Appraiser’s Best Practice Guidelines
Introduction
These Guidelines are intended to support the School’s Appraisal Policy and
Procedure.
The Appraisal Policy sets out a statement of principles for the appraisal
process.
The Appraisal Procedure sets out the stages and responsibilities of the
appraisal process; explaining who should do what, and when.
These Guidelines are designed to be a training aid and to give practical
guidance to managers who act as Appraisers, advising them on best practice
in how to carry out appraisal.
Appraisal forms
The School’s appraisal process is designed to be a continuous cycle;
reviewing past performance against previously set objectives and focusing
future performance by setting new objectives. For this reason, the appraisal
meeting will be focused on both last year’s and next year’s Appraisal Form.
Appraisal Form A should be a working document, which you and the
Appraisee should review regularly throughout the year and at least at the
recommended six month informal appraisal meeting.
The Appraisal form is split into two – Form A and Form B. Each form has
several parts.
Form A - Part 1 - Work Action Plan
 This form focuses on the performance objectives set for the Appraisee
(the employee being appraised) and the underlying tasks needed to
achieve the objective
 The last column should be completed the following year to record
which of the objectives have been achieved
Form A – Part 2 – Personal Development Plan
 This form is for recording personal development objectives and
activities.
 The last column allows the Appraisee to record what they learnt from
the personal development activities and should be completed and
discussed at the next appraisal after they have undertaken these
activities.
Form A – Part 3 – Working Relationships
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This form allows the Appraisee and you to give and receive feedback
on your working relationship with each other and with colleagues in the
team and across the School as appropriate
Form A – Part 4 – Overall Assessment
 You should record your overall assessment of the employee’s
performance, using the School’s rating system.
Form B – Part 1 - List of Publications and Research Grants
 This form is for academic and research only staff to allow them to
provide details of their research activities
 The form allows you, as Appraiser, to comment and give feedback on
these activities.
Form B – Part 2 – Register of Interests
 This form allows staff to declare any interests or potential conflicts of
interest.
Checklist – preparing your documents for the preappraisal meeting
You may want to use this checklist to ensure that you have all the necessary
information to give to the Appraisee at the pre-appraisal meeting;
Last year’s appraisal form (including Parts A and B) OR
Last year’s probation form if objectives where set during probation
A new Appraisal Form A for this year in which you have completed
the first column of Part 1 to initially propose objectives for the next
year to be discussed at the appraisal meeting*
The Appraisee’s job description
The Appraisee’s person specification
The School’s Strategy/objectives
The Faculty/Service Area Strategy/objectives
Your Department/Service Section/team’s objectives
Your objectives if these are relevant to the Appraisee
A copy of the Appraisal Policy, Procedure and Guidelines for
Appraisees if the employee has not already got these documents
Do not complete your remaining sections of the Appraisal form A or finalise
the objectives in Part 1, until after the appraisal meeting. If you have
completed the entire Appraisal Form A prior to the appraisal, the Appraisee
may think their appraisal is a forgone conclusion and their contribution at the
meeting is not valued.
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* In some instances, you may wish to ask the Appraisee to propose initial
objectives for the coming year, rather than suggest them yourself. This will
only normally happen for senior management roles or professional roles or in
cases where the Appraisee is an expert in their area of work and you lack that
expertise. In such cases, discuss this in advance with the Appraisee prior to
giving them Appraisal Form A, Part 1, with a blank first column!
Pre-appraisal meeting
Conducting a pre-appraisal meeting is not essential but is strongly
recommended. The meeting should only last about five to ten minutes and
will allow you to ensure the Appraisee understands the appraisal process and
all the necessary arrangements are made.
If you decide that a pre-meeting is unnecessary or cannot be arranged, you
will need to write to the employee explaining the process and giving them all
the appropriate documents.
You may want to use this checklist to help you plan and conduct the preappraisal meeting;
Explain the purpose of the appraisal process
Ensure the Appraisee has read the School’s Appraisal Policy and
Procedure
Give the Appraisee the documents you prepared (see checklist
above)
Agree a date for the appraisal meeting – this should be at least two
weeks after the pre-appraisal meeting
Agree a time for the meeting – the appraisal meeting should normally
last between 1 – 2 hours
Ensure the Appraisee understands which sections of the Appraisal
forms they need to complete.
