conducting staff appraisals, providing practical tips and proven frameworks which will help you facilitate this important meeting with both clarity and confidence. If you need more tailored support, please book a free consultation with us.
What Are Appraisals?
A performance appraisal (also known as a performance review or evaluation) is a structured conversation between a manager and a member of their team in which past performance is assessed, strengths are recognised, areas for growth are identified, and future goals are set. Appraisals typically draw on documented observations, key performance indicators (KPIs), and examples of work to ensure feedback is specific, objective, and above all, actionable.
There are many benefits to conducting an appraisal, such as:
- Increased Employee Engagement: Regular, meaningful one-on-one conversations convey to employees that their work matters and their development is valued. Employees who receive recognition from managers are 69% more likely to work better.
- Greater Communication: Appraisals create a dedicated space for open, two-way dialogue, breaking down social barriers that can arise each day. Employees value communication highly; 41% have left a job because they felt they weren’t listened to.
- Stronger Decision-Making: Documented appraisal records provide objective data on individual and team performance trends, helping leadership make informed choices about promotions, pay increases, and training investments.
- Reduced Employee Turnover: When employees receive clear guidance and feel supported in their development, they’re more likely to stay with your business for longer. Companies that conduct regular strength-based feedback can reduce turnover by 14.9%.
What Are the Different Types of Appraisals?
An appraisal is a term which encompasses many different types of meetings, most notably:
Traditional “Top Down” Annual Appraisals
Conducted once a year or bi-annually, these rely on a manager’s evaluation of an employee’s performance over the previous 12 months. In many cases, they’re tied to promotion decisions.
360-Degree Feedback
Input is gathered from multiple sources, including the employee’s manager, peers, direct reports, and sometimes even clients. This provides a well-rounded view of strengths and areas for improvement.
Self-Assessment
This type of appraisal does what it says on the tin; employees evaluate their own performance against established KPIs, encouraging self-reflection and ownership of one’s development.
Peer Appraisals (Peer Review)
Colleagues at the same level provide feedback on an employee’s communication, teamwork, and other related skills. This is particularly useful for heavily interdependent roles.
Management by Objectives (MBO)
This focuses on the achievement of specific, measurable goals agreed upon at the start of the review period. Progress is evaluated based on objective criteria, rather than subjective ratings.
Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)
This combines elements of rating scales and critical-incident techniques by defining specific behaviours for each rating level. BARS increases objectivity by linking numerical ratings to concrete examples.
What Does a Good Appraisal Cover?
A well-conducted appraisal will typically cover the following:
- A balanced look at achievements, missed targets, and quality of work over a certain period.
- Specific examples of where the employee excelled, reinforcing positive outcomes.
- Honest discussion of skill gaps or behaviours that need improvement.
- Concrete objectives (ideally SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
- Agreed-upon actions for training, mentoring, or other learning opportunities
- Exploration of the employee’s longer-term ambitions and how you can help them achieve them.
- Acknowledgement of contributions, effort, and behaviours that embody business values.
- Documented next steps, milestones, and check-in dates to track progress and ensure accountability.
What Should Not Be Included in An Appraisal
There are several things that should not be discussed in an appraisal, including:
- Feedback based on hearsay or rumours; stick to raw facts and documented examples.
- Comments on aspects unrelated to job performance, such as personal appearance.
- Pitting team members against each other or ranking individuals comparatively.
- Harsh or punitive wording, such as “You always fail to…”, which undermines morale.
- Objectives that fall outside of the employee’s role or the business’s strategic priorities.
- Non-specific comments like “You need to be better”; instead, focus on concrete outcomes.
14 Tips for Conducting a Strong First Appraisal
So, the time has come to conduct your first appraisal - here’s what to do to make it a positive, productive experience for both you and your employees:
Preparation
Clarify the Appraisal’s Objectives
Define what you want to achieve - performance review, development planning, or career discussion. Having a clear goal ensures the conversation stays focused and purposeful. You may like to share these with the appraisee in advance of the meeting via your meeting invite.
Ask the appraisee what they would like to achieve from the appraisal meeting and clarify in advance any scoring systems to prevent protracted negotiations later in the appraisal meeting
Prepare Thoroughly in Advance
Gather performance data, examples of work, and any self-assessments. Review previous appraisals or one-on-one notes so you can speak to trends rather than isolated incidents. Encourage the appraisee to do the same.
Understand the Appraisal Framework
Familiarise yourself with your business’s chosen appraisal methods, such as 360-degree feedback. Know the rating scales, competencies, and forms so you can guide the discussion confidently.
Schedule and Structure the Meeting
Book a private, uninterrupted time slot for at least 45-60 minutes, so your employee knows they have your full attention. Send an agenda in advance, outlining any topics and any prep-work which you would like to see the appraisee do in advance.
