Employee Performance Appraisals
Sustainable leadership success depends to a large extent on the quality of employee communication in the company. Staff appraisals are the central management tool and the employer’s direct line to its employees.
As a valuable instrument for talent management, staff appraisal also provide the basis for the successful implementation of the corporate strategy, because well-prepared and transparent staff appraisals promote the motivation, satisfaction and loyalty of your employees.
With the rexx software for staff appraisals, you use a powerful digital tool to optimise this feedback process.
The employee performance appraisal module supports you along the entire process chain of staff appraisals and automatically takes over a large part of the administrative work. Keep an up-to-date overview of upcoming appointments, target agreements or reviews at all times. The managers and employees involved are automatically reminded of these events by the system.
At the same time, the rexx suite offers you the option of integrating annual appraisals with other HR processes: It can also be connected to the applicant management software, the training and e-learning module or other components of the rexx Suite via digital interfaces.
Software for staff appraisals
The software for staff appraisals takes over support functions along the entire process chain of feedback and staff appraisals:
- Administrative processes – for example, appointment management – are completely automated. Appointment suggestions, appointment reminders and content updates of the interview agenda are transmitted digitally.
- All information relevant to interview preparation is available at the click of a mouse. The results of the feedback meeting are also stored in the system. This includes, for example, target agreements, performance appraisals, information on personnel development measures as well as pay increases and bonuses.
- Questionnaires for different feedback structures, including 360-degree feedback and the interview guide, can be created directly in the software via templates.
- Optionally, you can prepare the results of your appraisal interviews graphically. In order to create development charts for individual employees, specific employee groups, departments or areas, your freely configurable selections are available.
- The minutes of the staff appraisal are stored in the digital personnel file of the respective employee. It can also be accessed via the self-service of the rexx Suite.
- For comprehensive follow-up, the data from the appraisal interview automatically flows into other software modules, such as performance management, skill management or the digital training management of your company. This makes it possible to measure performance and achievement, track individual goal attainment, or evaluate the success of training measures from different perspectives.
Meeting planning
The self-assessment and external assessment questionnaires, which can be freely designed, are the basis for efficient staff appraisals. The assessments provide a valuable basis for a discussion of personal views up to 360 degree feedback. Structure and scheme for objectives, assessment criteria and competences are freely definable.
The annual reviews also support attended and planned trainings, performance-potential matrix or the agreement of new salaries.
Evaluation
After conducting the appraisal interview, the software helps you to document results, target agreements or planned further training quickly and easily. In addition to standardised contents, this documentation also offers the possibility of individual adjustments: Record agreed goals, planned seminars or information on employee qualifications as needed.
The results of staff appraisals can be conveniently displayed as diagrams. In addition, the software provides meaningful development charts individually for each employee or as a group evaluation across departments or freely compiled selections.
Objective agreement
The protocol is also stored in the employee’s digital file and is made available to the employee in the employee area – or self-service portal. The data automatically flows into other software modules and can then be called up centrally for follow-up work – whether for performance management, in the training module or in the area of skills and competence.
This integration makes it possible to gain an overview of the set objectives from many different perspectives. These can be monitored and adjusted as necessary.
FAQ Staff appraisals
Employee appraisals ensure lean workflows & time savings in HR processes. In this way, you can prepare effectively for discussions with your employees and conduct them successfully.
For what purpose do you conduct staff appraisals?
A distinction is made in employee appraisals between occasion-based appraisals and institutionalised appraisals. An ad hoc appraisal interview is a one-off meeting called by either the manager or the employee for a specific reason. The focus of such discussions is usually on current events. The following are some of the events that can lead to a cause-related appraisal interview:
- Conflicts between employees and/or managers
- Long or frequent sick leave of an employee
- Need for change in work processes
- Optimisation of work processes
- Accidents at the workplace
- Particularly good or particularly bad performance
- Violation of company regulations or laws
The institutionalised appraisal interview, on the other hand, takes place regularly and therefore does not require a specific reason. As a rule, the employee’s work performance since the last appraisal is discussed. The manager uses a standardised guideline to evaluate performance. The aim of the institutionalised appraisal interview is the joint elaboration of measures and improvement approaches for the future. The annual or semi-annual appraisal is considered one of the most important institutionalised appraisal interviews.