Agree a deadline for the employee to give you their completed
Appraisal forms prior the appraisal meeting – this should be at least
one week prior to the Appraisal meeting.
Agree a confidential location for the meeting
Answer any questions that the Appraisee may have
For disabled employees, discuss if the employee needs a support
worker present at their appraisal meeting and/or any other
adjustments they may require
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Checklist – ensuring you have the documents from
the Appraisee prior to the Appraisal
You may want to use this checklist to ensure the Appraisee has given you
their documents prior to the Appraisal meeting
Last year’s Appraisal Form A with the final columns of Parts 1 & 2
completed.
Last year’s Appraisal Form A with Part 3 completed* (see * above).
This year’s Appraisal Form B Part 2 completed (Declaration of
Interests)
This year’s Appraisal Form B Part 1 completed (List of Publications
and Research Grants) for Academic and Research staff only.
The appraisal location
The formal appraisal meeting should take place in familiar surroundings away
from any interruptions.
You should ensure that telephones are diverted and that both you and the
Appraisee are able to be absent from your normal duties for the duration of
the meeting in order to minimise the potential for interruptions.
To help this, ensure that colleagues in the team are aware that the appraisal
should not be interrupted and that a sign is placed on the door of the meeting
room.
Holding the appraisal meeting
At the start of the appraisal, ensure both you and the Appraisee have all the
correct documents. You may want to use this checklist to help you;
Last year’s Appraisal Form A – with final columns of Parts 1 and Part
2, and relevant sections of Part 3 all completed by the Appraisee
This year’s Appraisal Form A in which you have initially completed
Part 1, column 1 to propose new objectives for the next year
For academic and research staff, a completed Appraisal Form B for
this year.
School institutional strategy and Faculty/Departmental/section/team
objectives for both the past and coming years
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At the beginning of the appraisal, try to ensure the Appraisee is comfortable
with the process by establishing a rapport and remind them of the purpose of
the appraisal. Start off by discussing and agreeing an agenda for the
appraisal meeting. Ensure you discuss the following
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School/Faculty/Departmental/Section/team objectives – for the last and
next year
How the Appraisee has achieved against each of last year’s objective
by
o Giving the Appraisee the opportunity to state their own views on
their performance
o Giving you an opportunity to give constructive feedback
An overall review of the achievements and any difficulties for the next
year including a discussion of the proposed overall performance rating
assessment
The role of the Appraisee within the working team and of working
relationships in general
The Appraisee’s personal and career development needs
Agreeing SMART objectives for the coming year
Getting the Appraisee to contribute
Remember that appraisal is a two way process – ensure that the Appraisee
has been given ample opportunity to have their say and to respond to your
points. Asking the Appraisee open questions is a really important way of
eliciting their views, encourages them to reflect on their own performance and
helps ensure that they feel their contribution to the appraisal process is
valued;
Useful open questions:
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How do you think you have performed against this objective this year?
What worked well for you this year?
How do you think this contributed to the team’s success this year?
Where there any areas where you felt you could have done things
differently?
Do you think this could have been improved in any way?
Where there any constraints or factors which affected this
task/objective?
You may also find it useful to ask probing questions to find out more about an
employee’s response:
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Why do you think that happened?
Why did that work well?
What was the impact of that on the team/section/service?
What happened next?
What was your role in this?
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Setting Objectives
The School Appraisal scheme is based on a cascade system where
organisational objectives are translated into Faculty/Area objectives, which
are then broken into Department/section/team objectives, on which all
employee’s objectives should be based.
In advance of the appraisal meeting, you will need to review the School’s
Strategy documents that set out these organisational objectives. You may
also need consider objectives for other staff (including your own) in the
team/section/department, where these will have a bearing on the Appraisee’s
objectives.
You will need to think about how the individual’s work contributes to the
team/section/department objectives and wider organisational goals, and
identify objectives for the Appraisee accordingly.
Each objective in turn should be broken down into tasks to be achieved by
specific dates during the course of the year. Try to spread the achievement
dates of these tasks throughout the next year in order to spread the workload.
When setting performance objectives, there should be some emphasis on and
measurement of interpersonal, relationship skills and attitudes of the
Appraisee. This should be achieved by saying how the objective or target that
is set is to be achieved.
It is good practice that no more than six main objectives should be identified in
this way for the Appraisee and normally three or four main objectives may be
set. Remember these objectives should be broken down into tasks.
