Appraisal interview
The appraisal interview (abbreviation: MAG) between executives and employees is an instrument in which the participants periodically (usually annually with additional review dates) specific or as needed and thus cause-related content (such as target agreements, performance reviews, training, personal feedback , development opportunities , open questions, etc.). If the discussions are paper-based, they are often based on personnel sheets, guidelines, checklists and / or forms, which also serve as a structure for the management of the conversation. Alternatively, software-supported systems (mostly web-based ) can be used.
The minutes of an employee interview remain with the interlocutors and must be kept under lock and key by the superior; only a form with agreed development and training measures is passed on to the personnel development department with the consent of the employee and the manager. That is the relevant difference between the performance appraisal and a standardized performance appraisal. Above all, it should improve communication, create trust and win employees over to corporate goals.
The elements are optional and can be adapted according to operational wishes and requirements. It is important that any assessment criteria correspond to the real requirements of the task. A task analysis is therefore necessary in order to find suitable criteria.
Occasions for and content of employee appraisals
Reasons for an employee interview can be:
- End of probationary period
- Contract termination, dissolution or termination (separation talk and exit talk)
- Praise and criticism
- Return after incapacity for work or illness (return interview )
- Planning a promotion, changing tasks in the workplace in the form of a career interview
- Conflict perception, analysis and management or moderation
- Promotion and full potential of employees as part of personnel development (regularly, e.g. annually)
- Wage talks, but not wage cuts
At the end of the conversation, a binding agreement on how to proceed is often reached on both sides. Employee interviews, which can have legal consequences, are usually recorded by the manager or the employer representative. Follow-up discussions, intermediate goals and success reviews are often helpful here, as they have a reinforcing effect.
Presence of third parties
Appraisal interviews take place as two or more person interviews. The involvement of a staff representative is not mandatory, but can correspond to company practice or the collective agreement, etc.; that is, whether the employee is allowed to call in persons they trust, for example a member of the works council , is not regulated by law. In individual cases, from Section 82 (2) of the Works Constitution Act , the employee may be entitled to the involvement of a works council member for an appraisal interview about the conclusion of a termination agreement. As a rule, however, the employee cannot demand that his lawyer be allowed to attend upcoming personnel interviews.
structure
The conversation flow can include the following:
- Presentation / agreement of the discussion goals
- Review with a constructive-critical analysis on both sides
- Recognition and confirmation of results achieved so far ( employee assessment by the supervisor )
- Formulation of development potential (especially by employers)
- Application for a new task, further goals
- Agreement of necessary intermediate steps there
- Summary (bilateral) of previous results
- next steps (possibly arrange a continuation date)
The conversation should take place in a calm atmosphere without massive time pressure (appropriate time limit, which is known in advance, e.g. 30 minutes). Mutual appreciation should be expressed at the opening (so-called warming-up ) and closing.
Advantages and benefits of employee appraisals
Appraisal appraisals have numerous advantages for the company, the manager involved and the employee himself. However, there are also some important requirements. These are an open corporate and communication culture based on trust and respect, managers with pronounced social and communication skills and employees who identify with the company, the corporate goals and the people in the company. Advantages and benefits include:
- Promotion of communication about tasks and goals
- Promotion of trust between line manager and employee
- Promotion of partnership-based cooperation and maintenance of the working atmosphere
- Strengthening employee motivation
- Promotion of performance awareness, especially through target agreements
- Employee loyalty and employee-manager relationship
- Information about career and development opportunities
- Opening and implementing perspectives for employees
- Active participation and participation in corporate events
- Early warning system and heart rate monitor for problems, negative trends and conflicts
Plan and prepare regular employee interviews
If employee appraisals are to be held regularly as part of personnel development, it is the responsibility of the direct supervisor to plan them in the workflow in such a way that both sides can benefit from it. This also means that they can be announced and take place within a reasonable time frame. Perhaps a list of possible topics should be given out in advance by the employee for preparation. Which offers a superior can ultimately make depends on the scope of the competencies he has been given, as well as the extent of criticism and motivation that he can and may convey.
