Appraisal stress

[muchovino]

Annual appraisal next week, reviewed last year's notes and could practically cut and paste as very little has changed. At the point where I feel I have put up with enough so want to vent quite a lot of frustrations, how do I cover so many points tactfully without losing my rag and seeming like it is a personal attack on the Manager (quite a lot to do with their management style etc). I thought about venting on paper then picking through the relevant points and trying to position them constructively but it is very difficult! TIA

[Horsemad]

One of the questions on mine asks if I feel valued. I answered Not really!

Appraisals are a waste of time in my company; there are no promotion prospects and I wouldn't want promotion even if it were available.

I go to work to do a good job and come home again at the end of the day having cleared a stack of paperwork. As long as I can continue doing that, I'm happy enough.

Seriously, I just don't see the point of them.

[daisychain01]

Mucho, come on and have a vent, don't use your appraisal for anything more than bland statements. It won't give you anything more than temporary satisfaction. It could do more harm than good.

If you have any general comments broader than your LM you could mention 1-2 max but couched in terms of change = X or y and benefit of change = 1 sentence max on why the change will add value to the team or company as a whole. Don't make anything personal to 1 individual.

[muchovino]

Thank you Horse and Daisy, what a load of BS it is, thank goodness it's only once a year!

[Horsemad]

I have a yearly one and then a half yearly one total waste of time.

[AsWeTumbleToTheGround]

I agree they can be pointless. I do appraisals and half yearly reviews for my team and have them.

Useful for the odd member of staff who wants to get on but no use at all for the majority who know their job, do it well and just want to go home at the end of the day. I have no problem with staff like that and keep them as straight forward as possible.

In my last review (booked 2 weeks in advance) my manager sat down and said he'd not read what I'd written beforehand!!! Not the best start. Then he said nothing at all about my performance, I really don't think he had a clue about what I do and how well ( or not!) I do it.

[Autumnchill]

Mines next week also. Score isn't as good as previous but I'm actually past the point of caring!

Good luck with yours!

[muchovino]

Had my appraisal, better than I thought and managed to get a few things off my chest, quite a lot of it was bullshit though and "we need you to flog yourself to death even more, athough you only work part time" type stuff! Good luck to everyone else in this delightful situation

[Lunaballoon]

That's shocking Aswetumble . Mine's due before the end of the year and I'm sure will be fairly similar. What a complete waste of time for all!

[Autumnchill]

Well mine got cancelled the day before and now rearranged for next week.....

[bojorojo]

Surely the appraisals have some worth? Does no-one ask you to consider what the barriers are to you having greater job satisfaction? What would you like to see done to make your job more efficient and effective? Do you not seek any further training or coaching? Presumably no element of your salary relies on appraisal? Where it does, it is far more evidence based so you might need to think more about what you want from appraisal and not just accept that it is done to you. You all seem to have very poor management. Perhaps if you were managers, you would do better and value your staff. One way to do this is via appraisal.

[Lunaballoon]

Appraisals should facilitate a useful two-way conversation as you suggest bojo, but unfortunately they are often viewed by managers as a corporate box ticking exercise and are treated as such.

[daisychain01]

IME appraisals can be constructive, gratifying experience where the manager recognises achievement balanced with suggestions for improvement using feedback received by colleagues and key stakeholders.

But more likely it ticks a box to justify not giving a pay increase or bonus. So it then become punitive and "beat that employee with a stick"

I have known both and know the damage the 2nd scenario can do to self-esteem and morale.

[Eminybob]

I always find appraisals seem like just a way of trying to justify you presence on the planet.
We get ratings (unacceptable, part met objectives, met objectives, exceeded, outstanding (or possibly inspirational, I can't remember and I'm unlikely to ever get one))
And it has already been agreed by the boss before you even go into the meeting. The managers all go into "calibration" meetings before hand to make sure they are giving the right amount of each rating to people to avoid giving out too many bonuses

Then you spend and hour and a half talking through all the great stuff you have done during the year and why you should get X rating, to then finally be told well Y is your rating, off you trot.
It's pointless and soul destroying. Oh and I have to spend half a day before hand preparing and collating figures together as evidence to present, and manager comes in with same data already prepared

[daisychain01]

Eminibob The way I rationalise the situation around bonuses is to say to myself they are not contractual so they could be taken away any time

[daisychain01]

Sorry- Eminybob