AIBU to think this is a bit weird for a workplace?

[Sunshinedaisy1890]

Intrigued to see what others think about this.

There has been a bit of rescheduling at my workplace, to cut a very long story short our workplace is having a restructure.

Last month, all staff members had appraisals which went down exceptionally well. Each staff member felt valued, and was really happy with the feedback and we thought that this had also been echoed in management too.

Today we have just been told that a third party member, who is a friend of the management and doesn't work for the business and has no dealings with the business, will be brought in to do our staff appraisals. I should also mention this person is not qualified to do this.

AIBU to think that this is not okay? I can't see how having a staff appraisal with somebody not associated with the business will help anyone? The management have said they are too busy to do this, hence getting a third party in and this will all be kept confidential unless specifically asked to go back to management.

I should also mention, that this is not optional and all staff members are being told to cooperate as it will be happening regardless.

A few staff members, myself included aren't really sure if we are comfortable with this. To be honest I really can't see what anybody will gain from this, it could well be that this has just been sprung upon us and we haven't had time to think about it just yet but right now we can't help but feel that this is just a bit weird. Do you agree or are we overreacting?

Do you need to have a qualification in order to do staff appraisals? I don't think you do so in that respect, YABU.

How on earth can someone with no dealings with the business appraise the staff though? How will they know what the staff member does, what targets they have, what the objectives are and whether they have been met? That seem a bit odd to me.

Unfortunately though, as an employee it is probably nothing to do with you who management bring in.

@HilaryBriss Didn't necessarily mean qualifications, I just meant that she doesn't do this for a living and has no experience in this, which is what I find so weird!

That's exactly what I can't get my head around, she doesn't work with us, doesn't know everybody's job roles. We work for a small business, and it is always usually done in house so I have no idea why things are changing now! Just seems a bit odd.

If she's not feeding back to management, what's the point of the appraisals, then?

if you all had one last month, why do you need another?
And pretty pointless if they are not with someone you work for or is remotely connected to the organisation.

Was once a trustee of a charity where chief exec decided it would be a good idea for trustees to conduct appraisals (ie she was a crap manager, and couldn't be arsed to do it herself). Her own appraisal didn't go too well

Seems strange to me - how can a person who doesn't know the staff or the business conduct appraisals?

It does sound strange OP, I would be suspicious and keep my wits about me.

I’ve worked for small organisations where performance management and performance coaching was carried out by a contractor, because there was only one layer of management and none were experienced enough at performance management to effectively carry out that part of their role. But it was a three-way conversation between the member of staff, their manager, and the contractor rather than them doing it alone.

Surely you can question the purpose of this approach to appraisal and what the third party is intended to achieve? You need to know what’s expected of you, what you’re expected to prepare and how you’re supposed to approach the session to get the best out of it, so understanding why they’ve taken it out of house and what they’d like the outcome to be is an important part of that.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of your input! I thought I may have been being a little unreasonable, so I'm really grateful for your responses!

@funnylittlefloozie I have no idea! To me it just seems pointless, especially when this person doesn't work with us!

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay they are wanting us to have these every month!

I think I need to get my big girl pants on, and speak to them directly! Either that or I need to find a new job

a 1:1 meeting with a line manager is pretty normal - and often overlooked in smaller organisations - but an "appraisal" with someone you don't work with/for sounds bananas!