When setting objectives, you should take account of workloads and focus on
the key activities and priorities of the individual in the year ahead. Account
should also be taken of who else would be involved in helping achieve the
task concerned and what resource constraints there are or have been.
In the School Appraisal scheme, objectives should be set in four broad areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Teaching
Research
Organisational activity
External activity
Not all staff will have objectives under these headings, depending on the
nature of work. However, professional and support staff may have objectives
under these categories where their work is involved in supporting these
activities (e.g. staff in the Research Office may have objectives under the
Research area to reflect their work in supporting research across the School).
SMART Objectives
Under the School Appraisal process, objectives should be SMART:
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Specific
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Measurable
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Achievable
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Realistic
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Time-limited
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Ensure the objective is clearly described and
precise to avoid confusion
Vague or unclear objectives and tasks could lead
to the employee misdirecting their activities and
even poor performance.
Consider how you will measure the employee’s
success in achieving the objective
If you can’t assess how the employee will meet
the objective, you shouldn’t set it!
The objective must be fair to the employee and
one you would reasonably expect them to
achieve – don’t set objectives it will be impossible
for them to achieve.
Consider what may help or hinder the employee’s
ability to achieve the objective – What obstacles
or constraints may there be? – How could these
be overcome?
Give deadlines or timescales for each objective
and ensure these are reasonable and achievable.
Giving constructive feedback
When giving feedback and reviewing performance against objectives, ensure
your feedback is constructive. Focus on what the appraiser has achieved
and done well in the year and what could be improved or done differently.
Discussions should be specific and factual; give actual examples rather than
make broad or sweeping statements. This is particularly important with any
areas for improvement as without specific examples, the Appraisee may not
accept your feedback about unsatisfactory performance and may become
defensive.
When giving constructive feedback, is very important that you focus on
performance rather than personality – criticise what the person has done
rather than who they are.
Tips for giving constructive feedback;
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Plan the feedback in advance and ensure you have a clear aim about
the purpose of the feedback.
Consider in advance how you think the person will react to the
feedback.
Focus on what the person does well
Be specific and factual – avoid generalisations by giving actual
examples
Don’t give opinion or judgement
Encourage self-assessment by asking for the employee’s views in the
first instance – they may already be aware of areas for improvement
Be tactful, objective and diplomatic – don’t patronise, show annoyance
or use emotive language
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Explain the effects of the Appraisee’s actions or behaviour on
colleagues, the section/team /Department/Faculty/Area
Encourage the Appraisee to take full responsibility for his or her actions
Focus on the future – and what can be done to improve any areas of
weakness or what could be done differently
Make it clear that you want to work with the Appraisee to seek
solutions to any problem areas
Let the Appraisee know if you think them capable of improvement
Use the feedback ‘sandwich’ technique in which any ‘negative’ areas
are ‘sandwiched’ between positive feedback:
o First emphasis what worked well
o Second, focus on what could have been done differently
o Thirdly, give a summary of what might help and a
reminder of the positive.
Don’t say
You are very careless
You’re hopeless at meeting deadlines
and your work is always late
You do a good job
You make too many mistakes
Your management skills are not up to
scratch
I was really annoyed when you
processed that invoice late.
You should have taken more
responsibility on that [task/activity]
You need to sort this problem out
Your performance is disastrous
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Do say
There are regular mistakes in your
work that we need to discuss. Here
are some examples.
You have missed the agreed deadline
for [specific task/activity] on three
occasions [Be prepared to give more
detail as appropriate]. We need to
talk about how to prevent this
happening in future.
Your data entry on the Students
Record system is always very
accurate and information is entered
on time.
I want to discuss what we can do to
reduce the level of mistakes.
What are your views on your ability to
supervise and manage your staff
regularly?
When you processed the invoice late,
the outcome was that we lost our
discount for early payment and it
impacted on our relationship with this
important supplier.
Do you agree that you were the
person responsible for that
[task/activity]?
I want to discuss how I can support
you in sorting this problem out
I believe that you are capable of
improvement and would like to
discuss what further training might be
helpful in meeting your objectives
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Performance Ratings against objectives
Each individual objective should be rated as follows:
1. Achieved
2. Partially Achieved
3. Not Achieved
During the appraisal meeting and on the Appraisal form, you should give an
explanation to justify the rating. If you do not provide evidence to justify the
rating, the employee may challenge your rating. If the Appraisee does not
agree with your rating, ask the employee to explain why, giving specific
examples. Listen to the Appraisee’s point of view and try to remain open
minded about the ratings until the interview has been concluded.