Conducting the Appraisal
Build Rapport and Set the Tone
Start with a warm welcome to relax the employee, and reaffirm the purpose of the appraisal: a supportive, two-way dialogue for the benefit of both parties. A positive tone encourages openness and reduces defensiveness, which ultimately helps the appraisal become more productive.
Ask Open-Ended Questions
Invite reflection with encouraging prompts, such as “What achievements are you most proud of?” or “Where have you faced challenges this year?” This helps you understand the employee’s perspective and encourages ownership of their actions, too. If your employee doesn’t respond well to being asked questions on the spot, you could always send them these questions in advance of the appraisal meeting.
Deliver Balanced Feedback
Many managers use the “praise-improve-praise” technique (also known as the “feedback sandwich” or “compliment sandwich”) but we prefer to recommend the “Situation, Behaviour Impact” (SBI) model because it promotes clarity, authenticity, and effectiveness in giving feedback, whereas the sandwich approach can sometimes feel insincere.
Co-Create an Action Plan
Work together to set SMART outcome focused goals and identify resources or training needed to take the employee closer to meeting targets. When employees have a say in shaping their own plan, they’re more likely to follow through with it.
Document Everything
There’s no point in sharing feedback if there’s no evidence on what should happen next! A written account of the appraisal ensures clarity, accountability, and an audit trail for future reviews. Therefore, you should document key discussion points, agreed goals, and any areas of concern, and share these with the appraisee within a reasonable timeframe following the meeting - ideally within 7 days whilst it is still fresh in everyone’s mind.
Post-Appraisal
Follow Up Consistently
Aim to schedule regular check-ins - be that monthly, quarterly, or at the very least, half-yearly - to revisit goals and celebrate progress. This ongoing support turns a standalone meeting into real employee development, which is valuable for businesses of all sizes.
Use a Performance Management System
Performance management systems are useful for automating goal tracking, collecting feedback, and creating reports. These systems ensure transparency, reduce administrative headaches, and provide analytics for stronger decision-making.
Provide Timely Feedback
Don’t wait for the next formal meeting to offer praise or suggest improvements for day-to-day tasks. Quick, informal touchpoints reinforce positive behaviours and nip small issues in the bud, helping the employee stay productive and on course to meet their goals.
Adjust Goals When Necessary
An important part of people management is understanding that individual circumstances can change, just like business priorities do. Therefore, you should be flexible; revisit and revise agreed objectives to keep them realistic, relevant, and motivating.
Recognise Milestones and Achievements
Publicly or privately acknowledge when goals are met or significant progress is made, be that through “employee of the month” awards, small monetary incentives, or other methods. Recognition boosts morale and reinforces the behaviours you want to see, leading to a more motivated team.
How to Overcome Common Appraisal Challenges
Appraisals aren’t without their challenges, but knowing how to find a quick resolution is a useful skill to have. Take a look at these three challenging scenarios and how you can overcome them:
- Defensive or Emotional Reactions: An employee responds defensively to constructive feedback, becoming upset or shutting down.
To overcome this, simply pause the conversation and acknowledge their feelings but the key here is that you have to be sincere and truly understand their position. Just saying you acknowledge their feelings without them believing you will often make the situation worse.
Then, reframe the feedback and relate it to achievable goals (“Let’s look at how improving X will help you achieve Y”). Use active listening and empathy to rebuild trust before proceeding. - Insufficient or Vague Evidence: You struggle to provide solid examples, making your feedback seem generic and lacking credibility.
To get around this, keep an ongoing “feedback log” or use a performance management system throughout the year to record specific instances of strong or weak performance. Before the appraisal, review and choose 2 or 3 clear examples for each feedback point, ensuring your comments are objective and actionable. - Unrealistic Goals: Midway through the review period, business priorities changed, leaving original objectives out of date and the employee demotivated.
A solution to this is to revisit and renegotiate goals during a mid-cycle check-in. Align them with your current strategic needs, explain any new expectations, and document these new targets, so both manager and employee share a clear, achievable goal.
If the employee was making good progress towards the previous goals prior to the change, make sure you acknowledge that; otherwise, they may feel that their hard work has been wasted and ignored.
Take The Stress Out Of Appraisals, With Our Professional First-Time Manager Training
Stepping into your first management position can be a challenging time; the pressure to perform, matched with the expectations of employees, can feel overwhelming at times. Statistics show that almost 8 in 10 employees are promoted into a management position without any management training, which may contribute to a more stressful work environment.
However, your management career doesn’t need to be this way. At Donovan Training Associates, we pride ourselves on delivering expert First Time Manager Training to help new business leaders flourish in their position. To get started with us, please get in touch to schedule a FREE consultation.