What are the different types of appraisal interviews?
Staff appraisals can be divided into institutionalised and occasion-related staff appraisals:
Institutionalised staff appraisals serve to assess performance over a longer period of time. Their best-known form is the annual appraisal interview, which is a permanent institution in most companies. It is recommended to use a standardised interview guideline for this, which is tailored to the performance requirements of the respective employee groups. With the rexx software for appraisal interviews, it is then possible to evaluate and document the results of the interviews digitally.
Occasion-related appraisal interviews are related to current events. Such a staff appraisal takes place on the initiative of the manager or an employee. Occasion-related appraisal interviews include, for example:
Appraisal interviews
Appreciation interviews
Conflict talks
Criticism meetings
warning talks
Talks relating to questions and problems of individual employees.
What are the objectives of staff appraisals?
Staff appraisals are standard in most companies. Such staff appraisals are particularly effective if they can be well prepared and followed up. With the rexx software for appraisal interviews, you can optimise your feedback to your employees in a very efficient digital form.
Management and HR experts agree on one thing: sustainable leadership success depends significantly on the quality of employee communication in the company. Employee appraisals are central management tools here. Statistics show that three quarters of all companies conduct at least one annual appraisal interview with their employees, but in practice, occasion-related feedback interviews also play an essential role.
The aim of appraisal interviews is to reflect on the joint work over a certain period of time, project-related or on a positive or negative occasion, to give feedback and criticism and to agree on current objectives. It is optimal if they are based on a genuine dialogue between managers and employees.
What are the contents of staff appraisals?
An appraisal interview serves as a framework for communication and feedback processes between the managers and the employees of a company.
The contents of staff appraisals include the performance appraisal of employees as well as the agreement of individual goals and personnel development measures. In addition, such staff appraisals can deal with organisational changes, the optimisation of work and team processes, acute problems that have arisen or issues relevant to labour law.
Of course, employees should also be given the opportunity in the feedback discussion to present their view of their own performance and related company processes, including critical points, and should also be involved in setting their individual performance and development goals. For managers, appraisal interviews provide an opportunity to give feedback in a systematic way, to communicate the company’s goals to their employees and to discuss medium- and long-term career goals with them.
What is the best interview environment for an appraisal interview?
When a manager asks an employee to talk in private, it directly triggers discomfort in many employees. This discomfort can be either mitigated or even exacerbated by the chosen conversational environment. The interview environment can sometimes strongly influence the outcome of the interview. Therefore, we have listed here a few do’s and don’ts regarding the interview environment for employee interviews.
Do’s:
- The interview environment
- should be as quiet as possible.
- Listen actively to the person you are talking to and ask questions when necessary.
- Give your interviewer enough space so that he or she can express him or herself freely.
- This creates an open dialogue at eye level.
- Distribute the seating as fairly as possible. A seating area in the office is recommended.
- Sometimes it is also useful to sit at a table for the conversation.
- The table does not have to have any practical use for the conversation, but it conveys security and protection for the conversation participants.
- Offer your conversation partner a little hospitality as a token of appreciation.
Don’ts:
- During the conversation, only the actual participants should be in the room, so there is no additional listener.
- Spontaneous interruptions can be fatal during an appraisal interview. Therefore, make sure in advance that you cannot be disturbed by phone calls or the like.
- Do not sit directly face to face. This positioning looks like a confrontation to the person you are talking to.
- The right body language is crucial in one-on-one conversations. Nervously drumming your fingers and impatiently looking at your watch should therefore be avoided at all costs.