If an employee has partially or not achieved objectives, consider whether
there have been any unexpected circumstances beyond the employee’s
control that may have hindered their ability to achieve their objective.
Remember that when originally setting the objective, you should have already
considered any possible constraints which may hinder performance and take
this into account to ensure the objective is realistic and achievable. If an
Appraisee has not met their objectives due to any working constraints or
reasons beyond their control, you should take this into account when rating
the individual. In the event that an unforeseen event or obstacle occurs
during the appraisal year, which will impede the employee’s ability to achieve
their objective(s), you should arrange in informal appraisal review meeting.
The informal review meeting will allow you both to discuss the situation that
has arisen, what could be done to tackle the problem and revise the objective,
as appropriate.
Under the School’s Appraisal scheme, you should assess the employee’s
overall performance against their last year’s objectives, using the following
rating system;
1. Performance is outstanding at this level
2. The individual is performing at a level in excess of the requirements of
the role
3. The individual is performing well according to the requirements of the
role
4. The individual is performing at level below the requirements of the role
in some aspects
5. Performance is unacceptable.
If suitable SMART objectives have been set, then it is likely that the majority
of staff will be accessed as “The individual is performing well according to the
requirements of the role”.
If you have rated an Appraisee as “Performance is outstanding at this level” or
“The individual is performing at a level in excess of the requirements of the
role” you may wish to consider putting the employee forward for an
honorarium or additional increment under the School’s reward processes.
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If you have assessed an employee as “The individual is performing at level
below the requirements of the role in some aspects” or “Performance is
unacceptable” you will need to consider what further action you can take to
assist the employee to improve. Remember that performance problems
should not normally be raised for the first time in the appraisal meeting – and
that separate procedures exist for dealing with poor performance. If you have
assessed an employee at either of these levels, it is expected that you should
have already conducted at least one informal counselling or monitoring
meeting with the employee in accordance with the School’s Management
Guidelines on Performance Monitoring or Informal Counselling Meetings.
Where problems are serious and/or have persisted despite informal action,
formal Disciplinary Procedures should be used. The rating of “The individual
is performing at a level below the requirements of the role in some aspects” or
“Performance is unacceptable” should not be a surprise to the employee at
the appraisal meeting.
Giving and receiving Feedback on Working
Relationships
The Appraisal Form A – Part 3 enables constructive feedback to be given by
both parties on the Appraisee’s working relationship with you and colleagues
in the team. This should also be discussed during the appraisal meeting
itself.
The discussion should be positive; get the employee to consider how you
could support them in meeting their objectives this year. Would regular
meetings with you to discuss progress on objectives help? Do you have
information or access to information which could help them on a project or a
specific task?
Ask what works well in their relationship with colleagues in the team; what
could be improved. You may want to make suggestions for improvements –
such as more regular team meetings or greater team-member participation in
such meetings, local training for all team members to or shadowing in order to
share knowledge.
Agreeing a Personal Development Action Plan
Part 2 of the Appraisal Form A is a Personal Development Action for the
Appraisee setting out training needs and activities planned to help them
achieve their objectives and/or as a career development plan on how they
helped improve the employee’s performance.
The Appraisee will have completed the final column on last year’s form to give
their assessment of what they learnt from last year’s developmental activities.
Discuss how these went and what was useful.
At the appraisal, meeting, once the performance objectives for the
forthcoming year have been discussed and agreed, ask the Appraisee what
will help them achieve their objectives.
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Remember that developmental activities will not just include attending events
in the School’s Staff Development Programmes; think about the following
activities;
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Coaching
Mentoring
Shadowing you or a colleague in the team
Distance or online learning
Attending a conference
Visiting another team, department or institution to learn about how they
may carry out an activity
Structured reading
Researching a specific topic or project
Local training on a system or activity by a member of staff who is an
expert in that system or task
If the employee cannot think of any activities that may be useful, you will need
to make suggestions.
When discussing any career development activities, give the employee an
opportunity to discuss his or her career aspirations, and what developmental
activities may help them reach their goal. You may want to ask if the
Appraisee would like to access any training or development to help them do
their job well or to develop into another role at SOAS.