The appraisal interview is a management tool of the superior. The respect and professionalism require preparation for each conversation, which, following a rule of thumb, can be about as long as the subsequent conversation with the employee. Executives should always be aware that the longer the managerial range increases, that HR work takes up a large proportion of the working time. If you want to shorten the preparation times, you cannot avoid documenting your observations during the year and then ideally storing them in a software-supported MAG tool, which can also prevent unauthorized access by third parties.
Conversation and communication techniques
There are many techniques and rules that make employee appraisals successful and effective. Some are: Formulating and communicating a clear discussion goal, making it clear to employees how useful the conversation is, thorough preparation for the topic and employee personality, active listening in dialog, including employee opinions and promoting self-confidence, and giving positive and clarifying feedback on what has been said. The latter is easy to implement, but has a great effect: Feedback keeps the dialogue going, ensures that you don't lose sight of the goal of the conversation and signals to employees that you are listening to them and interested in what they say. Depending on the reason for the conversation, attention should also be paid to the orientation towards action, the summary of key statements, decisions and procedures, adjusting to the level, speaking speed and choice of words of the other person, honestly praising good ideas and opinions. Important discussions such as target agreements, performance problems, threats of termination or aspects of labor law should always be recorded in writing or logged or, depending on the importance, even be included in a personnel file. The use of questions is also important, which enable important additional information, strengthen the dialogue and are also a means of controlling the conversation. Above all, questions focus attention, encourage reflection and increase awareness.
Communication and leadership tool
You can assign employee interviews to three levels. One is general interpersonal communication , which serves the working atmosphere, a feeling of togetherness and team spirit, is often spontaneous and arises from the need to exchange and communicate. This culture of discussion is unorganized, maintains and above all strengthens the relationships between employees and managers and is therefore often an expression of a good working atmosphere and an employee-oriented corporate culture . On the second level, the employee appraisal can be viewed as a more functional and goal-oriented management instrument, which includes the target agreement, performance areas, employee development, motivation and other management aspects and fulfills management and performance tasks. The better the quality and the basis of trust in the communication on the first level, the better and more sustainable the second level performance review. The third level is the reaction to external signals, concerns and symptoms that make quick conversations, i.e. a need for communicative action, necessary. These include, for example, conflicts or conflict symptoms, suspected dissatisfaction, requests for discussions from employees due to personal or professional problems or immediate recognition of an outstanding performance or problem solution. The more communicative and pronounced a manager's sensorium is, the better and faster they act and react at this level.
Advantages of software-supported employee appraisals
The advantages of paperless systems result from
- the elimination of the administration of the interview sheets for the MAG,
- the possibility of documenting observations and facts during the year,
- anytime, worldwide availability,
- the representation of the development of the employee through z. B. graphical time series,
- psychologically effective defusing of the discussion atmosphere by means of media use in conjunction with helpful evaluation functions
literature
- Becker, Manfred: Personnel development: education, support and organizational development in theory and practice. 3. revised u. exp. Edition 2002. Stuttgart, Schäffer - Poeschel 2002.
- Trost, Armin: Below expectations. Why the annual employee appraisal fails in modern working environments . Wiley, 2015, ISBN 978-3527508259 .
- Thomas Breisig, Peter Wengelowski, Susanne König: Employee interview . Bund-Verlag, 2001, ISBN 978-3-7663-3261-5 .
- Ekkehard Crisand, Horst-Joachim Rahn : The employee appraisal as a management tool . 3rd edition, Windmühle Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86451-000-7 .
- Rüdiger Hossiep , Jennifer Esther Bittner, Wolfram Berndt: employee reviews . Hogrefe, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8017-1717-9 .
- Oswald Neuberger : The employee appraisal - practical principles for successful management work. 6th edition, Rosenberger Fachverlag.
- Reinhart Nagel, Margit Oswald, Rudolf Wimmer : The employee appraisal as a management tool. A manual of the OSB for practitioners. Velcro cotta.
- Brigitte Winkler, Helmut Hofbauer: The employee appraisal as a management tool. Manual for managers and HR managers. 4th, completely revised edition, Carl Hanser Verlag, 2010, ISBN 3-446-41606-4 .
Web links
- Employee interview guidelines. (PDF; 287 kB) The appraisal interview : With the right guidelines on the home straight ... SIRIS systems , accessed on May 28, 2012 .
- Appraisals: Who has to attend? Who can also be there? Haufe Online, December 23, 2011