Take care not to raise false hopes or make promises about career aspirations
if these cannot be kept, think about what will be realistic and what may or may
not be in your control. For example, if the Appraisee wants to undertake an
external accredited course, remember that they will have to make an
application in line with the School’s procedure and their application for funding
may not be successful.
If more research on proposed development activities is required after the
Appraisal, agree who will do what and when. Remember that you will be
responsible for completing the Personal Development Action Plan after the
Appraisal.
Ending the Appraisal meeting
At the end of the Appraisal, summarise what has been discussed and the key
objectives that have been agreed. Check that the employee agrees with this
summary to avoid any misunderstanding.
Explain to the Appraisee the next steps including the completion of the
Appraisal forms.
Try end to the Appraisal meeting on a positive note.
After the Appraisal
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After the appraisal, you will be responsible for completing the Appraisal forms
and getting the Appraisee to sign them.
You will need to:
1. Complete the final column of Part 1 on last year’s Appraisal Form
A. Remember that the employee will have initially completed this
before the appraisal meeting to encourage them to self-assess their
own performance. Review the employee’s initial assessment and
reflect on the actual discussion at the appraisal – consider what new
points that were discussed at the appraisal meeting and are not
covered in the Appraisee’s initial assessment. You will need to give
the appropriate rating for each objective.
2. Complete final column of Part 3 on last year’s Appraisal Form A.
You will need to complete the comments box on working relationships
to record your discussion with the employee at the appraisal meeting.
3. Complete Part 4 on last year’s Appraisal Form A. Tick the relevant
box to record your overall rating of the Appraisee’s performance.
4. Complete the first three columns of Part 1 on next year’s
Appraisal Form A. Record the performance objectives you agreed
with the employee in the first column including the underlying tasks
needed to achieve these objectives. You should note any possible
constraints which you discussed at appraisal in the second column. In
the third column, give a completion date for each objective or task as
appropriate.
5. Complete the first two columns of Part 2 on next year’s Appraisal
Form A. You will need to write up the personal development action
plan you discussed and agreed with the employee at the appraisal
meeting.
Aim to complete the Appraisal Forms within five working days after the
appraisal meeting.
Give the completed forms to the Appraiser to check and sign. When signed,
you should send the Appraisal Form to your Dean of Faculty/Head of Service
Area.
Once your Dean/Head of Service Area has signed the form, you will need to
give the Appraisee a copy and send a copy to the HR Department.
Remember to keep your own copy for regular review and monitoring of the
employee’s progress in meeting their objectives.
What happens if the employee disagrees with completed Appraisal
form?
There is a formal dispute resolution process in the School’s Appraisal
Procedure, but it is recommended you try to resolve any dispute informally
first if possible. Try to identify what areas the employee does not agree with
in your report – there may just be a misunderstanding or miscommunication
following the appraisal meeting. Ask the employee what they are unhappy
with and why; carefully reflect on their response. Consider if a brief meeting
to discuss the areas of disagreement help you both reach resolution.
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If you cannot resolve any issues informally, you will need to send the
Appraisal Forms to the Dean of Faculty/Head of Service Area making it clear
that the forms have not been agreed and asking them to make a decision in
favour of one of the parties. To help you do this, you may want to ask the
Appraisee to put in writing the areas where they do not agree and why. You
can then submit this written document to the Dean/Head of Service Area
which your version of the completed Appraisal Form A. Alternatively, you
may want to produce a short summary document highlighting the areas of
disagreement.
The Dean of Faculty/Head of Service Area (or their delegate) will then arrange
a meeting with you and the Appraisee ; normally this meeting with be with
both parties present, but sometimes two separate meetings will be held with
the Appraiser and you.
At the meeting, try to explain your position (e.g. why you have given the
employee a particular rating etc) using the factual examples you gave at the
appraisal to back up your assessment of the employee. Try to remain as
objective and courteous as possible; understand that the employee may be
nervous, listen to the employee’s point of view and don’t interrupt them
speaking. Once they have finished making their points, try to address the
issues they have raised, again relying on specific examples rather than
generalisations. By remaining objective, focusing on examples and
responding to the employee’s points, you can try to help maintain working
relationships going forward.
A decision will be taken by the Dean of Faculty/Head of Service Area which
will be communicated in writing after the meeting. The paperwork will then be
signed off in the normal manner but with a copy of the Dean’s/Head of Service
Area’s letter being retained with the Appraisal form.
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